New Delhi:
The Plunket Shield is the domestic first-class competition in New Zealand. The next round of matches were expected to take place at various venues in the country, including Christchurch. However, the mosque shootings in the city which took place on March 15, has resulted in some changes. Canterbury, the region where Christchurch is located, withdrew from their final match of the season following Friday's attack, according to a report in the New Zealand Herald. Canterbury's final four-day match against Wellington had been scheduled to begin at the Basin Reserve. "The team showed a united front in terms of the decision," said Canterbury Cricket CEO Jeremy Curwin. "It is clear that this tragedy will affect people in different ways, and Canterbury Cricket is here to support our players however we can. "We fully respect their decision, and I am incredibly proud of how they conducted themselves throughout this process."
Leading the competition, Central Districts will be presented with the trophy next week at Hamilton's Seddon Park. New Zealand Cricket (NZC) CEO David White said, "This isn't about cricket; it's about something much bigger and much more important than that. It's about life, it's about respect; it's about family and community. Cricket and sport takes a back seat to personal welfare."
Meanwhile, the Super Rugby match between the Crusaders and the Highlanders in Dunedin has also been called off in the wake of the shootings.
The third and final Test match between New Zealand and Bangladesh at the Hagley Oval in Christchurch, which was scheduled to be played on Saturday, was cancelled after multiple shootings in mosques in the city. The official Twitter handle of the New Zealand cricket team, @BLACKCAPS, had tweeted that a joint decision was made. “Our heartfelt condolences go out to the families and friends of those affected by the shocking situation in Christchurch. A joint decision between NZC and the Bangladesh Cricket Board has been made to cancel the Hagley Oval Test. Again both teams and support staff groups are safe,” they tweeted.
The Bangladesh cricket team, who are touring New Zealand and will play the third and final Test at the Hagley Oval in Christchurch on Saturday, had a narrow escape. A video tweeted by Bangladesh’s ESPNCricinfo correspondent Mohammad Isam showed the Bangladesh cricketers Tamim Iqbal and Taijul Islam running back from Hagley Park back to the cricket ground. The incident took place around 1.45pm local time when the team had gone to pray when the incident took place.
The Hagley Oval Test match was the last international match for both the teams before the start of the ICC Cricket World Cup 2019 which will be held in England. Tim Southee was appointed as the captain of the side after Kane Williamson was ruled out due to a pectoral injury. Will Young was going to make his debut in this Test match but it will now have to wait after the cancellation.
