On Thursday, the 14th of May, Cricket Ireland declared that their home series against New Zealand and Pakistan had been postponed while the away series against England is under a vigorous discussion. It was decided following a virtual board meeting on Wednesday, the 13th of May, in the afternoon, which took into account several important issues related to impacts on operations and events in 2020 from the COVID-19 pandemic.

“The men’s home series against New Zealand has been postponed; the men’s home T20Is against Pakistan has been postponed; the three men’s ODI series against England scheduled to be played in England are under active discussion, with the possibility that they may move from their original dates of September.”, said Cricket Ireland in a statement.

“It had become fairly obvious following the recent Government announcements in the Republic and UK that the New Zealand series was not feasible. We had also said previously that the fate of some fixtures could be dependent upon decisions by the travelling team’s government.”, said Warren Deutrom, the Chief Executive of Cricket Ireland.

“That is what has happened in this instance – we were taking the recommendation to yesterday’s Board Meeting to postpone the series in any case, however, on the eve of the meeting New Zealand Cricket (NZC) contacted us to inform us that they could not travel. While, of course, it’s disappointing for the fans in Northern Ireland who I know we’re looking forward to the visit of the World Cup runners-up, given the circumstances we entirely understand NZC was left with no choice but to stay at home.”, further added Chief Executive Warren Deutrom. 

“These are challenging times for international cricket, and we feel deeply for our friends in the northern hemisphere, whose season has been so badly disrupted. I know our players; support staff and BLACKCAPS fans were very much looking forward to the upcoming visit and are disappointed this decision needed to be taken. Hopefully, in brighter and less dangerous times, we can return and play the games that have been postponed.”, said David White, the Chief Executive of New Zealand Cricket.

“We fully respect and endorse Cricket Ireland’s decision at this difficult time. As we have all reiterated, the safety and security of players, officials and fans comes first. It remains a challenging time for all nations that are due to be hosting home series in the coming months; we as a cricketing family will continue to rally and work closely together. The PCB stands firmly with CI in these difficult times, and we look forward to revisiting Ireland as soon as normal services resume.”, said Wasim Khan, the Chief Executive of Pakistan Cricket Board.