England will not tour Pakistan in January, but short T20 visit in late 2021 expected

[MenInG]

England will not be heading to Pakistan for a white-ball tour in January but are expected to tour the country for the first time in 16 years later in 2021.

England have not visited Pakistan since 2005 due to security concerns, with the teams meeting in the UAE instead. According to the International Cricket Council’s Future Tours Programme, England are not set to visit Pakistan until late 2022 for three Test matches.

But following Pakistan’s decision to tour England this summer for three Tests and three T20s played in biosecure bubbles due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the Pakistan Cricket Board invited England to make a flying visit to Pakistan. The proposal was for three T20 internationals in Karachi in well under a week.

The Chief Executive of the PCB, Wasim Khan (who was also the first British-Asian to play professional cricket in England), admitted to being “quietly confident” that the tour would go ahead.

There was genuine willing at the ECB to take up the invitation, in part as a gesture of thanks for Pakistan’s contribution to keeping their losses to around £100m this summer (as opposed to their £380m worst case scenario).

But numerous complications, particularly around cost and player availability, left the tour dead in the water, Standard Sport understands.

England’s Test squad are due to be in Sri Lanka for two World Test Championship fixtures in January (delayed from March) and an enlarged squad will be required due to Covid-19 protocols.

With other players also on lucrative deals in Australia’s Big Bash – and travelling to and from Australia not as simple as it once was – England faced sending a “C-team” to Pakistan.

This was not preferable for either board, as it made the potential outlay (which would be extreme due to the security and biosecurity implications) for the PCB less worthwhile, would have provided a diminished broadcast product, and would not have provided a spectacle befitting England’s first visit after such a long absence.

Instead, England look likely to visit Pakistan for a similar short T20 tour before the T20 World Cup, which is set to be hosted by India (either at home or in the UAE) in late 2021. While dates are not yet confirmed, it is likely to take place in October, meaning England could start an epic winter – that also includes an Ashes tour – in Pakistan almost as soon as the domestic season ends in September.

The England side on show, using it as a warm-up for the tournament, would be far stronger.

International teams now play in Pakistan increasingly regularly, with Sri Lanka returning last year, a decade after their team bus was attacked in Lahore.

A number of English players have gone to Pakistan to play in the Pakistan Super League, with Samit Patel and Alex Hales set to play in tomorrow’s final in Karachi.

https://uk.sports.yahoo.com/news/england-not-tour-pakistan-january-164614734.html

 

[Markhor]

Sensible. The first English tour of Pakistan in 15 years merits a full strength squad.

And with the series being held a month or so before the T20 WC in India, that makes more sense preparation wise.

 

[aloo paratha]

Honestly better news. Since it'll be right before the WC they will have full strength squads. Hopefully crowds are allowed by then as well.

 

[Saj]

No surprise really.

Good practice for England ahead of the T20 World Cup, but frustrating for Wasim Khan and the PCB.

 

[saeed5646]

2 t20i are too little atleast 3 please

 

[shady]

This is probably for the best. Hopefully when they do come it’s with a full squad and we can have fans in the stadium. That would make a real impact as opposed to just bringing over a C team

 

[Mamoon]

PCB got played here.

Touring Pakistan amidst the pandemic and the SL tour was an unnecessary inconvenience for ECB.

They have smartly avoided this tour without disappointing PCB.

In fact, they have made PCB happy with the “we don’t want to send a weak team to Pakistan so we will come next year” drama.

Come next year, if some of the big players make themselves unavailable for the tour, PCB will not be able to do anything and ECB will not hesitate in sending a second-string side.

This excuse is the only way ECB could have escaped this tour without PCB complaining and nagging. They have effectively sold PCB a dummy.

Well played, ECB.

 

[aloo paratha]

PCB got played here.

Touring Pakistan amidst the pandemic and the SL tour was an unnecessary inconvenience for ECB.

They have smartly avoided this tour without disappointing PCB.

In fact, they have made PCB happy with the “we don’t want to send a weak team to Pakistan so we will come next year” drama.

Come next year, if some of the big players make themselves unavailable for the tour, PCB will not be able to do anything and ECB will not hesitate in sending a second-string side.

This excuse is the only way ECB could have escaped this tour without PCB complaining and nagging. They have effectively sold PCB a dummy.

Well played, ECB.

