Web Desk (LTN NEWS): The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) announced on Monday that England’s first Test series in Pakistan in 17 years will start in Rawalpindi on December 1. This will be the first time England has played a Test series in Pakistan since 2000.
Dates for a seven-match Twenty20 series that starts next month have already been set, but an England team will return for the long-awaited three-match Test series.
“We are happy that Test matches between Pakistan and England, which have always been close and exciting, will be back in our own backyards in December,” PCB director Zakir Khan said in a statement.
The first Test is in Rawalpindi from December 1–5, and the second is in Multan from December 9–13.
The third and last Test will take place from December 17-21 in Karachi.
The last time England went on a tour was in 2005. After an attack on the Sri Lankan team’s bus in Lahore in 2009, Pakistan was forced to play international games at neutral sites.
Since 2015, international cricket has slowly been coming back. However, in September of last year, New Zealand pulled out of a tour just minutes before a one-day international was to start, citing security concerns.
After a week, both the men’s and women’s tours to Pakistan were called off by England.
This year, Pakistan was able to host Australia for the first time since 1998.
“Pakistani cricket fans have been waiting almost 17 years to see top England players play,” said Clare Connor, the interim chief executive of the England and Wales Cricket Board.
The ICC World Test Championship will be based on the results of these three games.
At the moment, Pakistan is in fifth place and England is in seventh.
Timetable for tests:
- First test held from December 1-5 in Rawalpindi
- Second test is from December 9 to 13 in Multan
- Third test from December 17–21 in Karachi
