Tour of Pakistan 2001-02                     Captain : Stephen Fleming

  Tour cancelled

41st official Test tour.

Eighth Test-playing  tour of Pakistan by New Zealand

 (September 2001)

A terrorist attack destroyed the World Trade Centre in New York on 11 September 2001. As the world was taking in the enormity of the event, the New Zealand Cricket Board stopped its team from flying beyond Singapore until it could appraise the risks of touring Pakistan.  Of particular concern was playing at Peshawar, venue for the first Test match, in the North-west Frontier Province which was adjacent to Afghanistan, now identified as Al Qaeda’s centre of operations.

Chief Executive Martin Snedden said the tour was ‘temporarily postponed’ and the team would go to Pakistan when the international situation eased but on 27 September, under advice from New Zealand’s Department of Foreign Affairs, New Zealand Cricket finally cancelled the tour.

All New Zealand tours

Previous tour

South Africa 2000-01

Next tour

Australia 2001-02

Next tour of Pakistan

April-May 2002

Members of the Test tour party (15)

Opening batsmen  Mark Richardson, Matthew Bell

Middle-order batsmen  Nathan Astle, Stephen Fleming, Lou Vincent, Craig McMillan, Mathew Sinclair

Wicket-keeper  Adam Parore

All-rounder: Jacob Oram

Spin bowlers  Daniel Vettori, Glen Sulzberger

Fast bowlers  James Franklin, Shane O’Connor, Chris Martin, Daryl Tuffey.

Provincial representation

A - Auckland (2)

C - Canterbury (3)

CD - Central Districts (3)

ND - Northern Districts (2)

O - Otago (2)

W - Wellington (3)  

Average age of  team at time of scheduled first Test match

(2 October 2001) :  26 yrs  0 months.

ODI  member of Wills Cup one-day  squad

Test Appearances made before the tour

Parore 70,  Fleming 60,  Astle 46,  McMillan 31, Vettori 31,  O’Connor 18,  Sinclair 13,  Bell 11,  Richardson 9,  Martin 7,  Tuffey 6,  Franklin 2,  Oram 0,  Sulzberger 0,  Vincent 0.

Team Officials

Selectors

Sir Richard Hadlee (chairman),  Ross Dykes,  Brian McKechnie  and  Denis Aberthart (coach).

Selection

ODI Party Announced  : 20 August 2001. 

The selectors named twelve players to take part in the one-day series (Astle, Fleming, Franklin, Harris, McMillan, Mills, Nash, Oram, Sinclair, Tuffey, Vettori, Vincent) with two other places to be announced in September.

Glen Sulzberger and wicket-keeper Chris Nevin were named on 6 September.

Not selected for ODIs:  Adam Parore, Grant Bradburn.

From the limited-overs squad four players, Kyle Mills, Chris Harris, Dion Nash, Chris Nevin, would return to New Zealand after the three match one-day series.

Unavailable  : Chris Cairns (surgery to the patella tendon of his right knee): Geoff Allott (retired), Dion Nash (as part of his managed return to fitness).

Test tour party announced  10 September 2001.

Not selected:  Matthew Horne,  Chris Drum.

Stand-by:  Six players were on standby for the Test series: Paul Wiseman, Brooke Walker, Shane Bond, Chris Nevin, Hamish Marshall, Matthew Horne.

Time between selection and departure from New Zealand     22 days

(one day selection 20 August

one-day squad departed NZ on 11 September)

Travel

Christchurch   Q Singapore

The players took part in a training camp in Christchurch as preparation for the tour.

On 11 September the one-day team departed for Pakistan from Christchurch International Airport at 2.00pm. The Test players were due to fly out of New Zealand on 21 September.

Vincent, Nevin, Sulzberger, Mills and Oram would join the squad in Pakistan from the New Zealand 'A' tour in India. Skipper Stephen Fleming would also travel to Pakistan directly from his Middlesex playing base in England but he had not even left England before the tour was cancelled.

While in transit in Singapore, and waiting to depart for Karachi on the afternoon of 12 September 2001, the team was told to remain in Singapore for the next 48 hours.

Time spent in Pakistan

   0 days

(scheduled arrival - 14 Sep

scheduled departure - 25 Oct)

On-tour selection panel

-

Reinforcements

-

Planned itinerary

Scheduled to arrive in Karachi  Friday 14 September: 

Scheduled to depart from Karachi for New Zealand on Thursday 25 October.

† not first-class

§ one-day international

Time spent in Pakistan before scheduled First Test: 

0 days

Test appearances on tour

None

Highlights

 -

Tour Summary

Return to New Zealand

Singapore  Q Christchurch

Because of the situation developing in Afghanistan, New Zealand Cricket decided to bring the team home. They left Singapore on the evening of 13 September and arrived back in Christchurch at 10.50 am the following morning.

Time away from New Zealand    3 days  

(11 to 14 September)

Finances

There were no financial implications for New Zealand of cancelling the tour because an act of war was involved and that would not affect financial guarantees.  However, the cancellation cost the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) approx $5 million through lost title sponsorships, television rights and ground hoardings.

Next tour of Pakistan

The tour was rescheduled later in the 2001-02 season  (April/May 2002).