In the new normal for professional cricketers, Australia will emerge from coronavirus quarantine on Sunday evening less than 24 hours before their five-match Twenty20 series against New Zealand begins in Christchurch.
Monday’s series opener will be the first international played under lights at Hagley Oval but the action will begin only after the sellout crowd marks the 10th anniversary of the devastating earthquake that killed 185 people in the city.
After a moment’s silence to remember that dark day in the past, the focus will shift resolutely to the future – in particular the ICC men’s Twenty20 Cricket World Cup in October and November.
It is the one global title Australia have never won and the tourists, including three uncapped…