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Perth is the major casualty of Australia's truncated 2014-15 Test
summer, stripped of its annual match for the first time since 1976-77.
Only four Tests are scheduled for a season in which India will visit,
due mainly to the fixturing squeeze created by the 2015 World Cup, and
the nation's two smallest and youngest major grounds in Perth and Hobart
have been left off the Test calendar.
The decision has provoked an outraged response from the Western
Australia Cricket Association, while the host broadcaster Channel Nine
is also likely to be nonplussed about losing the one Test match of the
summer it can screen in prime time to the populous eastern states, due
to Perth's more westerly time zone. However it was always likely that
Perth would miss out on the match due to concerns about the ground's
facilities and size relative to its main rivals Brisbane and Adelaide.
While Bellerive Oval has never been a nailed-on venue, the WACA ground
has invariably provided blood and thunder Test cricket, due to its
uniquely fast and bouncy pitch. India were rounded up by an innings and 37 runs well inside three days in Perth in January 2012. Other considerations outlined by the CA chief executive James Sutherland
included the strong claims of other grounds. Adelaide Oval's $535
million redevelopment will be complete in time for the series, while the
Gabba has traditionally been host to the first Test of the summer and
has consistently drawn larger crowds to its matches than Perth.
The WACA's size, a history of spotty attendances and facilities lagging
behind other grounds have detracted from its standing among
international venues, despite its lively pitch and a time zone more
favourable to television audiences both in India and on the east coast
of Australia. CA's verdict also maintains a longstanding tradition of
"last in, first out" among venues - Melbourne, Sydney, Adelaide and
Brisbane all boasting of longer Test traditions than Perth.
"Though a traditional Test match venue with a proud history, the WACA
ground has the smallest capacity of the five mainland Test venues and
has historically attracted lower attendances," Sutherland said. "The
WACA has been working hard to improve the facilities for its fans but it
still requires significant improvements.
"Although the WACA has missed out on a Test match, they will play host
to up to four limited-overs matches in the 2014-15 season that will see
South Africa tour in a limited-overs series in November, as well as
India and England competing in a tri-series in January prior to the 2015
ICC Cricket World Cup."
Christina Matthews, the WACA chief executive, expressed her deep
disappointment at the WACA's reduced allocation for 2014-15. "Whilst CA
will provide additional limited-overs matches to replace the Test match,
there is no compensation for losing a Test," she said. "The on-going
effect this loss will have on the WACA and cricket in Western Australia
will be devastating. We will continue talks with CA and will be seeking
an understanding from them of all the elements behind the decision."
Apart from Adelaide and Brisbane, the other party most likely to be
pleased by the decision are India's cricketers. Save for a victory on an
uncharacteristic WACA ground surface in 2008, India have struggled in
Perth, and the green-tinged 2012 pitch is known to have been chief among
the motivators for the retaliatory dustbowls prepared for Australia's
visit to India earlier this year.
"One goes back to the Perth Test where the wicket was green and we
played to our strengths and won the Test in two and a half days,"
Australia's former coach Mickey Arthur said last month. "They clearly
wanted retribution for that and produced some of the toughest conditions
I'd ever seen. They went out of their way to prepare those conditions
and I can't argue with that."
Daniel Brettig is an assistant editor at ESPNcricinfo. He tweets here
Feeds: Daniel Brettig
© ESPN Sports Media Ltd.
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