‘Sunstrike’ interrupts play in Napier during New Zealand, Pakistan T20I

The third Twenty20 International (T20I) between New Zealand and Pakistan faced a short interruption due to the sun glare over the Chapman Stand at the western end of McLean Park in Napier.

Thankfully, the delay, which came when the Black Caps were 85/3 off 11.4 overs, lasted only five minutes and play was able to resume under artificial lights.

Wicketkeeper-batsman and opener Tim Seifert (35) and skipper Kane Williamson (1) were both cleaned up by Pakistan’s all-rounder Faheem Ashraf facing to the western end.

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But this was not the first time the sun had stopped the game in Napier during an international match. In January 2019, an ODI match between the home side and India caused a 40-minute delay.

“We haven't had to deal with too many sunstrikes. We knew in some of the domestic T20 games it had been the case. It is fairly considerable and it did have to happen,” said Kane Williamson, about the interruption during the India game.

“It's hard to move the sun and hard to move the grandstand. We didn't have either of those options so we had to sit down for a bit,” he added.  

New Zealand had set Pakistan a target of 174 runs during the match as they look to complete a series whitewash over the tourists.