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Black Caps captain Kane Williamson and Australian David Warner after the Twenty20 international in Auckland in 2018.
Cricket Australia has committed to having its men’s national team potentially in two places at once in February, to fulfill its obligations to New Zealand and South Africa.
The Sydney Daily Telegraph reported that a schedule clash in February could see Captain Tim Paine’s Australian test team travel to South Africa at the same time as Aaron Finch takes a Twenty20 side without their stars in Tasmania.
New Zealand Cricket confirmed the 2020-21 Black Caps schedule on Tuesday, with five T20 internationals against Australia from February 22 to March 7, as well as tours of the West Indies, Pakistan and Bangladesh.
JOSEPH JOHNSON / THINGS
Sir Graham Henry and Crusaders coach Scott Robertson flew into the Hagley Cricket Oval by former All Blacks captain Richie McCaw in his helicopter.
South African cricket is struggling with Covid-19 rampant in the republic, and its board in a chaotic state, leaving Australia’s scheduled three-round tour in doubt.
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The Telegraph reported that CA wants the South African tour to continue, and has told NZC that it would still send one side of the cue ball through Tasman, effectively an A-team from Australia.
Acting CA CEO Nick Hockley said it was his duty, as a powerful cricket nation, to help their rivals recover.
Shaun Botterill / Getty Images
Glenn Maxwell is likely to be seen in New Zealand in February, but the best Australian test players may not be.
“Sport around the world has been hard hit by the Covid-19 pandemic and it is up to all of us to play our part in helping international cricket get back to a healthy position,” Hockley told the Daily Telegraph.
“Organizing this series is of vital importance to NZC and we are ready to help them, as we did with the ECB with the recent white ball series in England.
“Each board will have to make concessions and sacrifices to help the international game recover from the impacts of Covid-19 and we are happy to do our bit.
“This is a unique set of circumstances brought on by the pandemic and it is not something we expect to repeat regularly in the future.”
The International Cricket Council’s Future Tours program has Australia in South Africa for three test matches between February and March.
Rick Rycroft / AP
Australian coach Justin Langer and white ball captain Aaron Finch could be on different continents with different teams early next year.
That series is crucial to the ICC Test Championship, which Australia is on track to qualify for the final at Lord’s in June.
Splitting your national team is not completely unheard of. In 2018, white ball stars like David Warner and Mitchell Starc helped spearhead a low-powered Australian T20 team in New Zealand, before joining their teammates in South Africa for the infamous ball manipulation test series.
At the end of 2014, Australia played a T20 series against South Africa at home, while the test team played Pakistan in the United Arab Emirates.
Meanwhile, NZC has yet to confirm the Australian women’s team for the disputed tri-series with England and the White Ferns at home in February-March.
NZC CEO David White said the 14-day quarantine made the show a tricky balancing act.
“It is one of the challenges with a change of course of 14 days, [Australian women] we have another tour so we are trying to figure out that detail. “
