Men’s winter tours ‘most unlikely’ and women’s postponed
AUCKLAND: The Black Caps’ upcoming tours are in serious doubt, and the White Ferns’ tour to Sri Lanka has been postponed as New Zealand Cricket tracks the effect of the Covid19 pandemic.
The national men’s side was scheduled to play matches in the Netherlands, Scotland, Ireland and the West Indies during June and July.
NZC chief executive David
White confirmed it was ‘‘most unlikely’’ those games would happen and there were also question marks over the Black Caps’ visit to Bangladesh and the New Zealand A tour to India, both scheduled during August.
‘‘Clearly, this situation is extremely disappointing for everyone involved in sport but, given the bigger picture, and the terrible toll Covid19 is taking worldwide, we need to look after not only our own people but the greater community good,’’ White said yesterday.
‘‘Cricket in New Zealand has been fortunate in that we were very much at the end of our home summer programme when this crisis struck.
‘‘However, with the lockdown now in full force, we’re mindful of the difficulties facing our cricket community.
‘‘Our current focus is very much on ensuring the future sustainability of cricket in New Zealand.’’
NZC was applying to the government wage subsidy scheme to assist in navigating the next 12 weeks.
The application was to help the organisation to continue to pay their employees during the lockdown.
Additionally, NZC staff and management had agreed to essentially exhaust their leave entitlements over the balance of the financial year (to July 31) by switching to a fourday working week.
‘‘We take our duty of care as an employer seriously and, at this juncture, want to avoid any changes to our employee head count or remuneration levels,’’ White said.
‘‘However, we’ll continue to closely monitor the effects on the wider cricket family.’’
White said that over the next few months, NZC would work closely with its stakeholders to plan for the various scenarios that might be feasible next season, including community, domestic and international options.
‘‘Although the future is uncertain, we’re determined to be well prepared for whatever opportunities arise.’’ — RNZ