WELLINGTON: New Zealand face Pakistan in a Twenty20 international at Auckland’s Eden Park tomorrow to launch a series set to be overshadowed by corruption claims swirling around the visiting team.
New Zealand Cricket chief Justin Vaughan admitted in September he was concerned about how New Zealand fans would view the Pakistan team and the level of interest in a contest where one side was under a corruption cloud. The Black Caps’ dismal recent performances could also affect crowd numbers, although there will be interest in seeing whether former India coach Wright can turn around the team’s fortunes in time for the World Cup in February.
New Zealand Cricket’s Commercial Manager Peter Dwan said last week he remained “reasonably optimistic” the series would ignite public interest, despite the corruption allegations.
“We can’t change what is happening [with the fixing claims],” he told the New Zealand Herald. “All we can do is go to the market with a product we think is very compelling - a highly entertaining series of Twenty20, then a good Test series followed by One-Day Internationals of our national team against very good sportsmen who are successful on the pitch.”
New Zealand suffer setback
New Zealand suffered a setback after it was discovered that Brendon McCullum was likely to miss the first two Twenty20s due to back stiffness.
“He has shown great determination and a great willingness to push through discomfort in order to help New Zealand during the recent tour of India,” said New Zealand selector Glenn Turner. “But because McCullum’s committed to being a wicket-keeper-batsman for New Zealand in limited-overs cricket, we’re taking a longer-term view and will not risk further setbacks.”
On Wednesday, he had been named in the squad for the three Twenty20s but his availability was in doubt after a fitness test. Meanwhile, captain Daniel Vettori has already been rested from the Twenty20 matches due to a back problem as well.
Published in The Express Tribune, December 25th, 2010.
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