DHAKA: New Zealand will adopt a temporary change during their tour of Africa, playing under the name Aotearoa for the first ODI against Zimbabwe in Harare on August 2, reports espncricinfo.

The one-off move will help celebrate Maori Language Week; Aotearoa (common translation is “the land of the long white cloud”) is the Maori name for New Zealand, and will be emblazoned on the front of the team’s playing shirts during the match.

“New Zealand Cricket want to extend cricket’s reach and make it more welcoming to communities not always closely aligned with the game,” NZC chief executive David White said. “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 said NZC would also soon be launching a range of new cricket-playing programmes aimed at helping spread the game in various communities.

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

Meanwhile, since the 1990s it has been the custom to sing New Zealand’s national anthem, “God Defend New Zealand”, in both Māori and English, exposing the term Aotearoa to a wider audience.

BDST: 1935 HRS, JULY 27, 2015
SR