New Zealand should start favourites for their three-test series against Pakistan.

The tourists are technically hosts for the series beginning in Dunedin on Tuesday, as the contest was due to take place in Pakistan before security issues made that impossible.

They arrive with a host of young up-and-comers and a sprinkling of experienced performers. But the conditions should suit the home team.

So who will be Pakistan's key performers if they are to depart next month with a "home" series win?

Mohammad Yousuf


Age 35, tests 82

Numbers tell the story about Pakistan's captain, who converted from Christianity to Islam four years ago.

He has hit 7023 runs at 54.86, with 24 hundreds. That puts him behind only Javed Miandad and Inzamam-ul-Haq as Pakistan's highest test run-makers, and his average is superior to all his countrymen.

A technically proficient player, Yousuf can stand tall in the finest company.

He'll be needed to show the way to the younger batsmen - only opener Imran Farhat can match his two previous tours to New Zealand; legspinner Danish Kaneria and medium pacer Umar Gul were also here last time six years ago.

Yousuf missed 19 months' international cricket while he played in the Indian Cricket League, then marked his return last July with 112 against Sri Lanka.

He knows New Zealand conditions well, hitting 203 at Christchurch in 2001 and he averaged 64.62 in six tests against New Zealand.

The big question will be his leadership.

He has captained Pakistan in only three previous tests, as a stand-in.

Can he draw the best out of his notoriously erratic countrymen and lift them to a series-winning performance?

Kamran Akmal


Age 27, tests 43

An explosive batsman, Akmal had to bide his time despite making his test debut seven years ago.

True to Pakistani tradition, Akmal first appeared in first-class cricket at the delicate age of 15 but Pakistan had two proficient wicketkeepers ahead of him, Moin Khan and Rashid Latif. Akmal got his opportunity in 2004 and despite the odd slump remains the man in possession of the big gloves.