Covid-19: The Scorchers vs Hurricanes game has been moved to Tasmania due to border issues

By Talat Masood Updated: Dec 16, 2021, 11:42 IST

The Perth Scorchers will be on the road for the remainder of the BBL season as their December 20th home game against Hobart Hurricanes is rescheduled from Perth Stadium.

Cricket Australia struggled to postpone the game on Wednesday after the West Australian government tightened its border with New South Wales, which saw a spike in Covid-19 cases amid the Omicron variant. Under a reclassified extreme risk category, travel from New South Wales to Western Australia will no longer be allowed after December 18, unless authorized under the strictest conditions. Victoria is already classified as "extreme risk" by the WA government.

The Scorchers and Hurricanes have both played games in Sydney for the past few days, which means they are not allowed to enter Western Australia. The game was confirmed on Thursday that it had moved to Tasmania on December 20, with teams currently in Hobart playing against each other at the Bellerive Oval on Tuesday night.

After playing their season opener at home against Brisbane Heat, the Western Australian Scorchers will be suspended until the state's hard line falls on February 5, with players and coaching staff planning to spend the rest of the BBL interstate. Their second game of the season against the Adelaide Strikers was moved from Perth Stadium to the Sydney Showgrounds and played behind closed doors after Strikers were not allowed in Western Australia because they had played their season opener in Melbourne.

The home games of the Scorchers against Melbourne Renegades on December 26th and Melbourne Stars on December 30th have been moved to Marvel Stadium in Melbourne. The Scorchers' home games against Sydney Thunder on January 5th and Sydney Sixers on January 6th are also expected to be played in Sydney.

However, the upheaval hasn't affected the undefeated scorchers, who can look to last season's runner-up after just four games at Optus Stadium.

"We take on the challenge and look forward to taking it," Scorchers' Cameron Bancroft told ESPNcricinfo earlier this week. "We have to enjoy this time together and just try to have fun with it."

The fifth Ashes Test, originally scheduled to take place in Perth, has recently been relocated to Hobart, while the ODI between Australia and New Zealand remains in doubt at Optus Stadium on January 30th.