{"id":888326,"date":"2021-09-17T14:52:04","date_gmt":"2021-09-17T09:52:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.pakistanstandard.com\/?p=888326"},"modified":"2022-08-30T15:36:43","modified_gmt":"2022-08-30T10:36:43","slug":"new-zealand-cancels-cricket-tour-of-pakistan","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.pakistanstandard.com\/new-zealand-cancels-cricket-tour-of-pakistan\/","title":{"rendered":"New Zealand Cancels Cricket Tour of Pakistan"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"

File photo. Marty Melville\u2014AFP<\/p><\/div>\n

In statement, New Zealand Cricket says decision prompted by \u2018escalation\u2019 in threat levels<\/h6>\n

The New Zealand cricket team on Friday cancelled at the last-minute a planned series of matches in Pakistan, with a statement by New Zealand Cricket saying the decision was prompted by security threats.<\/p>\n

\u201cFollowing an escalation in the New Zealand government threat levels for Pakistan, and advice from New Zealand Cricket security advisers on the ground, it has been decided the Black Caps will not continue with the tour,\u201d read a statement issued by New Zealand Cricket. \u201cArrangements are now being made for the team\u2019s departure,\u201d it added.<\/p>\n

New Zealand Cricket chief executive David White said it was not possible to continue with the tour given the advice he was receiving. \u201cI understand this will be a blow for the PCB [Pakistan Cricket Board], who have been wonderful hosts, but player safety is paramount and we believe this is the only responsible option,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n

In its own statement, the PCB said that New Zealand Cricket had unilaterally decided to postpone the series. \u201cPakistan Cricket Board and Pakistan government made foolproof security arrangements for all visiting teams. We have assured the New Zealand Cricket of the same,\u201d it said, adding that Prime Minister Imran Khan had personally informed New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern that \u201cwe have one of the best intelligence systems in the world and that no security threat of any kind exists for the visiting team.\u201d<\/p>\n

Claiming that the New Zealand team\u2019s security officials had been satisfied with security arrangements thus far, the PCB said it was willing to continue the scheduled matches. \u201cHowever, cricket lovers in Pakistan and around the world will be disappointed by this last minute withdrawal,\u201d it added.<\/p>\n

The first of three ODI matches was meant to begin at 2 p.m., but players never reached the ground at Rawalpindi and were told to stay inside their rooms. Fans were also not allowed into the ground.<\/p>\n

The series was set to be New Zealand\u2019s first in Pakistan since 2003, with five Twenty20s planned for Lahore after the three one-day matches in Rawalpindi. The team had not toured Pakistan since 2003 due to security concerns.<\/p>\n

The New Zealand Cricket team had reached Pakistan on Saturday and had underwent mandatory isolation for three days before commencing practice sessions on Sept. 15.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

In statement, New Zealand Cricket says decision prompted by \u2018escalation\u2019 in threat levels<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":326,"featured_media":846016,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7,54],"tags":[9706,512,101,568,30444,493,1289,148,24308,498,3517],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.pakistanstandard.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/10\/cricket-stock.jpg","jetpack-related-posts":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pakistanstandard.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/888326"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pakistanstandard.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pakistanstandard.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pakistanstandard.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/326"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pakistanstandard.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=888326"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.pakistanstandard.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/888326\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pakistanstandard.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/846016"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pakistanstandard.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=888326"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pakistanstandard.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=888326"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pakistanstandard.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=888326"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}