ISLAMABAD, Pakistan: Pakistan and New Zealand will play their first test as per schedule on November 17 despite the 7.8 magnitude earthquake which struck Christchurch and its adjoining areas on Monday.
Pakistan’s men will take on the Black Caps in the first test at Christchurch’s Hagley Oval on Thursday, while their women’s side faces the White Ferns in the fourth one-day international at Nelson’s Saxton Oval the same day.
The team was in a Nelson hotel when the quake struck around midnight and the team was rattled in the moment in the scary event.
A series of powerful earthquakes jolted New Zealand’s South Island, triggering a tsunami and sending aftershocks across the country.
The first event, a 7.8-magnitude quake, struck just after midnight Monday near the coastal community of Kaikoura, some 93 kilometers (55 miles) northeast of the city of Christchurch, the US Geological Survey reported.
Talking to the state-run news agency APP, a Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) official said that most of the players were in their rooms when the earthquake cam banging windows and doors.
“But the players (men and cricket team players) have settled down now,” he said.
However he said that the Pakistan and New Zealand will play their first test match as per schedule on November 17 as no changes have been announced yet.