Bangladesh to tour NZ for two Tests in Jan

Bangladesh will be touring New Zealand for two Tests, both part of the World Test Championship, in January next year.  Apart from hosting Bangladesh, New Zealand will also play two Tests against South Africa in a home summer schedule pushed back because of quarantine requirements in the country, New Zealand Cricket said on Friday.

Bangladesh will play Tests in early January in Mount Maunganui and Christchurch, while South Africa will open their series at Hagley Oval in mid-February with the second Test following in Wellington.

The Black Caps will also host an Australia side as part of a Trans-Tasman Sea short format series in March followed by one Twenty20 and three one-dayers against the Netherlands to conclude the home season in late April.

The New Zealand home international season would normally start in December but the isolation requirements for the men's squad returning from a tour of India has forced the delay.

"It hasn't been a straightforward process and we've needed to work through a number of unexpected changes before finalising the arrangements," NZC chief executive David White said in a news release.

"Having said that, I'm delighted with the volume and quality of the international cricket to be played over the summer."

The four men's Tests will be part of New Zealand's defence of the inaugural Test World Championship title they won earlier this year.

They are unbeaten in home Test series since the 2016-17 tour by South Africa, who New Zealand have never bested in a series in the longest format of the game.

New Zealand face Australia in Sunday's Twenty20 World Cup final in Dubai and the teams will become reacquainted in a four-match series starting in Canberra and concluding with two games in Wellington and one in Napier.

The Australia team might not bear much resemblance to that currently in the United Arab Emirates, however, as they are also scheduled to be touring Pakistan in March and April.

Cricket Australia said on Friday the squad to face New Zealand would be made up of players not required for the three tests in Pakistan.

The women's White Ferns team will play India in six short format matches as they complete their preparations for the hosting of the delayed 50-overs World Cup, which will take place across New Zealand from March 4 to April 3.