Pakistan tour of Zimbabwe 2002-03

Third official Test-playing tour by Pakistan to Zimbabwe

(November-December 2002)

By the end of the Australia series Pakistan had slumped to eighth spot in the latest Test championship ratings and fourth in the one-day table.

At the last moment the Pakistan Cricket Board reversed its decision that touring players would now be rewarded on performance rather than previous Test experience and retained the 'slab system' where a senior player gets a higher match fee than a junior one.

In the one-day series Zimbabwe were overwhelmed and Pakistan gave them a 5-0 thrashing

All other Pakistan tours

To Sharjah (v Australia)

To South Africa 2002-03

To New Zealand 2003-04

To Australia 2004-05

To India 2004-05

To West Indies 2004-05

To Sri Lanka 2005-06

To England 2006

To South Africa 2006-07

To India 2007-08

To Sri Lanka 2009

To Australia 2009-10

Members of the Test tour party

Teams:   

 AB  Allied Bank

 HB   Habib Bank

 KRL

 NB  National Bank

 PIA  Pakistan International Airways

 ZTBL Zarai Taraqiati Bank Limited

Average age of  team at time of first Test match

(18 October 2002) :

   23 yrs 7 months

Test Appearances made before the tour

Management Team

* Hanif Mohammad was appointed on 1 November for the Test matches only

Selectors

Wasim Bari (chairman),

Selection

Despite the poor showing against Australia in Sharjah, Waqar Younis was retained as captain on 25 October. 

A practice match was organised at Gaddafi Stadium, Lahore, to help the selectors finalise the team. The PCB had also requested Javed Miandad and Hanif Mohammad to give coaching to the players.

Unavailable:  Azhar Mahmood recovering in England from recurrence of a shoulder injury

Wasim Akram was not considered for the Tests but was named in the one-day side.

Team announced:  26 October 2002.

Notable omissions:   Saeed Anwar, Moin Khan, Danish Kaneria, Imran Farhat and Rana Naveed-ul-Hasan

Wasim Bari said Saeed Anwar was left out because he lacked confidence and his fielding has also deteriorated while Moin Khan was not picked "because our policy has been to always select a younger wicketkeeper as understudy on all long tours".

Travel

The Pakistani team departed from Lahore on Friday 1 November 2002, passing in transit through Johannesburg on their way to Zimbabwe. They arrived in Harare the same evening, 1 November 2002. After practice at Harare South Country Club on Saturday and Sunday they began their warm-up match on Monday.

The one-day specialists - Wasim Akram, Misbah-ul-Haq and Azhar Mahmood - left for Harare on 16 November and joined the squad in Bulawayo two days later.

Reinforcements

Rashid Latif did not play a match before getting injured (neck and back).  No replacement was called for as it was hoped Rashid could return for the South African tour.

Mohammad Sami was to be sent back after the Test series but the team management asked for him to be available for the one-day international series against Zimbabwe.

Fixtures/Results

˜  ODI

õ not first-class

Test appearances on tour

2 -  Hasan Raja, Inzamamul Haq, Kamran Akmal, Mohammad Sami, Saleem Elahi, Saqlain Mushtaq, Shoaib Akhtar, Taufeeq Umar, Waqar Younis, Younis Khan, Yousuf Youhana.

0 -  Faisal Iqbal, Mohammad Zahid, Rashid Latif, Shahid Afridi,

Highlights

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Tour Summary

Return to Pakistan

Rashid Latif returned home on 17 November after consulting specialists in Johannesburg for his neck and back injuries.

Batting coach Hanif Mohammad and Hasan Raza returned from Zimbabwe on 21 November.

The team left Harare for Johannesburg, South Africa, on 2 December 2002.