New Zealand tour of West Indies âmost unlikelyâ to be held, reveals David White
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New Zealand Cricket (NZC) chief executive David White has revealed that New Zealand's tour of West Indies, scheduled in July is âmost unlikelyâ to be held amidst the coronavirus outbreak. The Blackcaps were also scheduled to tour Netherlands, Scotland and, Ireland ahead of the Caribbean tour.
The New Zealand cricket team played their last international fixture on March 13, when they played Australia in the first ODI at the SCG. After the hosts won the game by 71 runs, the rest of the series was abandoned and all New Zealand had to fly back home amidst the COVID-19 pandemic. Following that, the Plunket Shield was called off and now David White has confirmed that the women's tour of Sri Lanka, that was scheduled for later this month, has been postponed. Moreover, White also revealed that it was "most unlikely" that the Blackcaps would be touring Netherlands, Scotland, Ireland and West Indies in June and July as was originally planned.
The menâs team were originally scheduled to play three ODIs and three T20Is in the West Indies. Moreover, White also revealed about the "obvious question marks" over New Zealand's tour of Bangladesh later in August.Â
"Clearly, this situation is extremely disappointing for everyone involved in sport but, given the bigger picture, and the terrible toll COVID-19 is taking worldwide, we need to look after not only our own people but the greater community good," White said on Friday (April 3), as quoted by Cricbuzz.
"Cricket in New Zealand has been fortunate in that we were very much at the end of our home summer programme when this crisis struck. However, with the lockdown now in full force, we're mindful of the difficulties facing our cricket community. Our current focus is very much on ensuring the future sustainability of cricket in New Zealand."
