Tour of Pakistan 1996-97              Captain : Lee Germon

34th official Test tour.

Seventh Test-playing tour of Pakistan by New Zealand

 (October - December 1996)

The tour began with a Champions Trophy tournament in Sharjah. New Zealand and Sri Lanka both finished the preliminary round on three points and referee Mike Smith ruled that the Sri Lankans were in the final with their higher run rate. The Kiwis protested that ICC rules demanded that the team with more wins should go through and Smith reversed his decision. Nevertheless Pakistan won the final when New Zealand, after an opening stand of 66, failed to chase Pakistan’s modest score of 160.

New Zealand Cricket decided the Test leg of the tour in Pakistan would go ahead despite political upheaval caused when Benazir Bhutto was placed under house arrest in Islamabad.

New Zealand gained a surprising victory in the first Test but lost by an innings in the second which squared the series.

All New Zealand tours

Previous tour

West Indies 1995-96

Next tour

Zimbabwe 1997-98

Next tour of Pakistan 

2001-02

Members of the Test tour party (15 + 3)

Opening batsmen  Bryan Young,  Craig Spearman

Middle-order batsmen  Stephen Fleming, Mark Greatbatch, Nathan Astle, Justin Vaughan, Adam Parore

Wicket-keepers  Lee Germon,

All-rounder:  Chris Cairns

Medium-paced bowler: Chris Harris, Gavin Larsen [+ Glenn Jonas (reinforcement)]

Spin bowlers  Dipak Patel, Matthew Hart [+ Paul Wiseman (reinforcement)]

Fast bowlers  Simon Doull, Danny Morrison [+ Robert Kennedy  (reinforcement)]

.

Provincial representation

A - Auckland (4)

C - Canterbury (6)

CD - Central Districts (1)

ND - Northern Districts (3)

O - Otago (0)

W - Wellington (1)

Average age of  team at time of first Test match

(21 November 1996) :  28 yrs  9 months.

ODI (C) In squad for matches in Cairns and Champions Trophy

(P) in squad in Pakistan

Test Appearances made before the tour

Kennedy 4,  Vaughan 3

Team Officials

Tim Murdoch, the general manager of New Zealand Cricket, replaced Wellington chairman Earle Cooper as tour manager when he had to fly home early owing to a detached retina.

Selectors

Selection

Unavailable  : None. The fitness of Danny Morrison and Blair Pocock were to be assessed prior to departure and,  if unfit, they would be replaced.

Tour Party Announced  :

Withdrawn:  Blair Pocock. (shoulder injury).

Not selected:  Hart and Larsen were not picked for Cairns or Sharjah.

Time between selection and departure from New Zealand

  x days

(selection to 24 October)

Travel    

Auckland  Q Cairns  Q UAE

UAE  Q ?

The New Zealand team left Auckland on the morning of Thursday 24 October. They went to Cairns to prepare for the tour and played two limited overs matches and a two-day affair.

The Kiwis flew out of Australia to Hong Kong on Monday 4 November 1996, and arrived in the United Arab Emirates on Tuesday 5 November. Preparing for the Champions Trophy matches, the players trained hard at Sharjah Stadium, in heat of 36° C for almost four hours.

They flew from Sharjah to Pakistan on 16 Nov 1996.  Hart and Larsen ……..

Time spent in Pakistan

   22 days

(16 November - 8 December)

On-tour selection panel

Lee Germon (captain),  Steve Rixon (coach),  Mark Greatbatch (senior player).

It was decided not to appoint a vice-captain for the tour - the duties would be covered by senior players.

Reinforcements

ADDED ▷     Wiseman, Jonas, Kennedy

◁ W/D   Larsen, Morrison

On 2 November Paul Wiseman was called up because spinners Mark Haslam (bruised hand) and Dipak Patel (calf injury) were injured in Australia. Wiseman flew from Christchurch to Hong Kong where he met up with the team.

Glenn Jonas replaced Gavin Larsen (hamstring strain).

Rob Kennedy replaced Danny Morrison who withdrew from the tour on 18 November with an adductor muscle strain.

Fixtures/Results

† not first-class

§  one-day international

Time spent in Pakistan before First Test: 

5 days

(16 November - 21 November)

Test appearances on tour

2  -   Astle,  Cairns,  Doull,  Fleming,  Germon,  Greatbatch,  Harris,  Parore,  Patel,  Vaughan,  Young.

0  -   Hart,  Larsen,  Morrison,  Spearman.

Highlights

•   Simon Doull took 5-46

•   Stephen Fleming scored 92* while Chris Cairns struck 93

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Tour Summary

Return to New Zealand

Karachi  Q Christchurch

The team flew out of Karachi Airport on the night of Sunday 8 December and arrived home in Christchurch on Tuesday 10 December.

Time away from New Zealand    47 days  

(24 October to 10 December)

Finances

Next tour of Pakistan

September 2001.  The 2001 tour was cancelled because of the terrorist attack on the World Trade Centre before the New Zealanders reached Pakistan.  Although a rearranged tour took place in April/May 2002, it was abandoned halfway through because of a bomb blast killing 15 people outside the team’s Karachi hotel.