AUCKLAND, April 7: New Zealand’s national cricket team are monitoring the deadly pneumonia outbreak in Asia before deciding whether to tour Sri Lanka later this month, team captain Stephen Fleming said on Monday.

The squad is scheduled to fly to Sri Lanka via Singapore in less than a fortnight for the start of their tour but have some concerns about the rapidly spreading Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS), which has killed nearly 100 people.

“We’re going to have to watch it,” Fleming said.

“If it progresses as expected we might have a problem getting there. When you take into account insurance complications and the already tight security measures ... it’s definitely something to watch.”

New Zealand Cricket (NZC) spokesman Simon Wilson said his organisation was unlikely to make a decision until much closer to the departure date, with Sri Lanka’s long-running civil conflict also a factor.

“NZC is watching developments, talking to the various authorities, and assessing the entire picture in terms of security and safety, as it does with all overseas tours.”

New Zealand Cricket Players Association executive manager Heath Mills said that his organisation had fielded some concerns from players.

“We’ve certainly been following it and some of the players have asked for information so they can learn more about it, so there’s definitely some increased awareness out there,” he said.

The Black Caps have already developed a reputation for backing out of difficult tours, recently refusing to play a World Cup match in Kenya and earlier refusing to tour Pakistan.

Their reputation suffered as a consequence of the Kenya refusal when it turned out many of the key players were involved in a night club brawl in South Africa at the time they should have been playing in Nairobi.—AFP