NZ Government propose ban

Zimbabwe’s tour of New Zealand in December may be cancelled, the New Zealand government has revealed today.

The country’s foreign minister, Phil Goff, has stated that Zimbabwe’s cricket team may be banned from entering the country due to “appalling abuses of human rights”.

“The Zimbabwe cricket team should not anticipate that it will be granted entry into New Zealand,” explained Goff in a statement. “The imposition of a ban on the team would send a strong message to the Mugabe regime that New Zealanders and their government abhor the actions it is taking against its people.”

Goff went on to comment that because of the dictatorial-type regime and the recent trends of governments in Zimbabwe, New Zealand’s government would not look kindly on a visit from their national team.

New Zealand Cricket officials were unavailable for comment, as chief-executive Martin Sneddon and chairman Sir John Anderson were en-route to London for the ICC general meeting.

The upcoming tour by New Zealand’s cricketers would take place however, Goff said. An independent security report confirmed that player safety wouldn’t be an issue.

Unless a tour is cancelled citing security and player safety, a country would be liable for a minimum fine of US$2 million (NZ$2.8 million). New Zealand Prime Minister Helen Clark has publicly admitted that she “wouldn’t be seen dead” in Zimbabwe in its current situation.