New Zealand government gives green signal for cricket tours by Pakistan, West Indies in 2020

Following England cricket’s successful hosting of the West Indies and Pakistan amidst the coronavirus pandemic, New Zealand has followed suit with the government giving the green signal to host both the sides in late 2020 or early 2021 for a series. The series involving West Indies and Pakistan in England was played behind closed doors and in bio-secure venues. There were strict bio-bubble protocols in place and the series passed off without any incident.

In a statement issued by New Zealand cricket, it said, “New Zealand Cricket has received government approval to proceed with plans to host international touring sides this summer ... beginning with the West Indies and Pakistan`s men`s teams in November, December and January. A press conference to announce the details of the upcoming summer`s international ... schedule will be held early next week."

Apart from the series involving Pakistan and West Indies, New Zealand Cricket is also hoping to host Bangladesh in limited overs internationals as well as the Australian women’s team in February when New Zealand would have been staging the now postponed 50-overs World Cup.

All sports resuming

Not just cricket, but sports of all kinds is slowly making a comeback in New Zealand. Speaking to Reuters, New Zealand Minister of Sport Grant Robertson said Netball New Zealand had also been given permission to resume hosting international matches but that all incoming teams would be subject to strict protocols. New Zealand will also host Australia in two Bledisloe Cup rugby internationals in Wellington and Auckland next month.

Getting teams into managed isolation and allowing them to train and be competitive has not been an easy task. While sports teams will be operating within a bubble, safety will be ensured through the provision of normal infection prevention control mechanisms like physical separation, normal hygiene practices and PPE. Training facilities will also be secure, safe and isolated,” Robertson said.

New Zealand has been one of the success stories in the fight against the coronavirus pandemic. Initally, it had reported no new cases for 102 days and many believed that the coronavirus had ended in New Zealand, having a total of 1400 cases with just four deaths. However, a second surge saw New Zealand once again imposing a lockdown and in the last 24 hours, there have been three new cases.