WA Cricket boss Christina Matthews wants 50 per cent of profit for fifth Ashes Test after Perth loses match

WA Cricket want to recoup at least 50 per cent of their financial losses and are demanding more say over next summer’s international schedule after being officially stripped of the fifth Ashes Test.

Cricket Australia moved to confirm the inevitable on Monday despite the WA Government’s last-ditch attempt to reorder the series and swap tests with Adelaide.

WA Cricket is expected to lose between $3 million and $5 million as a result.

CA said “pandemic-related restrictions” were to blame, which included quarantine restrictions for both the Australian and English camps as well as broadcast crews in a decision that left CA chief executive Nick Hockley “very disappointed.”

WA Cricket chief executive Christina Matthews urged CA think “commercially” when deciding which venue would host the final test with the organisation expecting to recoup some profits of wherever the match is held.

“I don’t know how they’re going to allocate the Test now but if there’s a financial advantage in allocating that test to a particular venue, we’d expect to receive some of that financial advantage to compensate for what we’ve lost,” Matthew said.

“I’d hope we’d recover 50 per cent.

“We’ll now have to look at our costs and expense base to see where we can save some money. I don’t know if we’ll have to cut some programs to get to the position we need to.

“I would say knowing how cricket has suffered over the past two years, they’ve got to go commercially where it’s best but I also have empathy for Tassie.”

South Africa are due to tour Australia next summer and Matthews hoped Perth would be given their choice of Test.

She said an audacious bid to swap tests with Adelaide was not “seriously contemplated” by CA and the schedule was essentially fixed when the WACA started to raise concerns around late September.

Ultimately Matthews said the WA Government and Cricket Australia were equally responsible for the decision.

“I’m cranky that it’s the second year in a row we’re losing a test but there’s really no one to blame which makes it really hard,” she said.

“What changed was a full understanding of what the broadcast needs were and the lack of time between Sydney and Melbourne.

“We were aware of certain aspects of it but the sheer numbers they bring for broadcast is not something we ever have to worry about.

“That wasn’t fully known until 10 days ago.

“What’s disappointing for me personally is how hard we fought for cricket to be at that stadium, knowing what that plan was going to be and how big the Ashes were going to be.

“We’ve missed an opportunity to be part of a spectacular event.”