New Zealand’s tour of Australia, which was set to take place from January 24 to February 9, has been postponed until further notice due to uncertainty over the squad’s ability to return to New Zealand.
New Zealand Cricket (NZC) and Cricket Australia (CA) had proposed that the tour be extended so that the Kiwi players could return home at a time that was more manageable for the managed isolation and quarantine process, but the New Zealand Government confirmed today that it did not have the capacity to do so.
CA and NZC are still working out the details of when New Zealand’s tour of Australia can be rescheduled.
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.”
The visit was originally planned last year, after the NZ government signalled its intention to remove MIQ regulations linked to the trans-Tasman border, according to NZC chief executive David White.
“As we now know, the advent of Omicron prompted a change of strategy from the Government, resulting in a hard 10-day mandatory isolation period being imposed on all incoming travellers,” said Mr White.
“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 might be more achievable for the Government.
“But we received advice this morning that they could not provide certainty over this, either.”
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