New Zealand’s cricket
coach Glenn Pocknall on Tuesday said his team were ready to have a crack at
Pakistan, insisting the heavy security surrounding the players would not be a
distraction.

International cricket in Pakistan was suspended in the
aftermath of terror attacks on the Sri Lankan side in 2009, but has been slowly
revived over the past two years.

“I think we are now used to (the security) in some way,
coming from Bangladesh where we had convoys for two weeks. So it’s just an
extension to what we had over there,” said Pocknall, standing for the
rested regular coach Gary Stead.

“The players are really excited to be here, it’s been a
long time coming so they are all grateful to have this opportunity… and to
have a crack at this very good Pakistan team,” he said at a Zoom press
conference.

New Zealand arrived in two batches on Saturday and early
Sunday, welcomed with a level of security usually reserved for visiting heads
of state that included armed guards escorting their bulletproof buses.

The Black Cap squad, who are returning for the first time
since 2003, are staying in an Islamabad hotel guarded by a heavy paramilitary
and a police contingent.

They have come from Bangladesh, where they were beaten 2-3
in the Twenty20 international series.

New Zealand opener Martin Guptill — who arrived early
Sunday — described how the team were off the plane and straight into an
armoured van.

“We had a dozen or so police cars behind us, and armed
soldiers around us at all times, and a lot of cars in the motorcade. We felt as
though we were extremely safe,” Guptill said at a Zoom press conference on
Monday.

“There is a little bit of nerves but they’re there to
protect us,” he said, adding the team were excited to get on the field.

Their first ODI against Pakistan will be held in the
garrison city of Rawalpindi, just next to the capital Islamabad, followed by
two further Tests on Sunday and Tuesday.

The two teams will also play five Twenty20 internationals —
all in Lahore.

The Sri Lankan cricket team were the first to return to
Pakistan in 2019, while South Africa visited for a tour in January after a 14
year gap.