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Happy new year 2012
AARON LAWTON
A planned New Zealand A cricket tour to Malaysia in early July has been cancelled, leaving some of the country's rising stars fuming.
The New Zealand A team were to have been captained by all-rounder Grant Elliott and included the likes of Rob Nicol, Luke Woodcock and Nathan McCullum.
But after weeks of training and preparation, the players were informed last week that the tour was not going ahead.
A-teams from around the world, including Australia, had been expecting to take part in the Twenty20 competition, but it's understood the Malaysian Cricket Board has decided to pull the pin on it.
New Zealand Cricket CEO Justin Vaughan said yesterday the situation was disappointing.
"It was supposed to be a 10-day to two-week proposed Twenty20 series in Malaysia that was to have involved the A teams of a number of countries, ours and Australia included," Vaughan said.
"It was to have been hosted by the Malaysian Cricket Board and then they contacted us last week to say that they couldn't go ahead with it as planned in July."
The organisers were still hopeful of hosting the event, perhaps in October.
"The tournament's not going ahead but we will still find some other things to do.
"We've obviously got some winter camps going on in Queensland but there was a group of players in the side that was to have been captained by Grant Elliott that were supposed to be heading to Malaysia and now that won't be happening.
"It's been caused by factors outside of our control."
The Black Caps aren't scheduled to play again until October when they tour Zimbabwe.
News that the Malaysian T20 tournament won't go ahead is a blow for the fringe players pushing for selection in the Black Caps.
But Vaughan said NZC had plenty of other programmes scheduled during the winter.
"Next week there's a fast bowling squad that will come down to Lincoln for their second camp of the winter," he said.
"They'll be bowling outside and Shane Bond and Sir Richard Hadlee will do some coaching.
"There is also a camp for emerging players and the A team, taking place in Queensland soon.
"That will be followed by a tournament which includes the A teams for Australia, India and South Africa.
"We've taken part in it for the last few years."
The Black Caps are expected to assemble in Canterbury in September in preparation for their tour of Zimbabwe.
- Sunday Star Times
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