Pakistan and England are set to lock horns in the first T20I of the four-match series at Headingley Cricket Ground, Leeds, on Wednesday but it is very likely that the match will be called off due to rain.
The weather in Leeds is not good for cricket as it has been raining since morning and the heavy rain is expected to continue from the time the match will start, which is 6:30pm local time.
As per The Weather Channel, 8.34mm amount of rain is expected from 7pm and it will reduce a bit after an hour but that might not be enough for the match to take place. As things stand, everything indicates that the match will be washed out due to rain.
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It must be noted that this will be the last outing for both sides before the T20 World Cup 2024 which begins on June 1. Pakistan will play all of their group matches in the United States while England will travel to the West Indies to compete in their round matches.
Both teams would not want the rain to affect the match as getting their teams in shape before the World Cup is crucial.
Remember, Pakistan recently played two T20I series, one against an inexperienced New Zealand side at home while the other was against Ireland in Dublin recently. They were Babar Azam’s first tests after being reappointed as white-ball captain.
The Green Shirts drew the T20I series against New Zealand 2-2 at home as one match was called off due to rain. Meanwhile, they managed to beat Ireland 2-1. However, despite winning the later series, the problems were quite evident for the Men in Green which they have to sort out before the World Cup begins.
On the other hand, England’s last T20 series was against West Indies in January this year which they lost 3-2.
Squads
England: Jos Buttler (c), Moeen Ali, Jofra Archer, Jonathan Bairstow, Harry Brook, Sam Curran, Ben Duckett, Tom Hartley, Will Jacks, Chris Jordan, Liam Livingstone, Adil Rashid, Phil Salt, Reece Topley, Mark Wood.
Pakistan: Babar Azam (c), Abrar Ahmed, Azam Khan, Fakhar Zaman, Haris Rauf, Hasan Ali, Iftikhar Ahmed, Imad Wasim, Mohammad Abbas Afridi, Mohammad Amir, Mohammad Rizwan, Irfan Khan, Naseem Shah, Saim Ayub, Salman Agha, Shadab Khan, Shaheen Afridi, Usman Khan
Schedule of Pakistan’s Tour of England
May 22: First T20I at Leeds
May 25: Second T20I at Birmingham
May 28: Third T20I at Cardiff
May 30: Fourth T20I at The Oval