New Zealand tour of Australia postponed due to Omicron threat

In what comes as a big news, New Zealand's tour to Australia has been postponed. The fact that it has been indefinitely postponed just 11 days before the first game of the tour is disheartening, to say the least. This is due to New Zealand’s strict COVID-19 quarantine requirements.

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Due to the threat posed by the Omicron variant, the New Zealand government changed its entry rules. There is now a ten-day mandatory quarantine period for all who enter the country. Besides, Wellington failed to guarantee quarantine facilities for the team.

Despite the fact that Australia offered to extend the length of the tour so that the Kiwi players could return at a time when there was availability, the government said that they didn't have the capacity to meet that request. Currently, both the boards are now in discussion as to when the series can be played, as both sides have a tight schedule.

“As we now know, the advent of Omicron prompted a change of heart from the government. NZC and CA had explored a proposal to expand the tour and to push out the date on which the squad might return to New Zealand, in the hope that might be more achievable for the government. But we received advice this morning that they could not provide certainty over this, either,” said NZC chief David White.

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The Black Caps were scheduled to play three ODIs and a T20I on the tour. It is to be noted that this isn't the first Trans-Tasmanian series to be called off in the recent past. Nevertheless, CA chief executive Nick Hockley confirmed that they are working on rescheduling the series.

"We are extremely disappointed that we won't be able to play the scheduled matches against New Zealand as planned, however we will continue to work with New Zealand Cricket to reschedule the series. We thank NZC, who made every effort to make the series happen, however, because they were unable to get certainty over return quarantine arrangements, it is simply just not possible at this time," said Nick Hockley.