England vs Pakistan T20 series: Dates, schedule, squads and how to follow as Jos Buttler’s men prepare for World Cup defence
England will prepare for their T20 World Cup defence later this year with a short series against Pakistan.
Jos Buttler's men endured a miserable ODI World Cup campaign in the autumn in which they crashed out at the group stage, but these games against Pakistan should allow England to get into some rhythm.
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England are in a strange situation ahead of the T20 World Cup, with some of their players in the Indian Premier League and others are with their County Championship teams, playing first-class cricket.
Therefore, these matches will be the first short-format cricket of the year for some of the squad.
England could do with getting some wins under their belt and although Pakistan are a top team, they were beaten by Buttler's side in the T20 World Cup final in 2022.
England vs Pakistan T20 series: Matches
- 1st match: May 22, Headingley, Leeds - 6:30pm
- 2nd match: May 25, Edgbaston, Birmingham - 2:30pm
- 3rd match: May 28, Sophia Gardens, Cardiff - 6:30pm
- 4th match: May 30, The Oval, London - 6:30pm
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England vs Pakistan: How to follow
The whole series is set to be broadcast on Sky Sports Main Event and Sky Sports Cricket.
Sky Go customers will be able to stream the action through their laptops and mobile devices.
Alternatively, viewers can purchase one-day or one-month passes from NOW TV, starting at £11.98.
talkSPORT will have updates throughout the series and marvelbet369.com will have all the reaction.
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To tune in to talkSPORT through the website, click HERE for the live stream.
You can also listen via the talkSPORT app, on DAB digital radio, through your smart speaker and on 1089 or 1053 AM.
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England vs Pakistan T20 series: Squads
There is some big team news for England, with Ben Stokes electing not to take part.
But Jofra Archer is fully fit and has been included in the squad.
Spinner Tom Hartley has yet to be capped at ODI level, but he's in the squad after an impressive Test tour of India.
But bar Hartley, it's an experienced England side, including Jonny Bairstow, Moeen Ali, Adil Rashid and Liam Livingstone.
Meanwhile, Pakistan have recalled Haris Rauf and Hasan Ali.
Mohammad Rizwan has overcome injury to form part of Pakistan's squad, who are led by captain Babar Azam.
England: Jos Buttler (c) & (wk), Moeen Ali, Jofra Archer, Jonny Bairstow (wk), Harry Brook, Sam Curran, Ben Duckett, Tom Hartley, Will Jacks, Chris Jordan, Liam Livingstone, Adil Rashid, Phil Salt (wk), Reece Topley, Mark Wood.
Pakistan: Babar Azam (c), Abrar Ahmed, Azam Khan, Fakhar Zaman, Haris Rauf, Hasan Ali, Iftikhar Ahmed, Imad Wasim, Abbas Afridi, Mohammad Amir, Mohammad Rizwan (wk), Irfan Khan, Naseem Shah, Saim Ayub, Salman Ali Agha, Shadab Khan, Shaheen Shah Afridi and Usman Khan.
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England vs Pakistan T20 series: What has been said?
England managing director Rob Key is confident that Buttler's men will have a good World Cup.
He said: "I feel these guys are the right ones to take forward what is right now a fresher team.
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"We've got a team that's got a bit more of a blend of youth and experience.
"It's such a great era of white-ball cricket and now we're starting to move into the next era."
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