WACA curator hoping for pre-Ashes heat

WACA curator Matt Page says some hot weather will help him prepare a worthy wicket for the third Ashes Test in Perth.

WACA curator Matt Page is praying for hot weather over the next six weeks as he attempts to prepare an Ashes wicket that could revive memories of the good old days.

The WACA will host the third Ashes Test, starting on December 14.

But the ground will get an early test run during the two-day tour match, starting on Saturday between England and a WA XI.

A wetter-than-usual July and August in Perth left the WACA's ground staff playing catch-up ahead of the tour match.

But if Perth can get its decent share of hot weather over the next six weeks, Page is confident he will be able to prepare an Ashes deck worth remembering.

"It's similar to baking a cake - you need the perfect ingredients; you need the right oven temperatures," Page said.

"If we get the good weather, it makes our job a hell of a lot easier.

"If we don't get that weather, then we have to tinker around with things."

This summer's Test in Perth will be the last Ashes match played at the WACA.

From next year, all of WA's blockbuster Tests will shift to the new Perth Arena.

The WACA was once rated as one of the fastest and bounciest pitches in the world.

The venue has struggled in recent years to recreate those conditions, but Page hasn't given up hope of creating the perfect wicket.

"That's what we're always working towards, and that's the aim - to get it back to those glory days," Page said.

"Whether we can get it there, only time will tell. But we are leaving no stone unturned in pursuit of that."

Page is also responsible for creating the drop-in decks that will be used at the 60,000-seat Perth Arena.

England play Australia in a one-dayer on January 28 in Perth.

If Perth Arena is ready by then, it will be played at that venue, instead of the WACA.


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