As Perth Stadium prepares to officially open its A$1bn doors on January 28 speculation is mounting that the first ever test match (cricket) to be played at the venue could be against India later this year.
With a venue still to be decided to host the start of the 2018-2019 Australian Test summer, according to cricket website Cricbuzz the 60,000 seat stadium in Burswood, Perth, Western Australia, could be scheduled to stage the first of the four-test series in late November.
The historic match would be the first ever to be played in front of a 60,000-capacity crowd in Burswood and sources claim it would be played on a drop-in wicket to replicate the pace and bounce of the WACA’s (the Western Australian Cricket Association ground, also in Perth) notoriously challenging pitch for visiting teams. Should Perth Stadium be selected for the test series, Adelaide, Melbourne and Sydney would then host the following matches respectively.
Perth Stadium was in line to host the third Ashes test between Australia and England last month but construction was not ready. However the new stadium will see a One Day International between the two sides on its opening day.
The multipurpose ground is Australia’s third largest capacity stadium behind Stadium Australia (ANZ Stadium) and Melbourne’s MCG and will also be home to two AFL teams.
January 10, 2018
