New Zealand are ready to brush aside the concerns surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic, as they get set for their men's international season. As confirmed by New Zealand Cricket (NZC) on Tuesday, the Blackcaps would get their campaign underway from November 27.
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Global cricket has taken a hit in the pandemic, as only England was the nation to have played international cricket, under a bio-bubble sphere. Currently, the Indian Premier League (IPL) is underway in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), being played across three venues, within the sphere.
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Australia, too, would be beginning its home international season somewhere around the same time. As for New Zealand, while there would be a bio-bubble sphere, it won't just be restricted to some limited venues.
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As of now, all the venues across the nation are likely to have a sphere. Meanwhile, only the opening two tours of the season, involving Windies and Pakistan, have got the approval from the government. The other remaining tours, involving Australia and Bangladesh, would be green-lit post the success of the former two.
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“I’m thrilled to be making this announcement today, given the uncertainty and difficulties over the past six or seven months. We owe a huge debt of gratitude to the New Zealand government for helping us navigate this complex process, as we do to our commercial partners and especially Spark Sport and TVNZ, for their patience and understanding," said NZC CEO, David White.
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“Hosting these tours is incredibly important to us for two reasons: international cricket brings in revenue that funds the entire game of cricket in New Zealand and, also, it’s crucial that we look after the fans of the game and sport in general, especially during these difficult times. It might sound counter-intuitive to be lowering ticket prices at a time of great additional cost and expense to the game, but we think it’s the right thing to do," he added.
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“We’ve worked very closely with Cricket Australia in what is, really, a unique set of circumstances – and we can’t speak highly enough of their commitment to the global game. The same goes for the West Indies, Pakistan, Bangladesh and England - right across the board in cricket there’s been a real spirit of cooperation," he further noted.
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Above is the schedule of Kiwis' home international summer. It is set to have a total of 21 matches, which would include 14 T20Is, three ODIs and four Tests. The focus would be on the shortest format, owing to the 2021 ICC World T20 in India.
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Meanwhile, it would be interesting to see if NZC can get any broadcasters in India. As of now, there is none, while the previous deal with Star Sports came to an end earlier this year.
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