I don't understand the point you're trying to make. It would've been a C team in January (Sri Lanka tour, English players in BBL), now there is a big chance that it'll be the full strength team, with maybe just a couple of the main players missing. Even if those big names do pull out, there is nothing PCB would be able to do whether the tour took place in January or October. It's also better for England because they'll get practice on Asian pitches before the WT20. Hopefully by then the Covid situation will be better too so crowds may be allowed.

I don't see how Pakistan got played. It's a win for all parties involved.

 

[MMHS]

Bottom line is ECB has deferred the tour - nothing to sense here. I might sound harsh but I don't think Mani & WK should follow the footsteps of their predecessors and sell a probable gala tour every few months. I think, it'll be sensible for PCB & People here as well to hold the horse and open mouth when there is something substantial.

I am sure, I'll see posters finding many positives here, but bottom line is Poms are not coming - at this point, English Ladies team (let alone reserves - this series was planned for T20s and they didn't play their full team even in UK) under the banner of official English Men's national team would have done world of good for PAK cricket. I hope, there is no other excuses in late 2021 and the trip does happen.

 

[Bhaijaan]

This betrayal will not be forgotten.

 

[Rajdeep]

I don't understand the point you're trying to make. It would've been a C team in January (Sri Lanka tour, English players in BBL), now there is a big chance that it'll be the full strength team, with maybe just a couple of the main players missing. Even if those big names do pull out, there is nothing PCB would be able to do whether the tour took place in January or October. It's also better for England because they'll get practice on Asian pitches before the WT20. Hopefully by then the Covid situation will be better too so crowds may be allowed.

I don't see how Pakistan got played. It's a win for all parties involved.

There is nothing called as C team or Z team. These are just the jargons fans like to use. If England tour, it would officially go down as Eng toured Pakistan irrespective of the players coming. ECB here smartly avoided the tour as they dont want to tour Pakistan during this pandemic and sugar coated it with full strength team excuse. What is the guatantee that all Eng main players will be willing to travel to Pakistan in Oct (if that tour even happens)?

Pak players spend 1 month in travelodge UK doing quarantine when Corona was at its peak. Now Eng wont come even for 2 short t20s. And you still asking how Pakistan got played?

 

[aloo paratha]

There is nothing called as C team or Z team. These are just the jargons fans like to use. If England tour, it would officially go down as Eng toured Pakistan irrespective of the players coming. ECB here smartly avoided the tour as they dont want to tour Pakistan during this pandemic and sugar coated it with full strength team excuse. What is the guatantee that all Eng main players will be willing to travel to Pakistan in Oct (if that tour even happens)?

Pak players spend 1 month in travelodge UK doing quarantine when Corona was at its peak. Now Eng wont come even for 2 short t20s. And you still asking how Pakistan got played?

Where's the sugar coating? One of the reasons stated in the article is costs. The time frame was also a problem, England have a packed schedule due to Covid.

There is no guarantee that it'll be a full strength team in October, however the chances are much, much better. That's what I was trying to point out, some players will pull out regardless of whether the tour is in January or October.

Our tour of England was our obligation under the FTP. This tour wasn't even planned in the FTP, it is an extra.

 

[Rana]

There is nothing called as C team or Z team. These are just the jargons fans like to use. If England tour, it would officially go down as Eng toured Pakistan irrespective of the players coming. ECB here smartly avoided the tour as they dont want to tour Pakistan during this pandemic and sugar coated it with full strength team excuse. What is the guatantee that all Eng main players will be willing to travel to Pakistan in Oct (if that tour even happens)?

Pak players spend 1 month in travelodge UK doing quarantine when Corona was at its peak. Now Eng wont come even for 2 short t20s. And you still asking how Pakistan got played?

Ab tou aadat si hogi hai play hone ki. When your own brother (India) can backstab you with MOU, you cant expect others to stand alongside you.

 

[Mamoon]

I don't understand the point you're trying to make. It would've been a C team in January (Sri Lanka tour, English players in BBL), now there is a big chance that it'll be the full strength team, with maybe just a couple of the main players missing. Even if those big names do pull out, there is nothing PCB would be able to do whether the tour took place in January or October. It's also better for England because they'll get practice on Asian pitches before the WT20. Hopefully by then the Covid situation will be better too so crowds may be allowed.

I don't see how Pakistan got played. It's a win for all parties involved.

Managing/arranging two international tours during this pandemic is a logistical nightmare even for an efficient and powerful board like ECB.

