Newcastle's prospective representative tour to Vanuatu may be put back 12 months with the global coronavirus pandemic all-but ruling out any action later this year despite cricket matches being played on the Pacific island last weekend.
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Talks had been underway between Newcastle coach Shane Burley and Vanuatu Cricket Association chief executive Shane Deitz about a potential pre-season trip for the senior men's squad, who claimed the NSW Country Championship title during summer.
However, according to Newcastle District Cricket Association chairman Paul Marjoribanks, those plans have now been put on hold until at least 2021.
"There'd been some serious thought about it and some initial costings, but then the virus hit so we might look at something further down the track," he said.
Earlier this week, following a men's 10-over exhibition and women's T20 final in Vanuatu, Deitz told AAP: "Fantastic [live stream] numbers for us, a great day's cricket here".
Games were played at the national cricket grounds in the capital Port Vila with 350,000 online views recorded. It comes with most sport shuttered across the globe.
Vanuatu, which has a population of 300,000, went into lockdown in March as a COVID-19 precaution and was then hit by a destructive cyclone early last month.
Saturday's spectators were encouraged to bring donations for those affected by the natural disaster.
The domestic health orders and closed borders have resulted in no known coronavirus cases for Vanuatu.
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