Pakistan v New Zealand, 2014-15

	The Pakistan players observe a minute's silence at the start of the day in memory of Phillip Hughes © AFP Enlarge
Related Links Match reports : Pakistan v New Zealand, 2014-15 Series/Tournaments: New Zealand tour of United Arab Emirates Teams: New Zealand | Pakistan

Test matches (3): Pakistan 1, New Zealand 1
Twenty20 internationals (2): Pakistan 1, New Zealand 1
One-day internationals (5): Pakistan 2, New Zealand 3

Events elsewhere seemed to channel the cricket towards the simple pleasures of playing hard but fair, with minimal sledging. The camaraderie and cooperation shown by the teams during the Third Test after the death of Phillip Hughes in Australia, and again after the Taliban-driven Peshawar school massacre ahead of the fourth one-day international, lent some perspective.

Respects were paid - and a string of close contests ensued. Understandably, those traumas meant it was easy to miss New Zealand's true achievement. In each format Pakistan took the lead, only for the New Zealanders to fight back. They succeeded where England (in 2011-12) and Australia (a few weeks earlier) had so abjectly failed, coming back strongly in dusty conditions. A drawn Test series at least maintained Pakistan's proud record in the UAE, where they remained undefeated since relocating there after the 2009 Lahore terror attacks. The Twenty20s were shared too and, heading into the final match of the tour, the one-day series was all square. But New Zealand broke the deadlock to add another impressive 50-over away win, following triumphs in South Africa and England during the previous two years.

In fact, both sides looked capable of giving any opposition a thorough examination, regardless of match duration. Pakistan's 248-run victory in Abu Dhabi, where they lost just five wickets in 210 overs, gave little hint as to how events would unfold. Brendon McCullum's post-match assessment - "sometimes you have to admit you were second best… but don't overanalyse" - proved spot on. New Zealand recovered to draw the Second Test at Dubai, and their dismantling of Pakistan by an innings and 80 runs amid grief-stricken circumstances at Sharjah pointed to a team imbued with self-belief.

The New Zealanders had to be persuaded by their board to continue that Third Test, after the second day was postponed following news of Hughes's death. Coach Mike Hesson described the remainder of the match as "irrelevant", though New Zealand's third away victory in 24 attempts against Pakistan was certainly comprehensive. "Our focus at the moment is not on our performances, it's all about Phil," said McCullum, who knew Hughes better than any of his team-mates. Similarly, it was the Pakistan Cricket Board, rather than the players, who were keen for the fourth one-day international to go ahead.

The Test series could have been codenamed Operation Desert Strip. It looked as if it would throw up the sort of adversity that had always made away assignments against Pakistan such a challenge: since New Zealand started going to Pakistan, in 1955-56, they had won just one series there in eight, under Graham Dowling in 1969-70. Now, each surface was given the barber's equivalent of a No. 1, including scalp massages with stiff brooms, before mowers embarked on final cut-throat shaves. As expected, spin dominated: 60% of wickets fell that way, and off-spinner Mark Craig took ten for 203 at Sharjah, the venue's best figures.

A more prosaic concern was the effectiveness of DRS without recourse to Snickometer or Hot Spot: neither the PCB nor Ten Sports would stump up the cash. The technology would have helped in countless examples during the tour, and the experience ought to force the ICC to up the ante in search of a global DRS sponsor; they would have been guaranteed considerable brand exposure here. A theme emerged whereby the benefit of the doubt was given to the umpire rather than the batsman.

The pre-World Cup one-day internationals featured two talented sides attempting to learn everything they could before the squads were whittled down to 15 in the New Year. New Zealand rested Brendon McCullum, Tim Southee and Trent Boult, and went into the last game with just 11 players available, yet still snatched an impressive series win. Stand-in captain Kane Williamson sparkled with 346 runs in five innings, and the threat offered by Adam Milne, Matt Henry and Mitchell McClenaghan confirmed that few nations could call on such deep pace resources. Pakistan, for all their familiarity with the format and conditions, were clearly missing home: they had now lost eight of their last ten one-day series in the UAE.

Match reports for

Tour Match: Pakistan A v New Zealanders at Sharjah, Nov 3-5, 2014
Scorecard

1st Test: New Zealand v Pakistan at Abu Dhabi, Nov 9-13, 2014
Report | Scorecard

2nd Test: New Zealand v Pakistan at Dubai (DICS), Nov 17-21, 2014
Report | Scorecard

3rd Test: New Zealand v Pakistan at Sharjah, Nov 26-30, 2014
Report | Scorecard

1st T20I: New Zealand v Pakistan at Dubai (DICS), Dec 4, 2014
Report | Scorecard

2nd T20I: New Zealand v Pakistan at Dubai (DICS), Dec 5, 2014
Scorecard

1st ODI: New Zealand v Pakistan at Dubai (DICS), Dec 8, 2014
Report | Scorecard

2nd ODI: New Zealand v Pakistan at Sharjah, Dec 12, 2014
Report | Report | Scorecard

3rd ODI: New Zealand v Pakistan at Sharjah, Dec 14, 2014
Report | Scorecard

4th ODI: New Zealand v Pakistan at Abu Dhabi, Dec 17, 2014
Report | Scorecard

5th ODI: New Zealand v Pakistan at Abu Dhabi, Dec 19, 2014
Report | Scorecard