Pakistan's tour of New Zealand to go ahead as planned

SportsCafe Desk

BySportsCafe Desk,SportsCafe Editor

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The New Zealand and Pakistan Test series will be played as planned with the first Test at Hagley Oval starting on Nov 17 as scheduled. New Zealand suffered an earthquake that registered as 7.5 on the Richter scale yesterday and there were concerns about the upcoming series.

"Preparations for the Test are going ahead, but we are continuing to monitor the situation. It's just a case of staying in touch with authorities," a New Zealand Cricket spokesperson said as reported by Cricinfo.

Wasim Bari, who manages the Pakistan team, said that the NZC had given them assurances about the safety of the team. But he did add that many players in the team were shaken up after the earthquake, with many players spending most of the night in the hotel lobby instead of their rooms.

"For us it was something new because we don't have many earthquakes in Pakistan. This was a pretty strong one. We'd just finished watching the India-England match and the doors and windows were going from one side to another as if they were made of paper. There was some trauma as well for the boys," Bari said

Kiwi pacer Matt Henry, who hails from the city, added that this would be a good time to play cricket as it would provide a distraction for the people of New Zealand after the natural disaster.

"It always brings the community together - provides a brief moment of normality. It's probably good timing to have the Test match this week. Hopefully the weather plays it's part," Henry said.

Both teams are scheduled to have training sessions on Tuesday but the area continues to be hit by aftershocks. The Hagley Oval become a Test venue for the Kiwis after the Christchurch ground was destroyed by an earthquake in 2011.

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