Cricketers will be back in Auckland tomorrow

Press, 24 April 1987, Page 1

Cricketers will be back in Auckland tomorrow

By

DAVID LEGGAT,

NZPA sports reporter

Colombo New Zealand’s cricket tour of Sri Lanka was cancelled yesterday after this week’s car bomb atrocity in Colombo and the evident inability to guarantee players’ safety.

The death toll from the bomb is expected to reach 150 — 115 dead have been confirmed so far. The bomb exploded only Ikm from the team’s hotel.

< The team’s captain, Jeff Crowe, said the decision to cancel the tour was “the right one, made in the best interests of the team?’ The team was told the tour was called off at a meeting at 9 a.m. yesterday (Sri Lanka time). The decision was earlier agreed between the cricket boards of the two countries. Six matches remained to be played. It was the decision the team wanted; there is no question the players would have been very unhappy had the tour proceeded. Arrangements had been made for most of . the team to fly from Colombo to Singapore by Singapore Airlines. The onward flight will arrive in Auckland at 9 a.m. tomorrow. Three members of the team, Danny Morrison, Dipak Patel and Martin Crowe, will fly to London from Colombo. Jeff Crowe, making his first tour as captain, was

disappointed the trip was cut short but said it was the correct decision. “The decision has been made, and I’m sad to leave Sri Lanka on this note,” he said. “The majority of players certainly feel the right decision was made.” He doubted that the players would have been able to play to their full capabilities in the remaining matches. “In view of the tense atmosphere, it would have been hard to motivate them to do the job to the top level of performance,” Crowe said. ‘ “If the tour had continued, the next three weeks would have been very difficult.” Asked if he personally felt the tour should have been cancelled, Crowe replied, after a long pause, “In the interests of the team, it was the right decision.” The rest of the tour had scheduled two more tests and four one-day internationals. It was to have ended on May 17. The New Zealand Cricket Council apparently decided the tour should stop, but although firm in its view had to go

through the diplomatic motions of talking the matter through, with the Sri Lanka board, according to Chris Mirams, of NZPA in Wellington. “The decision had to be made in consultation with the Sri Lanka board and I can say now that the tour would have , been called off, was going to.be called off, and the team was aware of that,”'said the chairman of the council, Mr Bob Vance. : v : He Indicated that cancellation would hurt both Sri Lankan and New Zealand cricket A common problem for the two nations is loss of revenue, for which the New Zealand Council is not covered by insurance. For Sri Lanka, the -new boys in international cricket cancellation will mean a temporary, end to touring teams until the violence over Tamil, aspirations for autonomy?- is solved dr at the least controlled;? < Mr' that abandonment of the tour was a setback to, NewZealand’s preparation Tor the World Cup in October and November and to Its tour of Australia just before Christmas.