Christina Matthews: WACA chief reveals Perth Stadium will host first cricket test of the summer for 7 years

Perth looks set to host the first Test of the Australian summer of cricket for the next seven years. Outgoing WA Cricket chief executive Christina Matthews said on Wednesday that the five-day Test match had been locked in at Optus Stadium until 2030, a massive win for the State. Cricket Australia officially announced earlier this week that the national side would host India at Optus Stadium from November 22. Matthews told 7NEWS the venue would also host the first Test of the summer for the following six years. It would mean Australia would also play England in Perth to start the 2025 summer. Perth was heavily criticised by the eastern states for its crowd numbers in December’s Pakistan Test, which was rebranded as The West Test for the first time and saw 59,125 punters roll through Optus Stadium across four days. Former Australian all-rounder Simon O’Donnell even labelled the figure “deplorable.” Matthews told 7NEWS it was important for the State to get behind the event to secure its long-term future. “It’s up to us now to support that first Test and show that it’s something we really want to have,” she said. “With India (this) year and England the year after, this stadium’s going to be buzzing.” The Sunday Times also revealed this week Cricket WA would be given greater autonomy to market the West Test in a bid to boost attendance. This year’s West Test series opener will be followed by a day-night Test in Adelaide starting December 6 and the third Test at the Gabba the week after before the traditional Boxing Day and New Year’s events for Melbourne and Sydney. In an exclusive interview with The Sunday Times, Matthews said she was optimistic about the future of the Test in Perth. “When we first went to the stadium, we had a four-year business plan ... we only got two years, and then COVID struck,” she said. “We missed the opportunity to secure it by not having the two biggest teams. “We have now had to wait for that to come around again. We have got India next year and then England. That will tell us really what happens. “If England is not sold out, you could say we have done a poor job. Because we are coming off a really exciting Ashes series in England.” Matthews said the earlier Test, which was lead into the start of the Big Bash season, would be “good for our business, good for our players and good for our economies”. It comes as CA boss Nick Hockley opened up on Brisbane losing its traditional first Test to Perth, stating other capital cities had stadiums that were “well ahead” of the Gabba. Hockley said Queensland sports fans deserved a long-term solution after the state’s government rejected a proposal to rebuild the venue. “We’ve talked about the Perth Test, and we’ve seen how having a city-centre, state-of-the-art stadium can be the catalyst for sport and (also) more major events,“ he said. Matthews will officially step down as chief executive this week, bringing an end to her hugely successful 12-year stint.