7:03 AM
Happy new year 2012
AARON LAWTON
The Government has signalled it won't stand in the way of a proposed cricket tour by Zimbabwe to New Zealand for what would be the first time in 11 years next summer.
The Black Caps are due to tour Zimbabwe in October, which would be their first tour of the troubled African nation since 2005, when their decision to go polarised opinion. The proposed tour has already been delayed twice due to security concerns.
Following October's series, it's expected that the African side will then travel to New Zealand for a reciprocal series.
New Zealand Cricket resumed bilateral ties with Zimbabwe last year by sending a New Zealand A team on a tour there.
Standing in the way of Zimbabwe's tour here, however, is the fact the government has imposed travel sanctions on sporting tours from the country in opposition to the ruling regime of President Robert Mugabe.
But Sports and Foreign Minister Murray McCully confirmed yesterday that a waiver would be provided to allow the Zimbabwean cricket team to tour New Zealand despite the political situation.
"New Zealand Cricket has advised us of their intention to travel to Zimbabwe which, I think, is in October," McCully said. "They have asked us whether we have any concerns about that and, of course, made the point to us that the expectation will be that Zimbabwe is able to make a return visit.
"The return visit runs smack into the travel sanctions that operate in relation to sporting tours from Zimbabwe. So I have taken some advice from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and what I've said to New Zealand Cricket is that we have no concerns about them touring Zimbabwe. We have therefore adopted the position that we are prepared to issue visas for the Zimbabwe team to come to New Zealand and to provide an exemption from the sanctions for that purpose.
"That is all conditional, of course, on the situation in Zimbabwe not deteriorating in a significant way."
In 2005, the government refused to grant visas to the Zimbabwean cricketers, and a proposed tour to New Zealand was called off.
The New Zealand government has recently been engaged in a public spat with Fiji after deciding not to relax travel sanctions that would allow rugby officials and players with military links to enter the country during the Rugby World Cup.
McCully described the situation with the Zimbabwean cricket team as "identical" and was at pains to point out that the Fijian rugby team had been granted a similar waiver.
The debate surrounding the Fijian rugby team relates to individuals with military links and McCully said if any Zimbabwean cricketers boasted similar connections they would also be refused entry into New Zealand.
"The situation [in Zimbabwe] is not fantastic, but there are aspects of stability there and our judgement is that we shouldn't do anything to derail the planned sporting exchange," McCully said.
- Sunday Star Times
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