Ashes: We would desperately like to play the fifth Test in Perth, says Nick Hockley

Perth [Australia], October 11 : Cricket Australia (CA) chief executive Nick Hockley has said the board is "desperately" trying to stage the fifth Ashes Test in Perth.
The Ashes between England and Australia is set to commence on December 8 in Brisbane. The fifth and final Test is slated to be played in Perth but the recent COVID-19 restrictions enforced by the West Australian government have created doubts over the match.
"We would desperately like to play the fifth Test in Perth, it's absolutely our intention to do so. Those discussions are going on right as we speak. We are encouraged by the experience we had last summer when we were able to play five BBL matches in January," ESPNcricinfo quoted Hockley as saying.
"There's been a whole winter of experience of playing elite sport at Perth Stadium in biosecure conditions. We have strong relationships and are working through the detail as to what that might look like.
"It's really important we are giving both squads, match officials and broadcasters a great experience and their wellbeing is front of mind," he added.
The fate of the one-off Test between Afghanistan and Australia hangs in balance and Hockley said Cricket Australia is "most likely" to postpone the game.
"The work we've been doing is to understand the situation on the ground. We made our position very, very clear off the back of some earlier comments around cricket potentially not being supported for women and girls," said Hockley.
"It's most likely that we will postpone the Test until a time when there is more clarity following consultation with the Australian government," he added.
Coming back to the Ashes, England men's head coach Chris Silverwood on Sunday named a 17-player squad for the series.
England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) said all 17 players have been capped at Test level and are the strongest available squad selected by Silverwood. Ten of the 17 will be touring Australia in an Ashes series for the first time, including vice-captain Jos Buttler.
ECB said Surrey all-rounder Sam Curran was not considered for selection after a second scan has confirmed that he has a stress fracture in his lower back. More detail regarding his management and likely return will follow after further specialist consultation.
England squad for the Ashes: Joe Root (c), James Anderson, Jonathan Bairstow, Dom Bess, Stuart Broad, Rory Burns, Jos Buttler, Zak Crawley, Haseeb Hameed, Dan Lawrence, Jack Leach, Dawid Malan, Craig Overton, Ollie Pope, Ollie Robinson, Chris Woakes, Mark Wood.