Cricket Ireland has announced the official postponement of their home series against New Zealand and Pakistan.
Cricket Ireland announced the postponement of their two upcoming matches due in the next two months. This includes their match series against New Zealand which was supposed to take place between June 19 and July 2 and the series against Pakistan set between July 12 and 14. Their other tour against England due on September 2020, however, is still under active discussion.
These match cancellations have occurred to ensure the safety of their players and their cricket committee amid COVID-19. Both of the aforementioned series has been postponed because of the fact that the current lockdown in Ireland has been extended up until May 18 and phase 3 of the lockdown will extend up until July 19.
Both New Zealand and Pakistan shared their disappointment with the postponement of the series as they both understood the gravity of the situation. New Zealand chief executive David White said, ‘These are extremely difficult times for international cricket and we feel deeply for our friends in the northern hemisphere, whose season has been so badly disrupted. I know our players, support staff and fans were very much looking forward to the upcoming visit and are disappointed this decision needed to be taken’.
Chief executive of Pakistan Cricket Board Wasim Khan also said, ‘We fully respect and endorse Cricket Ireland's decision at this difficult time. As we have all reiterated, the safety and security of players, officials and fans come first. It remains a challenging time for all nations that are due to be hosting home series in the coming months. The PCB stands firmly with CI in these difficult times and we look forward to revisiting Ireland again as soon as normal services resume’.
The home series of Ireland against New Zealand was supposed to consist of three ODIs and T20Is while the Pakistan tour was set to have two T20Is. To learn more about these formats, visit Betwala.
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