New territory for Southee-led Black Caps

Fast bowler Tim Southee (right), seen here last month discussing ODI tactics with Kane Williamson, will lead New Zealand in the test series against Pakistan now Williamson has relinquished the captaincy. PHOTO: GETTY IMAGES

The Black Caps will be in new territory in more ways than one when they front for the first test against Pakistan in Karachi today.

For a start it will mark the first time the Black Caps have played in Pakistan since 2003.

They were meant to tour the country last year, but pulled out due to security concerns.

Its 2002 tour was cut short following the Karachi bus bombing. New Zealand returned the following year and was thumped 5-0 in the ODI series.

New Zealand has won only three ODIs on Pakistan soil — the last in 1996 — and just two of the 19 tests in Pakistan.

That is not a track record of success.

The visitors will have some extra challenges as well.

There is no Trent Boult to partner with Tim Southee. That partnership has been incredibly productive and the pair were instrumental in helping New Zealand claim the inaugural World Test Championship.

Boult has decided it is time to put his family first and earn some extra coin in the process by playing in the Australian Big Bash.

It is not a great result for test cricket when someone with 317 wickets opts to play in a more lucrative and less demanding format.

Good luck to him, but Boult leaves a big gap.

The other big talking point is the decision by Kane Williamson to surrender the captaincy reins. He steered New Zealand to 22 wins during 40 games in charge.

Southee will take over and that may well signal a change from the old steady-the-ship format which worked so well to a more aggressive approach.

The Black Caps do not have the team to play Bazball and match the English approach which proved highly successful. They just crushed Pakistan 3-0 in the test series earlier this month.

Harry Brook scored 468 runs at a strike rate of 93.41 in that series. That is some batting and he had some good company. Ben Duckett posted 357 runs at an even better strike rate of 95.71.

It is a big series for Williamson. His troublesome elbow injury has slowed the flow of runs we have come to expect from the 32-year-old.

He needs another 316 runs to replace Ross Taylor at the top of the run-scoring list for New Zealand. But most of all he needs a big score to recapture some of his mojo.

Williamson has scored more than 50 once in his last 10 test innings. For a player of his class, that is a drought.

Kyle Jamieson is making his way back from injury and is not in the tour party either, so the team is a couple of seamers down.

That will not matter as much in the subcontinent, where spin plays a bigger role. Ajaz Patel will lead the slow-bowling attack.

It will be interesting to see whether New Zealand opts for a second specialist in Ish Sodhi or all-rounder Michael Bracewell.

Glenn Phillips has been furiously working on his off-spin and might be another option. He certainly adds plenty with the bat.

Pakistan has recalled fast bowler Hasan Ali, and uncapped batter Kamran Ghulam has also been included in the 16-strong squad. Ghulam takes the spot vacated by the test retirement of Azhar Ali.

Pace bowler Naseem Shah has recovered from a shoulder complaint, but injured key bowlers Shaheen Afridi and Haris Rauf are still sidelined.

First test

Karachi, 6pm

New Zealand: Tom Latham, Will Young, Kane Williamson, Devon Conway, Henry Nicholls, Daryl Mitchell, Tom Blundell, Michael Bracewell, Neil Wagner, Tim Southee (captain), Ajaz Patel, Ish Sodhi, Matt Henry, Blair Tickner, Glenn Phillips.

Pakistan: Babar Azam (captain), Abdullah Shafique, Abrar Ahmed, Agha Salman, Hasan Ali, Imam-ul-Haq, Kamran Ghulam, Mohammad Nawaz, Mohammad Rizwan, Mohammad Wasim, Naseem Shah, Nauman Ali, Sarfaraz Ahmed, Saud Shakeel, Shan Masood, Zahid Mehmood.