Tag: New Zealand tour

  • New Zealand cancels Pak series due to ‘security concerns’ despite PM Khan’s call to NZ PM

    New Zealand cancels Pak series due to ‘security concerns’ despite PM Khan’s call to NZ PM

    New Zealand’s whole tour of Pakistan has been abandoned due to security concerns.

    “Earlier today, New Zealand Cricket informed us they had been alerted to some security alert and have unilaterally decided to postpone the series,” said the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) in a statement.

    “Pakistan Cricket Board and Pakistan Government made foolproof security arrangements for all visiting teams. We have assured the New Zealand Cricket of the same. The Pakistan Prime Minister spoke personally to the Prime Minister of New Zealand and informed her that we have one of the best intelligence systems in the world and that no security threat of any kind exists for the visiting team,” said the statement.

    “The security officials with the New Zealand team have been satisfied with security arrangements made by the Pakistan Government throughout their stay here,” it added.

    The statement concluded, “PCB is willing to continue the scheduled matches. However, cricket lovers in Pakistan and around the world will be disappointed by this last minute withdrawal.”

    The Black Caps reached Pakistan on September 11 and were set to play three ODIs and five T20Is. Spectators outside the stadium were set to enter the when the first ODI between the teams was called off just a few minutes before the toss.

    Meanwhile, a sports journalist Elliot Smith has shared a statement that arrangements for the departure of NZ team are now being made.

    https://twitter.com/elliottnz/status/1438797782723088386?s=20
  • Sarfaraz Ahmed spotted riding bike, locals offer cricket match

    Sarfaraz Ahmed spotted riding bike, locals offer cricket match

    Former captain of Pakistan cricket team Sarfaraz Ahmed was recently spotted riding a bike on the roads of Karachi while some fans offered him a cricket match in the video.

    A video went viral on social media in which Sarfaraz can be seen on a bike with probably his daughter when two boys on a bike went near to him and offered a cricket series at a local ground.

    “Saifi Bhai, series khelein kia? New Zealand ka squad toh gaya, Star Ground aajayein, series khelte hain,” the boys were quoted saying to Sarfaraz in the video. “Haan ab yehi reh gaya hai,” the cricketer replied.

    [Translation: “Saifi Bhai, should we play a series? You’re not in the New Zealand squad, so come to Star Ground and we will have a series there.”

    Sarfaraz replied: “Sure, now this is what is left for me to do.”]

    It must be noted here that Sarfaraz was dropped from ODI and T20I squad against New Zealand. The announced T20I squad for the home series against New Zealand is the same that will play against England and in T20 World Cup.

  • Babar Azam reportedly not happy with Pakistan’s T20 squad selection

    Babar Azam reportedly not happy with Pakistan’s T20 squad selection

    Pakistan captain Babar Azam is reportedly amongst the many who are disappointed with Pakistan Cricket Board’s (PCB) squad selection for the upcoming T20 World Cup.

    Read More – Pakistan squad for New Zealand, England and ICC T20 World Cup announced

    According to Geo News, the skipper was not informed about the selection of the team for the mega-event.

    Moreover, it was revealed that he is reportedly not pleased with inclusion of Azam Khan and Sohaib Maqsood, who were added by the chief selector after discussion with PCB chairman-in-waiting Ramiz Raja.

    The power-hitter wanted to include Fakhar Zaman and Faheem Ashraf in the team, per the insiders, who added that Babar contacted Raja to discuss the selection but his suggestions fell on deaf ears.

    The report also revealed that the selection of the 15-man squad sent a message to Babar about directing his focus solely on playing rather than selection of the players.

    Babar isn’t the only one who is reportedly dismayed by the players selected for the World Cup. Former skipper Misbah-ul-Haq, who resigned on Monday as the head coach, also had doubts over the selection of Azam Khan.

  • Pakistan squad for New Zealand, England and ICC T20 World Cup announced

    Pakistan squad for New Zealand, England and ICC T20 World Cup announced

    Pakistan cricket selectors have named the 15-player squad for the upcoming Twenty20 Internationals (T20I) against New Zealand and England, and the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2021.

