Cricket: NZ drop sanctions for Zimbabwe tour

WELLINGTON: The New Zealand government has approved a tour by the Zimbabwe cricket team, saying it would waive travel sanctions on teams from the African nation. Zimbabwe are scheduled to play in New Zealand next year for the first time in 11 years and Foreign Affairs Minister Murray McCully said the government would not block the tour. Sanctions were imposed on Zimbabwe several years ago to express opposition to alleged human rights abuses by the government of Robert Mugabe. McCully said visas would be granted to the cricketers and management depending on the situation in Zimbabwe “not deteriorating in a significant way.”

Published in The Express Tribune, June 13^th, 2011.