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Auckland: The initial itinerary for the tour was met with reservations because it pitched the New Zealanders, most of whom are coming off a long winter break, into the first of two tests after only a single three-day match.
New Zealand sought to have the itinerary changed, ideally to a five-match limited-overs series played ahead of the tests to give its players more time to acclimatize to Sri Lankan conditions.
The re-drawn itinerary has allayed most of New Zealand's concerns by adding a second three-day match in Colombo before the first test begins Aug 18. The test has also been moved from Colombo to Galle which is expected to provide cooler conditions as the New Zealanders adapt from their winter.
The tour will still include two Twenty20 internationals but the planned five-match one-day series has been scrapped and replaced with a tri-series involving New Zealand, Sri Lanka and India. The series will now comprise four games, including a final.
New Zealand Cricket has also endorsed security arrangements for the tour. A delegation comprising New Zealand Cricket general manager Geoff Allott, players' association chief Heath Mills and an independent security adviser visited Sri Lanka recently to survey those arrangements.
"Our initial impression is both Sri Lanka Cricket and the Government are making a significant effort to ensure player safety," Allott said. "After talking with local authorities, the British and Australian High Commissions, and our security advisers, we believe that both Colombo and Galle are considered relatively safe locations at present."
New Zealand cricket tours to Sri Lanka in 1987 and 1993 were disrupted by bomb blasts linked to the nation's long-running civil war. The Sri Lankan government claimed this year to have ended that war.
