Limited-overs series between Australia and New Zealand postponed

Auckland, Jan 19 (IANS) New Zealand’s limited-overs tour to Australia, originally scheduled between January 24 and February 9, has been postponed until further notice due to New Zealand’s border controls and quarantine requirements.

There was a proposal earlier from New Zealand Cricket (NZC) and Cricket Australia (CA) to extend the length of the tour so that the Kiwi players could return home at a time more manageable for the managed isolation and quarantine process but the New Zealand Government confirmed on Wednesday it had no capacity to meet the request.

The teams were scheduled to play three One-day Internationals, beginning January 30 at the Optus Stadium in Perth, followed by a one-off T20I at Manuka Oval, Canberra on February 8.

The discussions for when the postponed fixtures will be played are ongoing between CA and NZC.

Nick Hockley, CA CEO, said, “We are extremely disappointed that we won’t be able to play the scheduled matches against New Zealand as planned, however we will continue to work with New Zealand Cricket to reschedule the series.

“We thank NZC, who made every effort to make the series happen, however because they were unable to get certainty over return quarantine arrangements, it is simply just not possible at this time.

“We know fans will be disappointed and thank them for their understanding given the unique circumstances that the global pandemic presents for everyone.

“We look forward to welcoming Sri Lanka to Australia next month and will confirm the schedule for that series as soon as possible.”

NZC chief executive David White said, “As we now know, the advent of Omicron prompted a change of heart from the NZ Government, resulting in a hard 10-day mandatory isolation period being imposed on all incoming travellers.

“NZC and CA had explored a proposal to expand the tour and to push out the date on which the squad might return to New Zealand in the hope that it might be more achievable for the Government. Unfortunately, we received advice this morning that they could not provide certainty over this.”

CA is expected to confirm the schedule for their upcoming T20 Internationals against Sri Lanka in the coming days.

–IANS

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