Cricket: Pakistan start and end at Eden Park

Mohammad Asif and his Pakistan teammates will begin their 11 match tour of New Zealand on December 26th . Photo / Getty Images

Eden Park will host internationals to top and tail Pakistan's six-week tour to New Zealand this summer.

The original plan was for three tests, but that's been trimmed by one.

The compensation - and test lovers would doubt that's the right word - is six ODIs as a nod to the World Cup tournament, which starts in mid-February, and three T20s.

The first of those is at Eden Park on Boxing Day.

The schedule ties in with the domestic HRV Cup T20 competition, which runs through December.

"The shape of the international schedule allows the maximum opportunity for Black Cap participation in the domestic T20 and also to provide a real focus on T20 during the period from early December to early January for both domestic and international cricket," New Zealand Cricket chief executive Justin Vaughan said.

Eden Park will farewell Pakistan with the final ODI before the teams set their sights on the subcontinent.

Pakistan won't quite be going home, though, their hosting rights for the World Cup having been removed in the wake of the Lahore terrorist attack on the Sri Lankan team in March last year.

India, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh will host that tournament.

The tests will be played in Hamilton and Wellington. Seddon Park will see more of the Pakistanis than any other venue, with an ODI and T20 besides the test being staged in Hamilton.

Games in Queenstown and Christchurch, which has two, ensure a solid South Island component to the visit.

When Pakistan came to New Zealand last summer for a series they technically hosted, the three tests were drawn 1-all.

T20
Dec 26: Eden Park.
Dec 28: Seddon Park, Hamilton.
Dec 30: Christchurch.

TESTS
Jan 7-11: Seddon Park.
Jan 15-19: Basin Reserve, Wellington.

ODIs
Jan 22: Westpac Stadium, Wellington.
Jan 26: Queenstown.
Jan 29: Christchurch.
Feb 1: McLean Park, Napier.
Feb 3: Seddon Park.
Feb 5: Eden Park.