Picture Credit: BBL
The remaining five matches scheduled to take place at Perth's Optus Stadium in Big Bash League will now be relocated to alternate venues, confirmed Cricket Australia on Thursday. The decision has been taken in light of state border controls in West Australia, which means playing the matches at Optus Stadium is not possible anymore.
Perth Scorchers' match against Hobart Hurricanes scheduled to take place on December 20 has been relocated now to Blundstone Arena, following a tightening of WA's restrictions that will see New South Wales return to being an "extreme risk '' zone from Saturday. Speaking on the development, West Australia's Chief Executive Christina Matthews said, "We have worked tirelessly over the past few months to secure as many BBL matches as possible. Unfortunately, the border restrictions and the league's inability to change fixtures has meant we have had to relocate our home matches to continue our season."
Whereas, the General Manager of Big Bash League was quick to respond by saying that, "We understand that Scorchers' fans must be disappointed with the news but we are keeping safety on priority and due to which we have reached such a crossroad. While our preference was to play these matches in Perth, but with current arrangements, this was simply not possible."
Meanwhile, the Marvel Stadium will host the next two matches, scheduled on December 26 & 30. Whereas, the venues for ahead matches are yet to announce.
