LAHORE: All is set for the first ODI, as the touring New Zealand cricket team will play their first match on Pakistan soil after about 18 years at the Pindi Cricket Stadium on Friday (today).
This will be the fourth time the two sides will meet at the Pindi Cricket Stadium in an ODI with Pakistan enjoying a 3-0 advantage. Prior to this match, Pakistan and New Zealand have met 19 times in an ODI in Pakistan between 1976 and 2003 with Pakistan winning 16 times.
Pakistan and New Zealand last met in an international 50-over competition during the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup 2019 when Babar Azam’s glorious century anchored his side to a fabulous six-wicket win at Birmingham.
This three-match series provides an opportunity to sixth-ranked Pakistan to climb a spot in the ICC Rankings. If the hosts beat the tourists by a 3-0, they would jump to fifth position, however, any other result will see both sides retain their pre-series rankings, cricket analysts said.
New Zealand is the top-ranked ODI team in the ICC Rankings and the finalists of the 2019 World Cup.
The series will not be part of the ICC World Cup Super League as both the PCB and NZC have mutually agreed to swap the status of this series with the one taking place in the 2022-23 season. This means the ODI series in the 2022-23 season will count towards the World Cup 2023 qualification while the series commencing on Friday will be a bilateral fixture in which team and player ranking points will be up for grabs.
Pakistan captain Babar Azam said: “We have a balanced squad and I remain optimistic about our chances in what promises to be an exciting series. I am sure fans at the stadium and millions watching us on screens will enjoy these matches.”
New Zealand captain Tom Latham said, “We have desired fire-power in our ranks to win this series and I am sure our batters and bowlers will rise to the occasion and make this historic series memorable for us.”
The second and third matches will be played on 19th and 21st September at the same venue after which the two sides will travel to Lahore for five T20Is between 25th September to 3rd October.
Moreover, the ongoing High Performance Camp for the U-19 players at the Hanif Mohammad High Performance Centre Karachi is focusing on physical fitness, training and match preparation of the teenagers ahead of the upcoming domestic U-19 season and the ICC U-19 Cricket World Cup.
The World Cup will be played in the West Indies at the start of next year, the camp includes 32 players from all over the country who have gone through a gruelling schedule of early morning training routines, 50-overs and three-day matches, fitness and gym sessions as part of their preparation not only for junior cricket but also for their eventual progress to domestic cricket.
While the camp includes the most promising batters, fast bowlers and wicketkeepers, it is the exciting pack of spinners that have caught the eye of the team management led by former Pakistan Test batter Ijaz Ahmed who has been at the helm of age-group and Shaheens teams’ for the last two years.
Ijaz feels that Pakistan men’s national cricket team is set to benefit a great deal in the next two years through the emergence of young spinners who have progressed at a rapid rate from the U-16 stage.
Ijaz Ahmed said, “We have been working hard with these spinners for two years, they graduated from the U16 stage and have been developing brilliantly.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2021
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