Black Caps test with Bangladesh called off

The test match between the Black Caps and Bangladesh will not go ahead.

The Bangladesh cricket team escaped a Christchurch mosque where a mass shooting took place yesterday.

New Zealand Cricket chief executive David White said the match had been called off. ‘‘A joint decision between NZC and [Bangladesh] has been made to cancel the Hagley Oval Test.’’

Stuff saw about seven or eight ‘‘very shaken’’ members of the touring side getting off the team bus yesterday afternoon and moving into their hotel.

An official ushering the team from the bus to the hotel indicated that it was unlikely the third test against New Zealand would be played.

‘‘There’s no thoughts toward the game. That’s not the biggest concern right now, the players need space,’’ he said.

Cricinfo’s Bangladesh correspondent Mohammad Isam posted a video to Twitter of the team rushing through Hagley Park away from the mosque.

Bangladesh opening batsman Tamim Iqbal tweeted about the ‘‘frightening experience’’.

‘‘Entire team got saved from active shooters!!! Frightening experience and please keep us in your prayers,’’ he wrote.

Bangladesh’s performance and strategic analyst Shrinivas tweeted that there was a lot of panic.

‘‘Just escaped active shooters!!! Heartbeats pumping badly and panic everywhere!! #Christchurch Mosque,’’ he wrote.

Bangladesh wicketkeeper and batsman Mushfiqur Rahim also tweeted how fortunate they were.

‘‘Alhamdulillah Allah save us today while shooting in Christchurch in the mosque . . . we r extremely lucky . . . never want to see this things happen again . . . pray for us.’’

Mario Villavarayen, the team’s strength and conditioning coach, said the players were shaken up but fine.

‘‘I spoke to one of them shortly after [the incident]. They didn’t see anything but heard gunshots. They were at the ground [Hagley Oval] and just started running.

‘‘The coaching staff were all at the hotel. The players just started running when they heard the shots.’’