Cricket: Women's tour of India off because of safety worries

The New Zealand women's cricket tour of India has been cancelled.

New Zealand Cricket chief executive Martin Snedden said yesterday that the decision to call off the tour, scheduled to begin in three weeks, was not taken lightly.

But the level of risk involved in sending the team to India was unacceptable.

"The Women's Cricket Association of India is entirely separate from the India Cricket Board that controls the men's game," he said.

"The women's body is an organisation that has a voluntary administration and few resources.

"It was clear to me that there would be little or no security arrangements in place for the New Zealand team, and no ability to remove us quickly from a region, or out of the country, should there be civil unrest or an escalation of military or terrorist activity."

It is the second tour to the subcontinent that NZC has had to cancel in the wake of the September 11 terrorist attacks in the United States.

The New Zealand men's trip to Pakistan was called off last month when the team were in Singapore en route. On top of that, the New Zealand A tour of India was cut short.

The White Ferns were due to play five limited-over internationals and one four-day test against India.

The White Ferns will now reset their sights for three one-day internationals away against Australia in February and another three at home in March.

- NZPA