Akram feels at home
at Eden Park

Pakistan fast bowler Wasim Akram said on the eve of the first one-day international against New Zealand that playing on Auckland's Eden Park was like coming home.

Akram, likely to share the new ball in Saturday's match with the newly fit Shoiab Akhtar, said he made his first appearance at Eden Park on his first tour of the country in 1984.

He also has fond memories of the epic World Cup semifinal in 1992 when a 20-year-old Inzamam-ul-Haq and old stager Javed Miandad wrested control of the match from New Zealand to win and go on to beat England in the final in Melbourne.

"I remember that match as if it were yesterday," Wasim, whose wife gave birth to his second son in Manchester last week, said on Friday.

"It was the most important day of my career at that stage. New Zealand had won seven matches out of seven, including beating us, and had us in all sorts of trouble when Inzamam came in and rescued us.

"He was only 20 and had not had a good World Cup. That innings of 80-odd set him up as one of the best players in the world, and he has continued to be."

Former Pakistan skipper Akram, 34, said he is enjoying his cricket still and believed he has another two years left in him.

"I like playing under pressure and I have been under pressure for the last couple of years," he said in apparent reference to an investigation into betting and match-fixing in Pakistan.

Akram was censured and fined 300,000 rupees last May after the Pakistan Cricket Board released a report on the scandal.

Pakistan will name their team for the match just before the 2 p.m. start. New Zealand have the same 13 to choose from the side that played in the win over Sri Lanka last week, with the exception of Craig Spearman, who makes way for the fit-again Nathan Astle.

Mail Cricket Editor