RAWALPINDI: Pakistan and New Zealand will go into Thursday's () opening match of their five-ODI series at the Pindi Stadium with one eye on the World Cup.
Both Pakistan and New Zealand have qualified directly for the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup 2023 after finishing in the top-eight of the 13-team ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup Super League. New Zealand topped the Super League with 16 wins in 24 matches, while Pakistan finished fifth with 13 wins in 21 matches.
Pakistan skipper Babar Azam said ahead of the first ODI : “Each and every match that we play from now on holds a great significance for us. This series is a brilliant opportunity for us to fine-tune our combinations and gather the momentum ahead of the mega events in the shape of Asia Cup and the much-anticipated World Cup.
“This team has done well in the past one year in the one-day format and I have firm faith in my boys that they will perform according to expectations in the exciting next seven months.” New Zealand captain Tom Latham said he wanted the team to convert the T20 series comeback into the ODI series. “Though the World Cup is an important event, we are not looking towards the event that is months ahead. We are totally focusing on the series and will make our best efforts to win it with the resources we have at our hands,” said Latham, who is captaining the side in absence of injured Kane Williamson.
The under strength New Zealand team is also without the services of Devon Conway, Tim Southee, Trent Boult and Martin Guptill, who are busy playing IPL. Latham said he expected Mark Chapman to extend his T20 form into the ODI series. “Now when he has joined us for the ODI series, hopefully Chapman’s incredible run of form would continue going into the five-match one-day series,” he said.
“The T20Is proved an outstanding series and we’re looking forward to switching to one day mode now. The preparation wasn’t ideal but for us that wasn’t an excuse. It was about just keep getting better game by game and keep learning. We did that and to come out with a series draw after being two down was awesome.
“It’s a new format, and we have to adapt quickly. Hopefully we can do that straight away,” said Latham. Opening batsman Imamul Haq highlighted Pakistan’s recent ODI performances as they have won nine out of their last 12 matches. “T20 and ODI are different formats and as such require different approaches. It is not that New Zealand have fielded their second string. The side is there to win the series and I think they have a balanced side. We will have to play our best cricket to beat them. We should not repeat mistakes that we made during the T20 series,” Imam said.
Pakistan’s record since the start of last year has been remarkable. During this period, Pakistan have beaten Australia (2-1), West Indies (3-0) and the Netherlands (3-0) before losing to New Zealand (2-1) earlier in the year in Karachi.
Thursday’s match will be the first between the two sides at the Pindi Cricket Stadium in 20 years. In 2003, New Zealand played two ODIs and lost both.
Pakistan – Babar Azam (captain), Shadab Khan (vice-captain), Abdullah Shafique, Fakhar Zaman, Haris Rauf, Haris Sohail, Ihsanullah, Imam-ul-Haq, Mohammad Haris (wk), Mohammad Nawaz, Mohammad Rizwan (wk), Mohammad Wasim Jnr, Naseem Shah, Salman Ali Agha, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Shan Masood and Usama Mir
New Zealand - Tom Latham (captain), Adam Milne, Ben Lister, Blair Tickner, Chad Bowes, Cole McConchie, Daryl Mitchell, Henry Nicholls, Henry Shipley, Ish Sodhi, Jimmy Neesham, Mark Chapman, Matt Henry, Rachin Ravindra, Tom Blundell and Will Young.