Pakistan home and away
Just a couple of days after Leg Break got me all worried about whether the postponed “home” series against Pakistan, slated to be played partly in New Zealand, would actually go ahead, New Zealand Cricket has confirmed that the series will happen this year, with four ODIs and two 20-20s to be played in the UAE in October and the three tests to be played in New Zealand in December before Pakistan’s tour of Australia.
I’ve updated my schedule page to fit these in. It looks a pretty full schedule, with cricket being played in pretty much every month for the next 10 months.
This bifurcated tour counts as a home tour for Pakistan, so they get the proceeds from the tour. Which will probably be quite a disappointment for them when they get the gate takings.
With Pakistan due in Australia for Boxing Day, it is likely that the test leg will actually start in November. This will be the earliest start for a test tour in New Zealand. We quite regularly have tests played in mid-Dec., though I note that we didn’t even have tests as early as Dec. before 1995.
The Otago Daily Times is getting quite excited that Dunedin might get one of these tests against Pakistan. I don’t think we should be too amazed however, as it’s long been the practice of scheduling the first test, at the coldest part of the season, in the South Island for tours by Subcontinent teams. (I love the ODT for the way they cover Otago cricket in the same way other papers cover NZ cricket. I really miss the Evening Post, Wellington’s long demised local newspaper, who were equally parochial about Wellington.)
July 8th, 2009 at 1:37 pm
I agree about the evening post, if i wanted to read the Christchurch Press I would move to Christchurch
July 8th, 2009 at 1:55 pm
I agree about the evening post, if i wanted to read the Christchurch Press I would move to Christchurch
The Evening Post got a bad rap, because compared to the Dominion it was pretty second rate. (The Dom must have been much better back when the Post was around.) But at least it was a proper local paper. Apparently it was a popular paper to work for, for that reason.
July 8th, 2009 at 3:01 pm
I reckon the Oddity has this one right.
My prediction:
Pakistan
Dunedin
Hamilton
Basin
Bangladesh
Napier
Dunedin
Stralia
Hamilton
Napier
Basin
July 8th, 2009 at 8:49 pm
I reckon the Oddity has this one right.
My prediction:
Eights test for four venues. It’s not hard to spread the games around. I reckon your schedule looks good though.