Australia have abandoned their tour of New Zealand which was to include three T20Is due to lack of managed institutional quarantine facilities.
Follow Us
Australia’s short three Twenty20 International series against New Zealand has been abandoned due to the coronavirus. The three T20Is, which were scheduled to be played from mid-March and coincide with Australia’s tour to Pakistan, could not take place. The main reason is – the lack of Managed Institutional Quarantine (MIQ) facilities. Initially, there was a report that New Zealand would relax the quarantine rule for travelers from Australia.
But, with the New Zealand government not relenting, the border remains closed. Anybody traveling from Australia to New Zealand will have to undergo a hard 10-day quarantine at a MIQ facility. The Australia women’s cricket team will have to be in 10-day quarantine with the ICC Women’s World Cup 2022 expected to be played in mid-March. This comes in the wake of New Zealand’s tour of Australia being postponed as there was no agreement on the quarantine rules.
Read – Australia select full-strength squad for Pakistan tour
New Zealand Cricket CEO David White said the abandonment was inevitable. “At the time, we scheduled the visit there was a lot of hope that the trans-Tasman border would be open for those who met the right criteria. However, the advent of Omicron has, unfortunately, changed everything at the border. This has made it impossible for us to continue with the series. It’s disappointing. But we know it’s the same for businesses and individuals and other sports. We’re grateful for the international schedule we have,” White said.
With the New Zealand series abandoned, Australia will have to begin their title defense against Sri Lanka. The five-match series will begin on February 11. It will be the first series that the Aussies will play after their victorious ICC World T20 2021. David Warner has been rested for the series while Josh Inglis and Ben McDermott will open the batting. Both Inglis and McDermott were impressive in the Big Bash League.
The match at the SCG will represent the first match for Australia in the aftermath of Justin Langer’s exit. The acrimony and confusion surrounding Langer’s exit have distracted Australia in the build-up to the series. The likes of Josh Hazlewood, who missed four Ashes Tests, will be keen to get back in prime form. The IPL 2022 auction is also going to take place on February 12 and 13.
However, due to the ongoing series between Australia and Pakistan in March as well as the South Africa vs Bangladesh series, some players from the three countries might miss the start of the IPL.
