Third Ashes Test will be held at the WACA because Australia’s new stadium won’t be finished in time

Cricket Australia revealed today that the third Ashes Test will be played at the traditional WACA ground because the new Perth stadium will not be completed in time.

The match gets under way on December 14 and the governing body’s chief executive, James Sutherland, said in a statement:

“We knew it needed to be finished ahead of time and everything needed to come together, but it’s still disappointing. We were really hoping the Test match could be played at this magnificent new stadium.”

It means a return for England to a venue they hoped they had seen the back of. They have not won a Test at the WACA since December 1978 and have lost their last seven matches there, including (left) this one in 2013.