The New Zealand national cricket team toured Pakistan during the 1996–97 cricket season. The tour consisted of a first-class game against an invitational Pakistani Cricket board XI, followed by two Test matches and three One Day International games. The hosts and tourists shared honours in the Test series, drawing 1–1, though New Zealand won with only a narrow 44-run margin in the first Test, and lost the second by an innings and ten runs. New Zealand's Stephen Fleming enjoyed a successful series with the bat, scoring 182 runs at 60.66 in the Test series and 172 runs at 86.00 in the ODI matches, though the rest of the New Zealand batting line-up were said by the New Zealand press to have let the side down with the bat during the Test matches. Nathan Astle, questioned over his place during the tour, redeemed himself with a half century in the final ODI match to alleviate heavy media pressure. Three Pakistan batsmen – Mohammad Wasim, Saeed Anwar and Ijaz Ahmed – all hit Test centuries. Ahmed also topped the Pakistan ODI batting averages. Mushtaq Ahmed was the most prolific wicket taker in the Test matches, with 18 wickets. Fleming and Anwar were both named Player of the Series in the Test and the ODI matches for their performances. The start of the series was overshadowed by political upheaval with the removal of Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto and rumours of violent unrest in Pakistan. Danny Morrison, New Zealand's "premier strike bowler" also pulled out with an injury. Background New Zealand faced several problems on the eve of their 1996–97 tour of Pakistan. Initially, over questions of safety, the New Zealand Cricket Board considered cancelling the tour in light of the removal of Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto and the resulting political fallout. Majid Khan, the then-chief executive of the Pakistan Cricket Board sent assurances to his opposite number in New Zealand, Christopher Doig, that the country was safe to tour. The New Zealand Ministry of Foreign Affairs also conducted an investigation and believed the tour was safe. New Zealand had previous called off tours of Sri Lanka in 1986–87, and in 1991–92 five players returned home early, all due to bombings and security concerns. The touring side warmed up with an engagement against the Pakistan Cricket Board XI over 17, 18 and 19 November at the Quaid-e-Azam Stadium, in Sahiwal. A drawn match, New