Pakistan Tour New Zealand 2026-27 1st Test Day 1 Preview Probable XI

Pakistan's tour of New Zealand 2026-27 opens with a Test at Bay Oval, Mount Maunganui, on the indicative date of 28 December 2026. The tour follows New Zealand's home summer schedule and lands in a window where Bay Oval has historically suited seam-friendly conditions in the morning and even-paced batting through the middle of the day. Pakistan tours New Zealand without a recent Test win on these shores; this is a chance to flip that line.

Day 1 timings

Bay Oval Tests start at 11:00 a.m. NZT to use the full daylight window into stumps.

Zone	Start time
NZT (Mount Maunganui)	11:00 a.m.
AEST	09:00
IST	03:30
PKT	03:00
GMT	22:00 (previous day)
EST	17:00 (previous day)

Series fixture context

Test	Indicative Date	Venue	Days
1st	28 Dec 2026 - 01 Jan 2027	Bay Oval, Mount Maunganui	5
2nd	06 Jan - 10 Jan 2027	Hagley Oval, Christchurch	5

Probable XIs

Pakistan: Abdullah Shafique, Saim Ayub, Babar Azam, Saud Shakeel, Mohammad Rizwan (wk), Salman Ali Agha, Aamer Jamal, Shaheen Shah Afridi (c), Naseem Shah, Khurram Shahzad, Abrar Ahmed.

The selection question is between Abrar at five-bowler depth or a second spinner in Sajid Khan. Bay Oval's grassier deck usually pushes for the seam-heavy combination.

New Zealand: Devon Conway, Tom Latham (c), Will Young, Kane Williamson, Daryl Mitchell, Tom Blundell (wk), Mitchell Santner, Glenn Phillips, Tim Southee, Matt Henry, William O'Rourke.

Henry's recent IPL stint and O'Rourke's express pace combine for a sharp new-ball partnership. Phillips offers a part-time spinner.

Broadcast and streaming

Sky NZ holds the host broadcast rights. Pakistan's home feed is on PTV Sports and Tamasha. India: FanCode is expected. UK and Ireland on Sky Sports. North America on Willow TV. SuperSport in southern Africa. Bay Oval's small-ground intimate broadcast angles are a favourite of cricket's long-form watchers.

Tickets and venue logistics

Bay Oval ticketing through the New Zealand Cricket portal and Ticketmaster. General admission day passes around NZD 35-45, family passes around NZD 80, premium grandstand NZD 90-120. Free shuttle buses from the Mount Maunganui town centre. The ground is right next to the beach; expect strong sun on day 1 and cooler evening sessions.

Weather and pitch read

Mount Maunganui in late December is dry and breezy, with morning cloud common. Day 1 typically offers swing and seam in the first session and even pace from lunch. Tests have averaged 27.4 runs per wicket here over the past three seasons, which suggests a balanced surface. Toss winner usually bowls if there is morning cloud.

What this Test means

A WTC cycle window for both teams. Pakistan has lost ground in the table after the West Indies tour and needs the win badly. New Zealand is in rebuild mode after the senior-end transitions and is using the home Tests to lock its next-cycle batting top three. Williamson's availability is key.

For series context on the ODI leg that follows, see the 1st ODI day-1 preview piece. For broader tour reading, the New Zealand vs Pakistan tri-series final coverage in the tri-series final recap provides recent form context.

Toss is at 10:30 a.m. NZT. The series opener is the bigger of the two Tests by historical run-of-play — Hagley tends to be the swing bowler's ground — and Pakistan's tour can swing on day 1 here.