New Zealand v Pakistan - Series Summary

On paper it was a series New Zealand had no right to draw; they were twice bowled out for under 100 in the first Test, they conceded a first innings lead in all three matches and three of their top six averaged under 14 for the series. However, thanks to the herculean efforts of Richard Hadlee, one masterful innings from Martin Donnelly and a Pakistani implosion on the final day of the final Test, a draw was precisely the outcome earned by the tenacious Kiwis. After being well and truly Waqared in Hamilton, Donnelly's 208 on recall secured a worthy draw in Christchurch, and after Hadlee had twice held the batting together in Napier, debutant Dipak Patel spun Pakistan to defeat on a McLean Park minefield. Jack Cowie and Stewie Dempster were also handed debuts during the series, and whilst none of the new Blackcaps set the world alight, all three should be in reckoning again when the Kiwis next take the field.

However heroic New Zealand's comeback though, this series will always be remembered for Waqar Younis's 10-44 in the first Test in Hamilton. The swing he generated raised doubt in some quarters but simple awe in most, although it was interesting to note that in his absence the ball hardly deviated off the straight during the second Test in Christchurch. Nonetheless, his performance was remarkable, as was Wasim Akram's 163* from number eight in a second Test that rapidly became the 'tale of the tails;' indeed, the top orders of both sides failed to make much of an impact over the course of the series as a whole. One man certainly making an impact was the chirruping Moin Khan, who replaced the injured Wasim Bari for the first Test then kept his place for the series, but despite some high octane cameos with the bat and a haul of 17 catches in the three Tests, his keeping was not always watertight, and there will be a battle for the gloves before Pakistan's next series.

New Zealand Batting
MP Donnelly 302 runs @ 75.50, RJ Hadlee 265 @ 44.17, GM Turner 139 @ 23.17, SL Boock 92 @ 23.00, CS Dempster 84 @ 21.00

New Zealand Bowling
RJ Hadlee 17 wkts @ 22.29, J Cowie 11 @ 30.45, JR Reid 6 @ 30.67, SL Boock 6 @ 35.33

Pakistan Batting
Wasim Akram 262 runs @ 65.50, Saeed Anwar 187 @ 37.40, Zaheer Abbas 179 @ 35.80, Javed Miandad 168 @ 33.60, Saeed Ahmed 119 @ 23.80

Pakistan Bowling
Waqar Younis 24 wkts @ 9.54, Fazal Mahmood 15 @ 19.20, Wasim Akram 9 @ 31.00, Imran Khan 7 @ 34.43

SERIES DRAWN 1-1


Players of the Series: RJ Hadlee & Waqar Younis