Melbourne, Dec 10 (FN Agency) Hobart will host the fifth and the final Ashes Test match after Perth was unable to stage the fixture due to Western Australia’s strict Covid-19 quarantine requirements. Victoria, New South Wales, South Australia and ACT had placed a bid for the hosting rights, but a joint bid by Cricket Australia (CA) and the Tasmanian government was rubber-stamped by the CA on Thursday. Cricket Australia put out a tender of the hosting rights for the fifth Test match.
Earlier this week, the Australian cricket board had confirmed the relocation of the final Test following the disagreement between the CA, Western Australia government and Western Cricket Board. The deal is final and the official announcement will likely be made by this weekend, according to the ABC report. Bellerive Oval in Hobart, with a capacity of around 20000, will host its first ever Ashes Test. Also, it is the first Test match since 2016 and the 13th since 1989. The final Test match is scheduled to be played from January 5 to 9, 2022.