The fans have been barred from the final three T20Is between New Zealand and Australia which will be played at Wellington Regional Stadium after a COVID-19 lockdown in Auckland.
The third T20I that was earlier scheduled to take place in Auckland was moved to Wellington while the last two matches were also shifted to the same venue from Tauranga.
“They’ve made sure that they’ve looked after the players’ mental and physical wellbeing and come to the right decision,” he told reporters on Monday.
The Blackcaps lead the series 2-0 so far and need one more victory to take the unassailable lead in the series. Talking about the home support, Australia spinner Ashton Agar said that the crowd’s support does play an important role in boosting the team’s confidence.
“A home ground advantage always helps when you’ve got a crowd that’s right behind their home team and that’s how it’s been so far,” he said.
“It’s always a fun crowd here in New Zealand, it’s always a great atmosphere, so for them to not have that particularly on a game that the series hinges on could be a massive advantage for us.”
The four Auckland based players (Chapman, Guptill, Neesham and Phillips) self-isolating in Wellington have now received negative COVID tests and will be able to train with the team on Tuesday.
The third encounter between the two teams will take place on Wednesday. The second match turned out to be a close and high-scoring encounter. New Zealand batting first posted 219/4 in 20 overs riding on Martin Guptill’s 97 while Australia fell short of just 4 runs. Marcus Stoinis scored 78 off 37 but his innings went in vain as the visitors lost the match eventually.