New Zealand Cricket is "absolutely" confident that all their proposed international games for next summer will go ahead as scheduled, despite the challenges posed by COVID-19.
On Tuesday, chief executive David White announced a new three-year broadcasting deal with Mediaworks Radio to provide free-to-air commentary of all Blackcaps and White Ferns matches, and has complete faith will include a full slate of action.
White says that the West Indies, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Australia are all confirmed to take on the Blackcaps. The White Ferns will tour Australia in September, then host their trans-Tasman rivals in February.
"We'll just be held up for a week or two while we work through with the Government agencies on the managed isolation," White says. "But they've been tremendously supportive and we're making really good progress with that.
"But they've been really supportive of it happening."
White adds that the setup is likely to be similar to the model used for the West Indies' recent tour of England, with accommodation in close proximity to training facilities.
"We'll probably be announcing that in the next few weeks, as we work through the detail."
The new radio broadcasting deal means cricket fans will be able tune in to any of MagicTalk's 31 frequencies around the country for live coverage of all of the Twenty20, one-day international, and test fixtures.
After months of uncertainty, Blackcaps allrounder Jimmy Neesham says the prospect of international cricket is hugely exciting, especially in light of the success rugby has had filling stadiums.
"It feels like a long time since we played cricket," Neesham says. "Absolutely keen to get going again and we've got a really good summer of teams coming over as well.
"We've seen what's happened in Super Rugby Aotearoa with the crowds that have turned out and hopefully we get a similar kind of response once the cricket season starts."
