New Zealand confirms tours of the West Indies and Pakistan

New Zealand confirms tours of the West Indies and Pakistan. New Zealand will kick off its summer of cricket with a Twenty20 match against the West Indies at Eden Park on November 27 before the two-test series against the Caribbeans and Pakistan, New Zealand Cricket said Tuesday.

The New Zealand government had given the green light to tours of the West Indies and Pakistan and was also expected to approve tours of Australia and Bangladesh in February and March, the cricket board said.

“We owe a huge debt of gratitude to the New Zealand government for helping us navigate this complex process,” New Zealand Cricket Chief Executive Officer David White said in a statement.

“Organizing these tours is incredibly important to us for two reasons: international cricket generates revenue that funds the entire game of cricket in New Zealand and, also, it is crucial that we take care of fans of the game and the sport in general, especially during these hard times “.

After three T20s against the West Indies, New Zealand plays the first Test against the Caribbeans at Seddon Park in Hamilton from December 3 and the second at Wellington’s Basin Reserve from December 11.

The Black Caps will also play three T20s against Pakistan ahead of their test series, with the first test on December 26 in Tauranga and the second on January 3 in Christchurch.

New Zealand’s scheduled white-ball tour to Australia in January was postponed last week, but Australia is scheduled for five T20s in New Zealand starting February 22, and Bangladesh will play three one-day internationals and three T20s starting. March 13.

With no international cricket in New Zealand for most of January and February, players will be released to appear in the national T20 “Super Smash” competition. White said the NZC would cut general match ticket prices by nearly half to acknowledge the “Challenging circumstances many New Zealanders found themselves in in the wake of the COVID-19 crisis.”