KARACHI, May 8: The second cricket Test between Pakistan and New Zealand, which was scheduled to begin on Wednesday morning, was called off and the Kiwis’ tour of Pakistan was cancelled following a suicide bomb attack just in front of the hotel in which the two teams were staying. The New Zealand team left for home in the evening.

The members of the two teams were unhurt except for New Zealand physiotherapist Dayle Shackel who suffered a minor bruise on his left arm.

Match referee Mike Procter of South Africa told a crowded press conference in the morning that the decision to call off the tour had been taken with mutual consent of the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) and the New Zealand Cricket (NZC).

“In consultation with the PCB and the NZC and because of security reasons, the second Test has been called off. So, the tour is over,” Procter said.

New Zealand’s current tour was rescheduled after it was initially cancelled in September following terrorist attacks in Washington and New York. The Black Caps had returned home from Singapore on Sept 13.

New Zealand were the first international team since September last year to visit Pakistan for a full tour that included three one-day internationals and two Tests. Pakistan had won the first Test by an innings and 324 runs at Lahore after sweeping the one-dayers.

It is the third time that a New Zealand tour has been affected by bomb blasts. The previous two incidents happened in Colombo, Sri Lanka, in 1987 and 1993. While the 1987 series was called off, the tour in 1993 went on though half of the side refused to carry on and were replaced by fresh players.

New Zealand team manager Jeff Crowe, said his boys were not scared but definitely felt uneasy.