    The seven home T20Is in Lahore and Rawalpindi will be played from September 26 to October 14, while Pakistan will proceed to take on India in a battle of former champions in their ICC Men’s T20 World Cup opener in Dubai on October 24.

    Domestic performers Asif Ali and Khushdil Shah have been drafted into the side to provide more firepower in the middle-order.

    The 15-player squad includes five batters (Asif Ali, Babar Azam, Khushdil Shah, Mohammad Hafeez and Sohaib Maqsood), two wicketkeeper-batters (Azam Khan and Mohammad Rizwan), four all-rounders (Imad Wasim, Mohammad Nawaz, Mohammad Wasim Jnr and Shadab Khan) and four fast bowlers (Haris Rauf, Hasan Ali, Mohammad Hasnain and Shaheen Shah Afridi).

    Travelling reserves are Fakhar Zaman, Shahnawaz Dahani and Usman Qadir.

    Announcing the squad at a presser, Chief Selector Muhammad Wasim said: “While selecting the squad, we have tried to cover all our bases by catering for the modern day brand of T20 cricket that will be required to perform impressively in the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup. This includes trusting the abilities, skills and experience of the players to perform in a high-pressure global tournament in conditions that are familiar to us, as well as looking at the teams we will play in Group-2 matches.”

  • PAK vs NZ Test: Best vs worst performances

    PAK vs NZ Test: Best vs worst performances

    New Zealand bowled out Pakistan by 186 runs in the second Test match at Christchurch on Wednesday, beating by an innings and 176 runs to sweep the series 2-0 and top the world rankings for the first time.

    The home team presented their career best performances while the visitors show-cased their career worst performances. Meanwhile, Shan Masood led the board with his quacktrick.

    https://twitter.com/DennisCricket_/status/1346406792020967426?s=08

    Kyle Jamieson took three of the four dismisals after lunch as Pakistan went to tea on day four in Christchurch at 134 for seven, needing a further 228 runs to make New Zealand bat again.

    The 2.3 metre (6ft 8in) Jamieson had figures of six for 38 to go with his five for 69 in the first innings to become the first bowler to take more than 10 wickets in a Test at Hagley Oval.

    The Kiwi bowler with his 11 wickets was the nightmare for the opponent team as he became the first bowler to take more than 10 wickets in a Test at Hagley Oval, leading him to win the Player of the Match award.

    Meanwhile, the Kiwi skipper Kane Williamson with Man of the Series performance led from the front taking his team to not only a series victory but also the number one ranked Test team in the world right now.

    The 30-year-old scored 388 runs in the two Tests at a whopping average of 129 including a double ton in the same match.

    There was resistance from Azhar Ali (37), Abid Ali (26) and later Faheem Ashraf (28) and Zafar Gohar (37), but the batsmen couldn’t stitch together partnerships big enough to demotivate New Zealand, and that proved to be their undoing.

    Zafar Gohar, the debutant, resisted well thereafter, but Williamson got into the act with the ball at the other end, dismissing Shaheen Afridi (7). When Gohar then holed out off Boult, history was sealed.

    Williamson is also crowned as the first centurion of 2021.

    Meanwhile, Pakistan’s performance was the worst. Worst bowling, fielding and performances by the players except for Muhammad Rizwan, who tried his best in both the matches with his three half-centuries.

    Netizens criticised Masood for his performance in the Tests – the left-handed Pakistan opener scored a pair of ducks in the second Test against New Zealand, which when paired with his duck from the second innings of the previous Test gave him three straight failures.

    Former Pakistan cricket captain Shahid Afridi also expressed his disappointment over the national squad’s hapless performance in the second Test at Christchurch, describing it as “very poor”.

    His comments come in the wake of Pakistan’s crushing defeat at the hands of New Zealand in the second Test match at Christchurch by an innings and 176 runs.

  • Fawad Alam hits 2nd Test 100 in lost NZ match

    Fawad Alam hits 2nd Test 100 in lost NZ match

    Fawad Alam’s heroic ton went in vain as the home team won the first Test by 101 runs in Tauranga’s Mount Maunganui stadium on Wednesday.

