September 26, 2007	Wednesday	Ramazan 13, 1428

KARACHI, Sept 25: A 15-member South African squad, led by Graeme Smith, is scheduled to arrive here on Wednesday on a five-week tour of Pakistan during which they will play two Tests and five One-day Internationals.

Since their readmission into international cricket in 1991, South Africa have figured in only two Test series on Pakistan soil. They won the three-match series 1-0 in 1997-98 when the late Hansie Cronje was their captain.

But when Smith captained the Proteas in 2003-04, Pakistan emerged winners 1-0 in a two-match rubber which was overshadowed by row over security.

That was a tour that almost got called off after a bomb explosion in an isolated office block rocked Karachi just 48 hours before the South Africans were due to land here.

The then United Cricket Board of South Africa (UCBSA) promptly announced the tour was off. But later, the investigations revealed that the blast was connected with gang-rivalry rather than being an act of terrorism.

All this took place after a UCBSA security delegation declared it was safe to tour Pakistan which by then had suffered financially due to the apprehensions of touring teams in the wake of 9/11 attacks in the US and the ghastly bomb blast that led to New Zealand’s 2002 tour of Pakistan ending prematurely.

But following a series of compensation threats, South Africa agreed to play in Pakistan on the condition that Karachi and Peshawar were axed from the list of match venues.

However, the situation has gradually changed for the better since then with teams agreeing to play in Karachi, which is one of the country’s major cricketing centres.

Significantly, it will be a historic occasion come Monday when South Africa play their first-ever Test in this bustling city of 16 million.

Following their failure to reach the semi-finals of the recently-concluded Twenty20 World Championship in their own backyard, South Africa will be overtly keen to taste success in the coming weeks against a rejuvenated Pakistan side that lost the Monday’s final to old foes India by just five runs.

Seven members of the current squad — Smith, Shaun Pollock, Jacques Kallis, Herschelle Gibbs, Mark Boucher, Makhaya Ntini and Andre Nel — are the survivors of the 2003-04 trip while Pollock and Kallis remain the only players to have also visited Pakistan in 1997-98.

The tourists are slated to have a two-hour practice session on Wednesday at the NBP Sports Complex where they play a three-day warm-up match against the PCB Patron’s XI from Thursday.

At the time of writing, the South Africans had not yet settled their squad for the one-day series that follows the Tests. Regular limited-overs specialists Justin Kemp, Albie Morkel, Johan van der Wath and Vernon Philander are certain to be named for the ODI series.

Squad: Graeme Smith (captain), Hashim Amla, Mark Boucher, A.B. de Villiers, Jean-Paul Duminy, Herschelle Gibbs, Paul Harris, Jacques Kallis, Morne Morkel, Andre Nel, Makhaya Ntini, Shaun Pollock, Ashwell Prince, Dale Steyn. Mickey Arthur (coach), Goolam Rajah (manager).

Schedule:

Sept 26: Arrive in Karachi.

Sept 27-29: v Patron’s XI (NBP Sports Complex, Karachi).

Oct 1-5: First Test (National Stadium, Karachi).

Oct 8-12: Second Test (Gaddafi Stadium, Lahore).

Oct 16: One-day warm-up match (Sheikhupura).

Oct 18: First One-day International (Gaddafi Stadium, Lahore, D/N).

Oct 20: Second One-day International (Gaddafi Stadium, Lahore, D/N).

Oct 23: Third One-day International (Iqbal Stadium, Faisalabad, D/N).

Oct 26: Fourth One-day Inter-national (Multan Cricket Stadium, D/N).

Oct 29: Fifth One-day International (National Stadium, Karachi, D/N).

Oct 30: Depart for Johannesburg.