AUCKLAND: New Zealand’s winter tours to Netherlands, Scotland, Ireland and West Indies are in ‘serious doubt’ due to the coronavirus and there are ‘obvious question marks’ looming over the tour to Bangladesh in August, the national cricket board said on Friday.

“Clearly, this situation is extremely disappointing for everyone involved in sport but, given the bigger picture, and the terrible toll Covid-19 is taking worldwide, we need to look after not only our own people but the greater community good,” New Zealand Cricket (NZC) chief executive David White told reporters in Auckland.

“Cricket in New Zealand has been fortunate in that we were very much at the end of our home summer programme when this crisis struck.

“However, with the lockdown now in full force, we’re mindful of the difficulties facing our cricket community. Our current focus is very much on ensuring the future sustainability of cricket here.”

New Zealand has reported over 800 infections and one death from the virus.

As in other countries, virtually all sport in New Zealand has been shut down as part of containment efforts, triggering job losses and pay-cuts.

White said the board had not yet needed to resort to staff cuts but had switched to four-day working weeks and applied to a government scheme which subsidises wages at organisations affected by the coronavirus.

“We take our duty of care as an employer seriously and, at this juncture, want to avoid any changes to our employee headcount or remuneration levels,” he said. “However, we’ll continue to closely monitor the effects on the wider cricket family.”

NZC also confirmed that it had postponed the national women’s team’s tour of Sri Lanka which was scheduled for later this month.

The New Zealand government announced earlier on Friday that annual funding to national sports organizations for this financial year will continue into next year to ensure those organizations can continue to operate in the absence of revenue from broadcasting, sponsorship and sports betting.

“The global spread of coronavirus has had a significant impact on sport and recreation in New Zealand, including the cancellation or postponement of all sport from international, professional to grassroots competitions and the closure of community facilities,” Sports Minister Grant Robertson said. “Sport, recreation and play are vital for the health and well-being of our communities, and we are committed to doing everything we can to support the sector, both at a grassroots and elite level, into the future.”

Published in Dawn, April 4th, 2020