Big picture For England in particular, this series has been all about building for the future, broadening their selection base ahead of next year’s postponed T20 World Cup, and ramping up the competition for places that was such an integral aspect of their rise to become last summer’s 50-over champions. But if it has been … Read more
Pakistan 190 for 4 (Hafeez 86*, Haider 54, Jordan 2-29) beat England 185 for 8 (Moeen 61, Riaz 2-26) by five runs A 100-run partnership between two men two decades apart in age saw Pakistan eke out their first win of the tour on the day before they are due to return home. It denied … Read more
After England were held to a 1-1 draw in their T20I series against Pakistan, we look at six talking points from the series Top-order depth As things stand, it seems England intend to use Jos Buttler at the top of the order in T20I cricket. That means Jonny Bairstow, Jason Roy, Tom Banton and Dawid … Read more
Moeen Ali has praised the leadership of Eoin Morgan for providing him with the confidence to rediscover his form with the bat. Moeen went into the final match of the T20I series against Pakistan having reached double-figures only five times in 19 innings across international formats. But although his 61 at Emirates Old Trafford was … Read more
England opener Tom Banton and Pakistan middle-order veteran Mohammad Hafeez have both made big gains in the ICC rankings for T20I batsmen at the end of the three-match series that ended 1-1, while Babar Azam, Pakistan’s captain in the format, held on to the top spot, opening up a 45-point lead over second-placed KL Rahul. … Read more
The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has announced dates for the four remaining games of the 2020 season of the Pakistan Super League (PSL), which were which were suspended in March due to the Covid-19 pandemic. All four matches will take place at the Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore. The Qualifier between the top two teams from … Read more
Shaheen Shah Afridi and Imad Wasim will join Pakistan team-mate Babar Azam in this year’s Vitality T20 Blast, after confirming deals with Hampshire and Nottinghamshire respectively. Hampshire have been in discussions with Afridi’s agent ever since the Blast’s fixtures were confirmed, and have confirmed his availability for their seven remaining group games, plus the knockout … Read more
Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) chairman Ehsan Mani doesn’t think the new ICC chairman should come from any of the “Big Three” boards, even as the global governing body is yet to agree on a process to choose Shashank Manohar‘s successor. Mani said it would be “healthier” for someone from another board to lead the ICC … Read more
Iqbal Qasim has resigned from his position as the PCB cricket committee head, calling the role “toothless”. According to the former cricketer, the position only sounds like an important one, while the actual decision are mainly taken by the PCB executives on their own. The PCB, on accepting Qasim’s resignation, insisted that the responsibilities delegated … Read more
Pakistan head coach and chief selector Misbah-ul-Haq has insisted he inherited a T20 squad on the decline last year, despite the side being ranked No.1 at the time. He pointed to losses in form for several players who had helped Pakistan achieve that ranking, stressing he needed to make significant changes to keep them competitive. … Read more