Australia’s T20 tour of New Zealand set to be canned due to MIQ unavailability – Stuff.co.nz

Aijaz Rahi/AP

New Zealand's captain Kane Williamson, left, greets Australia's captain Aaron Finch ahead of their Twenty20 World Cup final in Dubai in November.

Seven scheduled white ball games between the Black Caps and Australia this summer are set to become none.

The three-match Twenty20 series between New Zealand and their trans-Tasman mens cricket rivals due to be played in Napier in March is likely to be cancelled, due to the unavailability and uncertainty of MIQ places and self-isolation restrictions.

That follows the cancellation of the three one-day games and solitary T20 encounter the two sides were set to contest in late January-early February in Australia. That series was abandoned as there were no managed isolation and quarantine (MIQ) beds booked for the Black Caps, meaning they had no guarantee as to when players and staff could return to New Zealand.

Its understood New Zealand Cricket has been working through the Governments most recent border announcement to see if the tour by Australia could go ahead, but it is likely to prove too difficult to arrange and it also appears Cricket Australia is resigned to not sending a team.

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That will leave the Black Caps with just two more home series this summer the two tests against South Africa in Christchurch this month, and one T20 and three one-day internationals versus the Netherlands in Mount Maunganui and Hamilton in late March-early April. New Zealand and Bangladesh drew their two-test series here in January.

ANDREW VOERMAN/STUFF

Cricket World Cup boss Andrea Nelson speaks on the impact of the shift to the red traffic light setting.

The Australian side for the tour was set to be a below-strength outfit, coached by current assistant coach Andrew McDonald, with the top side away in Pakistan at the time for a tour consisting of three tests, three ODIs and a T20 game.

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Australia's T20 tour of New Zealand set to be canned due to MIQ unavailability - Stuff.co.nz