New Zealand and Australia series postponed amid omicron concerns

Wellington: New Zealand’s limited-overs tour of Australia has been postponed indefinitely amid tight border controls and quarantine requirements in NZ, to control the virus outbreak, as the Kiwis return is uncertain.

All the travelers visiting New Zealand had to go through a mandatory 10-day quarantine period, and the government could not guarantee that the national team would be able to stay in quarantine facilities.

The World Test Champions and World Cup runner-up in ODI and T20 were scheduled to arrive in Australia next week for three ODIs and a one-off T20I.

The three-match ODI series was supposed to be a part of Ross Taylor’s international farewell.

The tour, scheduled for January 24 to February 9, comprised a few a single-day internationals in Perth, Hobart and Sydney and a solitary 2020 match in Canberra.

New Zealand Cricket (NZC) and Cricket Australia (CA) reported they were talking about when the fixtures could be performed.

“As we now know, the introduction of Omicron prompted change of heart from the NZ federal government, resulting in a really hard 10-working day required isolation interval becoming imposed on all incoming travelers,” NZC Chief Govt David White explained.

“NZC and CA experienced explored a proposal to increase the tour and to drive out the date on which the squad may possibly return to New Zealand in the hope that could be far more achievable for the authorities.

“However, we acquired information this morning that they could not deliver certainty about this.”