    Eleven years, five months and 16 days on from that other lifetime when he scored his first Test hundred, Fawad pulled Wagner behind square – that shot had served him well both in defence and attack – past a diving deep fielder to bring up a second Test hundred.

    The last one he scored was way back in 2009 when he hit 168 on Test debut against Sri Lanka while opening the innings. Since then Alam has played just six Tests having made a comeback in 2020.

    Babar Azam’s injury gave him another go and yet he proved to be an ace for the team.

    The Green Caps began the final day’s play at 71-3 in chase of 373-run target with Azhar Ali and Fawad batting at 34 and 21 respectively.

    He put on a 165-run partnership with captain Mohammad Rizwan who scored a gritty half-century as well. 380 balls faced by Alam and Rizwan during their partnership – the second-longest stand for Pakistan in Tests.

    The wicketkeeper-batsman’s dismissal sparked a collapse as he was trapped leg-before by Kyle Jamieson for 60 while Fawad, who hit 14 boundaries in his 102-run knock, was caught behind on the bowling of Neil Wagner.

    The tail-end pair of pacemen Shaheen Shah Afridi and Naseem Shah provided resistance to salvage a draw but it wasn’t to be as the latter was caught and bowled by Santner for one with just four more overs to go.

    Here are some reactions by cricketing experts on Fawad’s resilient innings:

    https://twitter.com/DennisCricket_/status/1344128439100481536?s=08

    Later PCB released a video in this fawad talked about his patience and test performance…

    What do you think of Fawad’s innings? Let The Current know in the comments

  • Naked man interrupts Pakistan-NZ Test match

    Naked man interrupts Pakistan-NZ Test match

    A naked man invaded the field during the first Test match between Pakistan and New Zealand on Saturday.

    The security was a little late to react while the nude pitch invader ran into the field during the first day of the first Test match at the Bay Oval.

    Pakistan’s captain Mohammad Rizwan and New Zealand’s captain Kane Williamson looked on as the pitch invader ran onto the field and passed near them.

    This is not the first incident of its kind. 

    During the ICC Cricket World Cup 2019 one-day match between England and New Zealand a bizarre incident in the 34th over caught everyone’s attention. A nude pitch invader took advantage of a break in play to run onto the field and interrupt proceedings. 

    With New Zealand struggling at 145 for six in the 34th over, a fan took to the field. The naked man, wearing just a green hat, managed to reach the middle of the pitch and get close up to New Zealand batsmen Tom Latham and Mitchell Santner before managing to avoid security. The man was eventually hauled away by seven men and then broke free before being tackled to the ground.

    Pakistan won the toss and elected to field first. While Black Caps have scored 222 runs for 3. Williamson is on 94 (not out), Nicholls scored 42 runs (not out), Taylor scored 70 runs. Shaheen took three wickets by giving 55 runs. Match will now resume tomorrow for the second day.

  • Eighth Pakistan player in New Zealand tests positive for corona

    Eighth Pakistan player in New Zealand tests positive for corona

    An eighth member of Pakistan’s cricket squad has tested positive for coronavirus as the team undergoes quarantine in Christchurch, New Zealand health authorities said Wednesday.

    The health department said there was one new confirmed case among the squad and a further two members were being investigated, adding to the seven who previously tested positive over the past week.

    The department said the team would not be allowed to train together until doctors were confident it would not lead to more coronavirus cases.

    Director-general of health Ashley Bloomfield issued the team with a “final warning” last week for flouting social distancing protocols at their hotel.

    No further breaches have been reported since.

    Two of the original six cases last week were subsequently found to be historical, meaning they were not infectious, while the other four were active. A seventh member of the squad tested positive on Saturday.

    The 53-member tour party, led by skipper Babar Azam, arrived in Christchurch on November 24 for two weeks of quarantine which is mandatory for all overseas arrivals in New Zealand.

    All tested negative before leaving Lahore for the five-match tour, which is scheduled to begin with a Twenty20 international in Auckland on December 18.

    New Zealand has largely eradicated community transmission of coronavirus recording just 1,704 cases and 25 deaths in a population of five million.