Security tight as New Zealand arrive in Lahore

High security as the New Zealand squad arrives in Lahore © AFP

After weeks or will-they, won't-they, a weakened New Zealand team finally arrived in Lahore for the start of their short tour of Pakistan.

The trip, scheduled as compensation following the abandonment of New Zealand's 2001 tour after a bomb blast in Karachi, gets underway with back-to-back day-night matches at Lahore on Sunday and Monday, with five games in all. Faisalabad hosts the third match on December 3 before the series ends at Rawaplindi on December 5 and 7.

There were several high-profile absences in the squad, with four players - Ian Butler, Craig McMillan, Scot Styris and Lou Vincent - withdrawing after receiving anonymous email threats a fortnight ago. Stephen Fleming pulled out after failing to recover from an abdominal injury.

The arrival was low-key with the tour party quickly ushered through the airport and onto their hotel, all the time accompanied by a large number of police and army commandos.

"We will provide the New Zealand team with full-fledged security," insisted Adnan Bokhari, the sub-inspector of the Lahore police. "They are our distinguished guests and the security is just like that we usually give to any head of state." Bokhari added that 2000 police and 150 commandos had been allocated to provide security for the New Zealanders.