Change of test venue?

Press, 28 October 1982, Page 36

Change of test venue?

NZPA Perth The Australian Cricket Board was yesterday looking for an alternative venue for the first test of the Ashes cricket series between Australia and England, scheduled to start at the W.A.C.A. ground, Perth, on November 12.

The board yesterday indicated there would be a strong possibility that Perth would lose the test because of a Private Member’s Bill, which bans all forms of tobacco advertising in Western Australia. The Liberal member for Subiaco, Dr Gabriel Dadour, introduced the bill, which is now before the state Parliament.

The board is obligated to display the Benson and Hedges name at each end of each test ground, and the bill, if passed, would not allow that. “In view of our contractual arrangements with the Benson and Hedges Company, the board will have to give serious consideration to playing the first test elsewhere if the bill is passed,” said the executive director of the A.C.8., David Richards, in Melbourne yesterday. “As a precaution, we are already looking for an alternative venue, and we’ll be watching the situation closely over the next week.”

The chairman of the A.8.C., Phil Ridings, yesterday released a statement relating to the sponsorship of Australian cricket by Benson and Hedges. “The board’s firm policy is that sporting bodies in Australia should be free to accept sponsorship from whatever source they wish,” the statement said.

“The Benson and Hedges sponsorship of cricket over the last 10 years has been a significant factor in enabling the Australian Cricket Board to provide the appropriate rewards to players and to assist in the game’s general development.” Tasmania has already made a bid to stage the first test should the A.C.B. decide to move it from Perth.

The Tasmanian Premier, Robin Gray, issued a statement yesterday saying his state was ready to stage the first test.