Sports Bulletin Report
LAHORE: The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) today (Tuesday) announced its men’s side will play 10 additional T20Is against New Zealand in the 2023-24 season as part of its strategic decision to provide best preparation opportunities for the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2024.
Following three ICC World Test Championship matches in Australia from 14 December to 7 January, Pakistan will travel to New Zealand for five T20Is, which will kick-start their T20 World Cup preparations. These matches will be held from 12-21 January.
Schedule:
12 Jan – 1st T20I, Auckland
14 Jan – 2nd T20I, Hamilton
17 Jan – 3rd T20I, Dunedin
19 Jan – 4th T20I, Christchurch
21 Jan – 5th T20I, Christchurch
In turn, New Zealand will make a return visit to Pakistan in April 2024 for five T20Is to fill the vacant window. Details of the series will be released closer to time.
The additional series will mean in the lead up to the T20 World Cup, to be co-hosted by the West Indies and the USA in June 2024, Pakistan will play 19 T20Is (10 vs New Zealand, three vs the Netherlands, two vs Ireland and four vs England). In addition to the 19 international matches, the PCB will also host its own cut-throat HBL Pakistan Super League 2024 in February/March 2024.
To schedule the additional T20Is, the Pakistan Cricket Board, in consultation with Cricket West Indies and New Zealand Cricket, has made slight changes to its Future Tours Programme 2023-2025.
The two ICC World Test Championship fixtures against the West Indies, originally planned in Pakistan in February 2024, will now be held in January 2025. Likewise, Pakistan’s tour to New Zealand for three ODIs and five T20Is, originally scheduled in January 2025, will now take place in April 2025.
Pakistan and New Zealand recently played a highly-competitive and entertaining five-match T20I series in April/May in Lahore and Rawalpindi, which ended in a two-all draw. Prior to the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2022 in Australia, Pakistan had featured and won the T20I series in Christchurch with Bangladesh as the third side.
New Zealand and Pakistan are ranked third and fourth, respectively in the ICC T20I Team Rankings with just two points separating them.
ICC Women’s Championship 2022-25
Meanwhile, Pakistan women’s cricket team’s schedule of matches in New Zealand have also been confirmed.
The side will play three T20Is in Dunedin and Queenstown from 3-9 December, before taking on New Zealand in three ICC Women’s Championship 2022-25 ODIs from 12-18 December in Queenstown and Christchurch.
Schedule:
3 Dec – 1st T20I, Dunedin
5 Dec – 2nd T20I, Dunedin
9 Dec – 3rd T20I, Queenstown
12 Dec – 1st ODI, Queenstown (ICC Women’s Championship)
15 Dec – 2nd ODI, Christchurch (ICC Women’s Championship)
18 Dec – 3rd ODI, Christchurch (ICC Women’s Championship)
The ICC Women’s Championship series against New Zealand will be Pakistan’s third of the year following their home series against South Africa in Karachi from 1-14 September and October’s away series against Bangladesh. Their last two series in the ICC Women’s Championship will be against the West Indies (home, April 2024) and England (away, May 2024).
Pakistan has to date played three series, defeating Sri Lanka (2-1) and Ireland (3-0), and losing (3-0) to Australia. Both Pakistan and New Zealand have played three series of nine ODIs each and have 10 points apiece.
Pakistan men’s revised Future Tours Programme 2023-2025 (all Tests count towards the ICC World Test Championship 2023-2025)
2023-24
July – Pakistan to Sri Lanka (two Tests) (ongoing)
August – Pakistan to Afghanistan (three ODIs)
September – ACC 50-over Asia Cup in Pakistan and Sri Lanka
October/November – ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup India 2023
December/January – Pakistan to Australia (three Tests)
January – Pakistan to New Zealand (5T20Is)
April – New Zealand to Pakistan (5 T20Is)
May – Pakistan to the Netherlands (three T20Is), Ireland (two T20Is) and England (four T20Is)
June – ICC Men’s T20 World Cup USA/West Indies 2024
2024-25
August – Bangladesh in Pakistan (two Tests)
October – England in Pakistan (three Tests)
November – Pakistan to Australia (three ODIs and three T20Is)
November/December – Pakistan to Zimbabwe (three ODIs and three T20Is)
December/January – Pakistan to South Africa (two Tests, three ODIs, three T20Is)
January – West Indies in Pakistan (two Tests)
February – New Zealand and South Africa in Pakistan (ODI tri-series)
February/March – ICC Champions Trophy Pakistan 2025
April – Pakistan to New Zealand (three ODIs and five T20Is)
May – Bangladesh in Pakistan (three ODIs and three T20Is)
