New Zealand to host Australia, West Indies, Pakistan and Bangladesh in full-fledged home summer
New Zealand are set to be back in action
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NZC chief David White has confirmed that the country will host four nations - Australia, West Indies, Pakistan and Bangladesh - in a full-fledged home summer and have already finalized two of those series. Meanwhile, White also confirmed that the womenâs team will tour Australia in September.
One of the two nations to feature in the last-ever international game before the Covid-19 pandemic, New Zealand are all set to return to action on a cricket field. On Monday, New Zealand completed the remarkable milestone of going 100 days without a single community-transmitted Covid-19 case and with under 25 active cases to its name as of August 11, the country is now speeding up plans to bring back cricket to its shores.
David White, the chief of New Zealand Cricket (NZC), has confirmed that the Blackcaps are planning to host a full-fledged 37-day home summer which will include them hosting four countries - Pakistan, West Indies, Australia and Bangladesh. The NZC chief also confirmed that of these four nations, seriesâ against both Pakistan and West Indies have been finalized. As per the FTP, the Kiwis will host both the Windies and Pakistan for Tests and T20Is.
"We are making tremendous progress. I was just on the phone to the West Indies, they're confirmed, Pakistan is confirmed, Australia and Bangladesh... so 37 days of international cricket," White was quoted as saying by Cricbuzz.
"We'll just be held up for a week or two while we work with the government agencies on the managed isolation but they've been extremely supportive."
The Kiwis were dealt a slight blow earlier this week when the ICC announced the postponement of the 2021 Womenâs World Cup, that was scheduled to be held in the Oceanic nation, but that hasnât, however, hindered NZCâs plans for the womenâs side. White confirmed that the New Zealand Women, popularly known as âWhitefernsâ, will tour Australia in September, after which they will host their neighbours in early 2021.
"The White Ferns will tour Australia in September and then the Australia Women's team will tour New Zealand in February. We are just working through the content but probably five ODIs and three T20I.â
Last month, the Kiwis became one of the first few nations to resume outdoor training after their players partook in batch-wise training sessions. A vast majority of those players will fly to the UAE in the next week or so and join their respective IPL franchises in order to prepare for the tournament that will commence on September 19.