The Sri Lankan tour is obviously the main priority here, and ECB is clearly in no rush to repay the “favor” that Pakistan bestowed on them last summer, so they have deferred the tour during this pandemic with the added sweetener that they will tour next year with a full squad.

This does not work out for Pakistan because there is no guarantee that ECB will send a full squad next year and the sooner PCB manages to get a big 3 board to tour (in whatever capacity with whatever players), the better it will be. This is a considerable loss of momentum for PCB.

However, it works out nicely for ECB. They will be able to get their fringe players match practice in India-like conditions right before the WT20.

 

[Mamoon]

What has actually happened:

ECB doesn’t think much of PCB’s “favor” last summer. Regardless of the usual pandering by the Sky commentators and some naive cricket writers in the UK, ECB is smart enough to recognize that PCB was simply looking after its own interests and it had nothing to do with any so-called favors.

ECB is clearly not interested in touring Pakistan during the pandemic especially when they are already scheduled to tour Sri Lanka.

What ECB wants PCB to think:

Well we are really grateful that you guys toured us last summer and saved us a lot of money, so since our main players will be busy in Sri Lanka, we are going to tour next year with a full-powered squad because we want to make our first Pakistan tour in 15+ years a spectacle.

Judging by some of the reactions in this thread, ECB’s dummy is selling well.

 

[Mamoon]

Ab tou aadat si hogi hai play hone ki. When your own brother (India) can backstab you with MOU, you cant expect others to stand alongside you.

When you allow yourself to get played, people will play you.

The lesson for PCB here is to not get overexcited and not open its mouth prematurely.

 

[aloo paratha]

Managing/arranging two international tours during this pandemic is a logistical nightmare even for an efficient and powerful board like ECB.

The Sri Lankan tour is obviously the main priority here, and ECB is clearly in no rush to repay the “favor” that Pakistan bestowed on them last summer, so they have deferred the tour during this pandemic with the added sweetener that they will tour next year with a full squad.

This does not work out for Pakistan because there is no guarantee that ECB will send a full squad next year and the sooner PCB manages to get a big 3 board to tour (in whatever capacity with whatever players), the better it will be. This is a considerable loss of momentum for PCB.

However, it works out nicely for ECB. They will be able to get their fringe players match practice in India-like conditions right before the WT20.

I agree with you, that's why ECB pushed it to later, the January window was too full. Nobody is saying the SL tour isn't the main priority, after all that was one that was included in the FTP, this short tour is not.

Yes there is no guarantee England will send their full strength team come October, but there was guarantee that they definitely will not send their full strength team in January, so this is actually better for Pakistan in that sense, there's a better chance for top players to come in October.

Again it works better for both teams. England get practice before the WT20, we get more top players coming, crowds can hopefully be present. Again I don't see how Pakistan 'got played'.

 

[Saj]

Positives for Pakistan - a stronger England team will be in Pakistan rather than the 'C' team which was being mentioned. Good practice ahead of the T20 World Cup.

Negatives - Egg in the face as the PCB went out of their way to send their team to England during a pandemic and were expecting them to return the favour.

 

[Hasan123]

Not a surprise with England's schedule. I didn't want to face an under strength England side anyway. I want to face a strong English side where we can test our players.

 

[Amjid Javed]

In long run having the tour next year is better, both teams get much need practice before the T20 world cup. With a few england players having played in PSL and feeling safe i hope that helps englands decision next year when picking a strong squad with key players hopefully wanting to tour.

 

[angrypathan]

Positives for Pakistan - a stronger England team will be in Pakistan rather than the 'C' team which was being mentioned. Good practice ahead of the T20 World Cup.

Negatives - Egg in the face as the PCB went out of their way to send their team to England during a pandemic and were expecting them to return the favour.

Bit foolish of the PCB to expect the ECB to send a side when they have an ongoing series. On a side note though, with this series no longer happening, any chance some of the Pakistan players will get Big Bash contracts following the NZ tour? Or are Pakistan now expecting to host South Africa in January?

 

[hoshiarpurexpress]

England the villain. They could easily have sent a team.
Disappointed with them.
Imagine if this India instead of Pakistan I am pretty sure they would have ran helter skelter to make a team in-spite of tight schedule.

 

[MenInG]

Karachi, Nov 17 (PTI) England's much-awaited tour of Pakistan for a short T20 series early next year is set to be postponed to October due to unavailability of top players and matters related to costs.

