Pak vs NZ: Official schedule, timing, departure dates for Nov tour

The Pakistan cricket team will tour New Zealand in November to play three T20Is and two Test matches, it was announced jointly by cricket boards of both the countries on Tuesday.

According to the schedule provided, an extended national contingent, also joined by Pakistan Shaheens, will depart for New Zealand on November 23 and spend 14 days in quarantine in Lincoln.

The series will kick-off with first of the three T20Is on the 18th in Auckland, followed by the 2nd T20I on the 20th in Hamilton and the 3rd on the 22nd in Napier.

The two-match Test series, a part of the ICC Test Championship, will be played from December 26.

Bay Oval, at Mount Maunganui in Tauranga, will host the Boxing Day Test between Pakistan and New Zealand. The second Test will be played from January 3 in Christchurch.

In the ICC World Test Championship, the fourth-placed New Zealand lead the fifth-placed Pakistan by 14 points but the Kiwis have played a series less. A maximum of 120 points will be up for grabs (60 points for a win) in the series as both sides aim to cut the gap on front-runners India (360 points), Australia (296 points) and England (292 points).

Zakir Khan, the PCB‘s director international cricket, said that New Zealand boast some “outstanding cricket facilities with supportive and knowledgeable crowds”.

“Pakistan has always enjoyed touring New Zealand and have performed well there, and we look forward to similar performances from our side on this tour,” he said.

“New Zealand series will be our penultimate series in the ICC World Test Championship, with the last series against South Africa at home following this tour. We remain optimistic and committed to finishing on a high in the championship as it is our endeavor to become one of the top-performing Test playing nations,” Zakir added.

All three T20Is will start at 12pm Pakistan time, while both the Test matches will start at 4:00am (also PST).

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