Health concerns cloud Kiwis cricket tour

THE New Zealand Cricket authorities are considering pulling the stumps on the Black Caps’ rescheduled June 2010 tour of Zimbabwe citing unfounded health and safety concerns that are based on the alleged collapse of the country’s public health system.

The tour has already been postponed once in 2009 because of the political instability Zimbabwe was experiencing but the formation of a coalition government between President Robert Mugabe and his rivals has seen tensions ease while the economy is beginning to recover.

However the New Zealand Cricket chief executive, Justin Vaughan and the New Zealand Cricket Players' Association boss, Heath Mills are still flagging major concerns about the proposed tour.

"The pragmatist in me suggests that there's still another two years to go in the current international playing programme and we could look to postpone again."

"Medical facilities are a concern. You can go to countries and protect yourself against infectious diseases and the like as long as you've got a decent standard of hygiene and healthcare services available to you.

"We're not in possession of all the facts quite yet, but it appears that (health) could be quite a significant concern. Certainly, NZC is non-negotiable on the matter of putting our team at risk at any time,” Vaughan told New Zealand media.

Players boss, Mills also said he would be fearful for player safety if the medical situation didn't improve in Zimbabwe.

"I'd be very concerned about them going in the existing circumstances," he said. "I fail to see how you can put the team into a country which is effectively third world, and when there's so little confidence in the health infrastructure.

"We need to be confident our players can get the appropriate standard of medical care. If you can't get those assurances, I'd be very uncomfortable about the team going,” he said

A decision will be made in March on whether the Black Caps' tour will go ahead or be postponed yet again. The other option would be to postpone the tour altogether.

Under ICC rules, a team can only withdraw from a sanctioned tour for health and safety reasons, and is immune from penalty only if it has been forced to withdraw by government order.

A New Zealand Foreign office official said, "We're keeping a watching brief on the situation in Zimbabwe as things are still relatively fluid, politically and security-wise, and the situation could easily change significantly before the tour is scheduled to begin."