New Zealand‘s white-ball tour of Australia has been postponed indefinitely due to travel restrictions, Cricket Australia has confirmed.
The Black Caps were due to play series of ODI and T20 matches in Australia, starting next week.
“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,” CA boss Nick Hockley said.
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“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.
“We know fans will be disappointed and thank them for their understanding given the unique circumstances that the global pandemic presents for everyone.”
Australia were set to host New Zealand in three one-dayers, the first of which originally scheduled for Sunday January 30 in Perth.
Two others were set for Wednesday February 2 and Saturday February 5 in Hobart and Sydney, respectively.
One T20 was scheduled for Tuesday February 8 in Canberra.
“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 travellers,” said NZC chief executive David White.
“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. Unfortunately, we received advice this morning that they could not provide certainty over this.”
Sri Lanka remain scheduled to come to Australia to play five T20s, starting on February 11.
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