KEY POINTS:
The decision to postpone the Champions Trophy tournament in Pakistan will leave a big hole in New Zealand's international cricket schedule until October.
The event, due to take place next month in Pakistan, was today put off until next year after it was decided security concerns made staging it too dangerous.
Five of the eight nations due to take part confirmed they would not send teams because of those concerns and the decision was confirmed by the International Cricket Council (ICC).
New Zealand, England, Australia and the West Indies told a teleconference they would join South Africa, who pulled out last Friday.
Pakistan, India and Sri Lanka were the other teams scheduled to take part in the one-day tournament, scheduled from September 12-28.
New Zealand Cricket chief executive Justin Vaughan today said the security issues were too tough to overcome.
New Zealand had been silent on its stance but players had indicated their reluctance to participate and Vaughan said it appeared the decision to postpone was a welcome one.
"It was obviously due to a circumstance within that country which was certainly out of the control of the local cricket board and I think the whole of the ICC really feels for Pakistan cricket at the moment," he told Radio Sport.
Vaughan said other turmoil, including the recent resignation of the president of the Pakistan Cricket Board, meant the situation was not conducive to running a smooth event.
"You couldn't hold a good world event in Pakistan at the moment."
The New Zealand team head to Bangladesh in early October but the postponement left a big hole in the international schedule.
Vaughan said it was difficult to reschedule any international cricket in the short term and he admitted the situation might equate to an unexpected holiday for cricketers and officials.
ICC president David Morgan said cancelling the tournament had not been an option and the board had decided against relocating the event to Sri Lanka.
"It was considered but dismissed very rapidly quite simply because there was no longer sufficient lead time to relocate the event in the same time frame," he said.
Pakistan has been hit by a series of suicide bomb attacks and deaths in the past year.
Vaughan said it was now up to Pakistan and the ICC to work through the issues and ensure the event could be a success next year.
- NZPA
