Sydney or Melbourne could host two Ashes Test matches this summer as both cities are tipped as potential replacements for the in-doubt Perth Test match in January.
Government border restrictions have placed Western Australia's chances of hosting the Test against England in major doubt, with the likelihood of Perth hosting the fifth Test fading each day.
WACA boss Christina Matthews recently told the ABC that the prospects of hosting the Test on January 14-18 had gained a greater degree of doubt, with broadcasting another issue Cricket Australia are looking to balance.
"I'd probably say at the moment I'm 50-50," Matthews said.
"I'd gone as high as 97 per cent, but I've gone back to 50-50. We'll wait and see.
"One of the difficulties for cricket is just the high level of technology that's needed around the broadcast and the number of people that are needed around the broadcast compared to an AFL broadcast.
"It's one thing getting the players in (but) it's another thing getting the people who have to broadcast."
Despite Tasmania firming as a potential suitor to host the fifth Test of the summer, news.com.au's Robert Craddock reports Melbourne and Sydney are seen as the frontrunners to replace the Perth Test should it be scrapped.
It is unlikely the travelling English squad will see eye-to-eye with Western Australia's strict quarantine protocols, despite there being some suggestion of shorter quarantine ahead of the match.
Canberra have also been vocal in their hopes of hosting the fifth Test should it be removed from WA, with Manuka Oval's bid against its surrounding states a less enticing prospect for Cricket Australia.
