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| Sunday, 21 April 2002 |
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Fitness worries for Kiwis ahead of Pakistan game KARACHI, April 20 (Reuters) - New Zealand's Craig McMillan and Chris Nevin were struggling to be fit for Sunday's opening one-day international against a rampant Pakistan fresh from routing Sri Lanka in the final of the Sharjah Cup. "McMillan and Nevin will have a fitness test this evening after which we will know if they can play the first match," captain Stephen Fleming told reporters on Saturday. McMillan has an ankle problem and wicketkeeper Nevin, who struck form in both the matches he played in Sharjah as a makeshift opener, has a hamstring injury. New Zealand are already missing strike bowlers Chris Cairns, Shane Bond and Dion Nash, while left-arm spinner Daniel Vettori has been rested for the one-day series to recover from fatigue and a knee problem. "We are a young side and we are struggling with injury problems. But we will try to do our best against a strong Pakistan side," Fleming said. Pakistan have no injury problems and will field the same side who won the Sharjah Cup by a stunning 217 runs after getting to the final by beating New Zealand by eight wickets. "We are playing well at the moment and we are very confident we can carry our winning form into this series," said Pakistani captain Waqar Younis. "What we have to guard against is complacency and the fact that our record at home in the last few years has not been very encouraging." The one-day series will be day/night matches to avoid the worst of the Pakistani heat but Fleming said the weather should not be a problem. "I think we have acclimatised ourselves well to this sort of weather in Sharjah. It should not be a problem," he said. "The major problem to my mind is the ability of the Pakistani bowlers to reverse swing on slow and dry pitches." Pakistan (from): Shahid Afridi, Imran Nazir, Yousaf Youhana, Inzamamul Haq, Younis Khan, Abdul Razzak, Rashid Latif, Wasim Akram, Waqar Younis (captain), Shoaib Akhtar, Saqlain Mushtaq, Shoaib Malik, Misbahul Haq, Muhammad Sami and Yasir Arafat. New Zealand (from): Matthew Horne, Nathan Astle, Matthew Sinclair, Stephen Fleming (captain), Lou Vincent, Craig McMillan, Chris Nevin, Jacob Oram, Chris Harris, Scott Styris, Daryl Tuffey, Ian Butler, James Franklin, Andre Adams, Brooke Walker and Robbie Hart. Umpires; Steve Bucknor (West Indies), Nadeem Ghouri (Pakistan) Match Referee; Mike Procter (South Africa). |
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