The Black Caps are on their way home from Dubai after their aborted tour of Pakistan.
The 34 strong New Zealand team evacuated to Dubai at the weekend citing a security threat just hours before their one day series against Pakistan was due to get underway in Rawalpindi.
This afternoon a group of 24 players left for New Zealand with others remaining in Dubai ahead of next month's T20 World Cup there.
Before boarding their home flight skipper Tom Latham described how things unfolded last Friday.
Pakistan cricket captain Babar Azam and New Zealand captain Tom Latham hold the trophy the two sides were supposed to compete for in the one day series which was abandoned. Photo: Photosport
"It was just a normal game day ... and then we got a message on the team 'What's App' group that there was a team meeting and everyone was wondering what was up ... and then we were told we were heading home," he said.
They then spent 24 hours locked down in their hotel in Islamabad before leaving for Dubai, where they arrived on Sunday morning.
"It was an interesting 24 hours post that decision, but obviously New Zealand Cricket, the players' association...everyone on the ground in Pakistan obviously had our players' safety first and foremost."
"The guys dealt with it all slightly differently, but we stayed tight as a group over there and just spent time together, just bouncing off each other, in the 24 hours we had still in Islamabad."
Latham said he feels for the Pakistan side who were set to play the Black Caps in Pakistan for the first time in nearly 20 years.
"To have cricket back in the country was something they were very proud of. I remember doing the captain's (media session) with Babar Azam and he was saying how happy he was to have international cricket back and to have us there - he was obviously very excited.
"It was an historic moment for New Zealand Cricket too, to be back there 18 years since we were last there so to be there was something special but things change."
-RNZ
