The New Zealand Cricket Team will be playing under a different name temporarily during their tour of Africa. They will play under the name Aotearoa for the first ODI against Zimbabwe in Harare on August 2.

The Reason? The move will help in celebrating Maori Language Week. New Zealand’s name in Maori is Aotearoa, and it will written in front of the team T-Shirt ahead of the match against Zimbabwe.

David White, the Chief executive of New Zealand Cricket said, “New Zealand Cricket want to extend cricket’s reach and make it more welcoming to communities not always closely aligned with the game.”

“It’s something we haven’t done particularly well in the past. We’ve been too one dimensional in our approach and especially in regard to addressing under-representation in certain communities. But we have to start somewhere,” White added.

White also said that New Zealand Cricket (NZC) is committed to spread the game in other countries and would soon be launching few cricket-playing programmes.

He said, “Cricket is a wonderful game that anyone can play, irrespective of age, gender, ethnicity or culture. We just need to make sure everyone feels it’s accessible and welcoming – which is part of the reason for reaching out this week.”

Source: ESPNCricinfo

Image Credits: BBC Sport