Cricket Australia announced that the three-match series against Zimbabwe would not go ahead due to the health concerns of the players, match officials & volunteers.
Cricket Australia on Tuesday postponed the ODI series against Zimbabwe in August in order to prevent people to fall prey to coronavirus pandemic. The three-match tour was originally scheduled to commence from August 9-15 & would mark the end of a 12-year absence of International Cricket in Australia’s north. Keeping in mind “concern for the health and safety of players, match officials, and volunteers”, Cricket Australia announced the three-match series would not go ahead, A CA statement said a combination of factors including the short length of the series & the significant bio-secure measures would need to be implemented has also contributed to the decision to postpone the ODI series.
“While we are disappointed to postpone the series, (Cricket Australia) and (Zimbabwe Cricket) agree that in the best interest of players, match officials, volunteers as well as our fans, that this is the most practical and sensible decision,” said Cricket Australia CEO Nick Hockley.
“We are working closely with Zimbabwe Cricket on fixing alternative dates on which we can reschedule the ODI series”, he added. Zimbabwe has not visited Australia since the 2003-2004 summer when they played two Test matches.
“We were excited about facing Australia but, given the circumstances, deferring the tour was the only possible option,” said Givemore Makoni, Zimbabwe Cricket’s acting managing director.
“We are, however, looking forward to the rescheduling of the series as soon as practically possible”, added Makoni. The games were scheduled to be played on August 9, 12 & 15 respectively. Under current Australian safety guidelines & regulations, the Zimbabwean team would likely have had a 14 days quarantine when entering the country & even undergoing isolation when travelling across the state boundaries within Australia.
