Organisers of the looming Cricket World Cup in New Zealand are confident the tournament will go ahead, but have confirmed crowds will be limited.
Stumps designed for the 2022 Cricket World Cup in New Zealand. Photo: Andrew Cornaga/Photosport
The first of the seven overseas teams is already in the country and in MIQ, ahead of the event which is set to run from early March to early April.
The move to the Covid-19 red light setting is set to have a sizeable impact.
However, having already postponed the event from last year, tournament chief executive Andrea Nelson said they were 100 percent committed for the matches to proceed.
"Our understanding from the government is that they don't see any issues in that happening, and the ICC (International Cricket Council) also.
"The first team actually arrived this week, India are on the ground in MIQ. The next team arrives next week, we've got staff on the ground already, so it's all systems go."
But the arrival of Omicron tournament won't be the showcase organisers had hoped.
Around 65,000 tickets had been sold, but Nelson said the decision had been made to put a limit on the amount of fans inside the six stadiums.
"We're committed to bringing it to as many people as we can, under the public health guidelines and keeping safe.
"At the moment that's pods of 100. Like everyone else, we're working through the detail of what that means.
"Once we've got a clearer picture of the capacity of our stadiums under that regime we'll be in touch with our ticket holders."
All seven visiting teams had been allocated spaces in MIQ and would go through the standard process, while Nelson said protocols were being finalised for the squads to follow once they are released.
She said their focus was on keeping the teams, officials and the public safe - and getting all the matches played.
"The environment changes on a day-to-day but we're getting an incredible level of assistance.
"I'd say the reason for that is that from the ICC and the government, this is a priority. We need to make this event a success and we're really confident we'll be able to do it."