According to media reports the tour, which was tentatively scheduled for January-February, is expected to be moved to October before the T20 World Cup in India.

'The problem arising is that early next year England will be engaged in series with Sri Lanka and India and some of their T20 specialist players are also signed up for the Big Bash in Australia,' a source aware of the developments said.

'The other problem is the costs involved in England touring Pakistan.

'As it is just a three-match series with Karachi the likely venue, the costs of flying the English team by a chartered flight after holding a training camp in Dubai does not make it cost effective for the England board,' he said.

He said both the boards had discussed the more viable option of shifting the series to October as that would allow the full England T20 team to stop over in Pakistan for the short series before flying to India,' the source said.

England has not played in the country since 2005 due to security reasons and when the Pakistan and English boards confirmed they were considering a short tour, it gave a big boost to Pakistan cricket.

'Even the PCB didn't want a 'C' team from England playing early next year as it is a big series and a breakthrough for Pakistan cricket.' Pakistan is also due to host South Africa early next year for two Tests and three T20 Internationals.

https://cricket.yahoo.net/news/englands-tour-pakistan-set-postponed-042058643

 

[naseem]

England the villain. They could easily have sent a team.
Disappointed with them.
Imagine if this India instead of Pakistan I am pretty sure they would have ran helter skelter to make a team in-spite of tight schedule.

Pommies are justified ........COVID situation is the main reason

 

[obaidshariq]

Well that's not a big surprise though, he hardly has a point ever! :'D

I don't understand the point you're trying to make. It would've been a C team in January (Sri Lanka tour, English players in BBL), now there is a big chance that it'll be the full strength team, with maybe just a couple of the main players missing. Even if those big names do pull out, there is nothing PCB would be able to do whether the tour took place in January or October. It's also better for England because they'll get practice on Asian pitches before the WT20. Hopefully by then the Covid situation will be better too so crowds may be allowed.

I don't see how Pakistan got played. It's a win for all parties involved.

 

[James]

Slightly disappointing decision, but an understandable one overall.

Looking forward to the tour taking place in a year or so. Hopefully with two full strength sides, and crowds also.

: )

 

[MenInG]

England will not go on their proposed tour of Pakistan early next year, the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) has confirmed.

Scheduling and player availability issues have forced the ECB to delay plans for a return to the country for the first time since 2009.

The proposed dates would have clashed with England's scheduled matches against Sri Lanka and India, and the ECB did not want to field a weakened squad.

Negotiations had taken place between the ECB and Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) over a potential tour in January.

The ECB is now considering a T20 tour to Pakistan later in the year, in either September or October, as preparation for the 2021 T20 World Cup - which will be hosted by India.

England have not toured Pakistan since 2005-06 due to security concerns following the 2009 attack on the Sri Lanka team bus in Lahore.

International cricket has since returned to the country and English players have also played in the Pakistan Super League, the country's franchise T20 tournament.

Earlier this year, Wasim Akram urged England to agree to a reciprocal tour of Pakistan after Azhar Ali's men travelled for a Test series amid the coronavirus pandemic.

"You boys owe Pakistan cricket, and the country, a lot, with the boys coming over here. They've been here almost two and half months in the bio-secure environment," Akram told Sky Sports Cricket.

"So if everything goes well, England should tour Pakistan. I promise you they'll get looked after on and off the field there and every game will be a packed house.

"The English players were there for the Pakistan Super League in our team, Karachi Kings - Alex Hales and Chris Jordan. They loved it, they enjoyed it, they got looked after beautifully, so the PSL is a step in the right direction.

"There is a lot more to see in Pakistan than cricket and players might be frustrated staying in the hotels all the time but hopefully next year we can let them go out to cinemas and shopping centres, while there is also a lot of history in Pakistan."

https://www.skysports.com/cricket/n...ppen-confirms-england-and-wales-cricket-board

 

[MenInG]

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-partner="tweetdeck"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Wasim Khan "there’s nothing to suggest that England will not tour Pakistan. There’s a strong feeling that they absolutely want to make that tour happen and it’s clearly in the diary, Covid permitting and we fully expect that tour to go ahead" <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Cricket?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Cricket</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/PAKvENG?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#PAKvENG</a></p>— Saj Sadiq (@Saj_PakPassion) <a href="https://twitter.com/Saj_PakPassion/status/1417080940996829194?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 19, 2021</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>