Lahore
The Pakistan Cricket Board on Monday confirmed an updated schedule of its men’s national cricket team’s tour of England, which will comprise three Tests and as many T20Is. The opening Test will be played at Old Trafford, Manchester, from 5-9 August, which will be followed by back to back Tests at the Ageas Bowl, Southampton, from 13-17 August and 21-25 August, said a spokesman of the PCB here. “The action will then return to Manchester as Old Trafford will be the venue for three T20Is, which will be played on 28 and 30 August, and 1 September”, he said. The side has been in Worcestershire since 29 June for their 14-day quarantine period during which they are training, practicing and playing scenario/intra-side matches. On 13 July, the side will travel to Derbyshire before arriving in Manchester on 1 August, he added
England will host Ireland in a three-match one-day international series starting on July 30 before taking on Pakistan in a packed summer calendar, the England & Wales Cricket Board announced on Monday. The Ireland squad will arrive in England and set up their base at the Ageas Bowl, Southampton on July 18, before facing world champions England in three ODIs at the same venue.
The second and third ODIs between the two sides will be on Aug. 1 and Aug. 4 respectively. Ireland have only beaten England once in their 10 ODI encounters. Pakistan, who arrived in England on June 28 to quarantine themselves ahead of the bilateral series, will face the hosts in three tests and three Twenty20 internationals.
The first test will be played from Aug. 5-9 at Old Trafford, before the teams head to Southampton for the second (Aug. 13-17) and then third test (Aug. 21-25). The three T20 matches will be played at Old Trafford, with the opening game scheduled for Aug. 28. England return to action following the COVID-19 stoppage with three tests against West Indies, with the first match scheduled to begin in Southampton on Wednesday without fans in attendance. “It has taken significant effort and expertise to allow us to reach a position where cricket is now ready and able to return to the field of play from the elite level to recreational cricket,” ECB Chief Executive Tom Harrison said in a statement.
“We owe a significant debt of gratitude to the players, staff and administrators of the Cricket West Indies, Cricket Ireland, and the Pakistan Cricket Board for their willingness and co-operation to get international cricket back up and running.” The ECB confirmed it was also exploring options to host England s limited-overs series against Australia this summer.
The following is the training and match schedule, which is subject to any last-minute changes: 6-12 Jul – Practice, intra-squad matches and rest at New Road 13 Jul – Travel to Derbyshire 15-30 Jul – Practice, intra-squad matches and rest, The County Ground
1 Aug – Travel to Manchester 5-9 Aug – 1st Test, Old Trafford 10 Aug – Travel to Southampton 13-17 Aug – 2nd Test, Ageas Bowl 21-25 Aug – 3rd Test, Ageas Bowl 26 Aug – Travel to Mancheste 28 Aug – 1st T20I, Old Trafford 30 Aug – 2nd T20I, Old Trafford 1 Sept – 3rd T20I, Old Trafford 2 Sept – Departure for Lahore.—Agencies
