BORDER CLOSURES PUSH TIGERS OUT OF WNCL OPENING POSITION
TASMANIA will no longer kick off the WNCL season after Cricket Australia adjusted the roster for a second time due to state border closures from COVID-19.
The Tigers women were to open their campaign on home soil against Victoria on Friday following the first release of the fixture.
An adjustment saw that clash and another against Queensland on Sunday pushed back, and the side was slated to play the first match of the tournament on Monday against South Australia in Adelaide.
CA on Wednesday made further changes, leaving the Tigers waiting another week to start their 50-over season.
Tasmania will meet the
ACT in its first encounter on February 3 in Canberra, followed by the match against the Scorpions on February 5, also in the nation’s capital.
The opening seven matches of the competition, due to have been played between January 25 and 29, have been rescheduled.
“The latest changes to the 2020-21 WNCL schedule, which will see the season now begin on January 30, have been made to ensure the competition is given the best chance to be completed in full,” Cricket Australia executive general manager, high performance, Drew Ginn said.
“We’d like to acknowledge the work of our state and territory associations, particularly the high-performance managers at each, who have worked together to ensure the domestic proceed.
“While many changes to the schedule throughout the summer have occurred in reaction to border closures, a number of proactive decisions have also been taken to ensure the strength of the competition is maintained, in balance with the welfare of players and staff.
“This process will continue schedule can for the remainder of the summer as we continue to monitor the public health situation, border closures and related impacts.
“We thank everyone involved in Australian Cricket for their flexibility and understanding and look forward to the start of the WNCL season.”
Tasmania’s first home match will be against Western Australia on February 19.