Pakistan captain Shadab Khan with victorious Black Caps captain Kane Williamson at the end of game two of the International T20 series. Photo / Getty
Pakistan captain Shadab Khan with victorious Black Caps captain Kane Williamson at the end of game two of the International T20 series. Photo / Getty
A cloudy night with the prospect of showers is expected for Tuesday's Twenty20 cricket international and Black Caps captain Kane Williamson's return at McLean Park, Napier.
Williamson, who emerged prominently at an under-15 tournament in 2004, returns to the team from a short absence after another emergence - the birthof his first child last Wednesday.
The scene was starting to be set yesterday with pitch-rolling on the oval and security at the gate, despite the game being more than 48 hours away, with the teams about four hours away in Hamilton preparing for tonight's second game in the five-match series.
The Black Caps beat Pakistan by five wickets with seven balls remaining in the first match in Auckland on Friday night,.
Twenty20 – a quick-fire game of 20 overs-a-side and lasting about three hours - emerged as cricket's third international format, after five-day tests and one-day, with a women's match between New Zealand and England in 2004. A year later New Zealand featured in the first men's Twenty20 international against Australia.
Tuesday night's feature will be the Black Caps' third Twenty20 match at McLean Park, having beaten Bangladesh by six wickets in the first in January 2017 and losing the second by 76 runs to England in November last year, being all out in less than 17 overs chasing the big England score of 241/3, which included 103 not out off 51 balls by Dawid Malan.
Pakistan have a particular place in McLean Park history, having been New Zealand's opponent in the first cricket test match on the ground, in 1979.
Another international Twenty20 international will be played at McLean Park on March 21, between the Black Caps and Bangladesh.
