KARACHI, 25 September 2003 — The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) yesterday announced the South African team will arrive next week after endorsing a revised itinerary rescheduling all five one-day matches and two Tests in the relatively peaceful province of Punjab.
“The itinerary was sent to the United Cricket Board of South Africa (UCBSA) and is now approved with the South African team likely to arrive on Sept. 29,” PCB spokesman Samiul Hasan said.
“It (UCBSA) still has to inform us about the exact date of arrival,” Hasan added.
South African cricket officials have already agreed to a shortened tour of Pakistan after PCB dropped the volatile cities of Karachi and Peshawar over their security fears. A bomb blast in Karachi on Friday prompted UCBSA to cancel the tour over the weekend but changed their mind after PCB’s furious reaction and International Cricket Council (ICC) intervention.
“All the matches in the new program are distributed in Lahore, Rawalpindi and Faisalabad and we felt sorry for the people of Karachi and Peshawar but the decision is taken to save the tour,” PCB Chief Executive Ramiz Raja said on Tuesday.
The South Africans were earlier scheduled to play a warm up one-day and a One-Day International and a Test in the port city of Karachi and one Test in Peshawar, which borders Afghanistan.
In the revised itinerary, South Africans will play a warm up one-day game in Lahore and then play the first of the five one-day games in the same city two days later.
The two Tests will be played at Lahore and Faisalabad.
Revised itinerary:
Sept. 29- Arrival in Lahore; Oct. 1- Practice one-day game in Lahore; Oct. 3- First One-Day International in Lahore; Oct. 5- Second One-Day International in Lahore; Oct. 7 - Third One-Day International in Faisalabad; Oct. 10- Fourth One-Day International in Rawalpindi; Oct. 12- Fifth One-Day International in Rawalpindi; Oct. 17-21- First Test in Lahore; Oct. 24-28- Second Test in Faisalabad.
Kiwis Gear Up for the
Unknown in India
In Visakhapatnam, India, New Zealand’s cricketers are being drilled in the sights and sounds of India as they prepare to challenge for their maiden Test series victory in the country.
“The fear is the unknown,” said New Zealand’s stand-in coach Ashley Ross ahead of three-day tour opener against the Indian Board President’s team tomorrow.
“A lot of our preparation has been geared toward diminishing the unknown. If you know yourself and the enemy, then you need not fear a thousand battles.”
Stephen Fleming’s Black Caps will play two Test matches and a triangular one-day series also involving world champions Australia during the seven-week tour.
Ross, deputing as coach till John Bracewell takes over in November, arrived with computer analyst Zach Hitchcock a week ahead of the rest of the squad to observe the Indian stars in action in an important domestic match.
The duo braved the heat and humidity of Madras for five days to watch Saurav Ganguly’s Rest of India team defeat reigning Ranji Trophy champions Mumbai, led by Sachin Tendulkar, by three wickets in the Irani Cup match.
“We were concentrating on checking whether players can cope with the kind of conditions you can expect in India,” Ross said. “We saw a few things that we liked.
“It was a public game and I suppose we could have turned up anyway.
“Really, there are no secrets now. Everyone knows each other and how they play. In the end I suppose it improves the standard of cricket that we play.
“We have information on all our opposition over the last four or five years. That puts us in a great position to give Fleming information about field settings, where to bowl and that sort of thing.”
Ross revealed the team had trained in Australia and at home in conditions simulated to meet the requirements in India.
“In Christchurch and Brisbane, we played on wickets that were specifically prepared to mirror Indian conditions and the heat as well.”
New Zealand have won just two of their 24 Test matches in India since 1955-56, but Ross said the current team is too young to be influenced by the past.
“We’ve got a developing group of players who are not so much concerned with history,” he said. “They want to make history of their own.” Ross said the main challenge confronting his team was the quality of Indian players rather than the pitches.
