New Perth Stadium to host England ODI in January

Australia and England will play an ODI in the new Perth Stadium on January 28, the first major sporting event to be held at the venue after construction couldn't be finished in time to host the third Ashes Test next month.

Cricket Australia had initially hoped to schedule the mid-December Test at the stadium, but the governing body was disabused of that notion after the chief executive James Sutherland met with stadium management and Western Australia state government ministers in May. Its availability for the limited-overs fixture is part of a compromise that will also see the Perth Scorchers play any Big Bash League home finals at the venue (if Scorchers make the knockouts or the final, they will both be played at new stadium), after hosting all their regular season games at the WACA.

"For Cricket to host the first major sporting event at Perth Stadium is a huge honour for our sport, and given it's an Australia-England fixture, we are confident that will be able to celebrate history being made with a sold-out stadium," Sutherland said in Perth. "Thanks must go to the WA Government, VenuesLive and the WACA for working hard to enable this to happen. The stadium is simply state-of-the-art, and a magnificent asset for the state and WA sports fans.

"We very much look forward to bringing the excitement of an Australia-England ODI to Perth Stadium on 28 January."

Christina Matthews, the WACA chief executive, said the arrangement would mean a fitting handover of major cricket events from one venue to the other. "We're extremely excited to be the first sport and first major event at Perth Stadium, which comes after close collaboration with the WA State Government and Cricket Australia to ensure a world-class, fan-first cricket experience at the new venue," she said.

"Not only will we be able to reach a larger live audience through increased capacity, the ODI will showcase the new stadium to a large global televised audience. Playing a final Ashes Test and regular BBL matches at the WACA Ground and passing the torch to Perth Stadium with an England ODI, is a fitting way to start a new chapter in WA's cricket tale."