New Zealand’s Australia tour postponed over COVID-19

New Zealand’s limited-overs tour of Australia has been postponed indefinitely due to uncertainty over when the visitors would be able to return home due to COVID-19 protocols, the cricket boards of both countries said on Wednesday.

The tour, scheduled for January 24 to February 9, comprised three one-day internationals in Perth, Hobart and Sydney and a solitary Twenty20 match in Canberra.

New Zealand Cricket (NZC) and Cricket Australia (CA) said they were discussing when the fixtures could be played.

“As we now know, the advent of Omicron prompted a change of heart from the NZ government, resulting in a hard 10-day mandatory isolation period being imposed on all incoming travelers,” NZC Chief Executive David White said.

NZC and CA said that they are in discussions over when the postponed matches will be played.

Australia are scheduled to play five T20s against Sri Lanka from February 11.

ARR