Eoin Morgan will return to captain England on 16 July, in the first of the three-match T20I series at Trent Bridge. England last played a T20I here back in 2012, against West Indies.
Last week, England’s limited-overs first-team squad, including Morgan, was forced to isolate because of a Covid-19 outbreak in their camp. It happened two days after the Sri Lanka series. The ECB then formed an entirely new squad for Pakistan ODIs, with Ben Stokes as captain. Stokes guided England to a 3-0 sweep.
England found new heroes in James Vince, Saqib Mahmood, Lewis Gregory, Matt Parkinson, Phil Salt and Brydon Carse. Three of them – Mahmood, Gregory and Parkinson – got rewarded by their subsequent retention in the T20Is.
In the pre-match conference, Morgan confirmed that Stokes is recovering from his finger injury. Alongside Stokes, Chris Woakes and Sam Curran will be back in national colours against India Tests, in August.
After being outclassed in the ODIs, Pakistan will be desperate to clinch the T20I series. They are ranked fourth in the ICC Team Rankings, while England are first. Babar Azam’s men, while formidable, have been largely inconsistent.
Team News and Betway Fantasy tips
- Jos Buttler and Jason Roy will be back at top of the order for England. Dawid Malan, World’s top-ranked T20I batter, will be at No. 3, keen on improving his recent record. He had two ducks in his last two games.
- Never remove Jonny Bairstow out of the equation if he is featuring in the shortest format.
- Adil Rashid, Chris Jordan and Mahmood are genuine wicket-taking options. Moeen Ali, who impressed with both bat and ball since IPL, will be in focus.
- Pakistan will welcome Mohammad Hafeez and Imad Wasim in their line-up. Babar and Mohammad Rizwan are likely to open the innings, followed by Sohaib Maqsood, Hafeez and Azam Khan.
- Following Hasan Ali’s injury, Shaheen Shah Afridi and Haris Rauf will be in action again. They generate a serious pace that can change the fortune of the game in no time.
Head to Head
England have played Pakistan 18 times in T20Is. They have won 12, and lost five. They have met nine times in the UK. England are currently having a 5-3 lead here.
Probable XIs
England: Eoin Morgan (c), Jason Roy, Jos Buttler (wk), Dawid Malan, Jonny Bairstow, Liam Livingstone, Moeen Ali, David Willey, Adil Rashid, Chris Jordan, Saqib Mahmood.
Pakistan: Babar Azam (c), Mohammad Rizwan (wk), Sohaib Maqsood, Mohammad Hafeez, Azam Khan, Shadab Khan, Mohammad Nawaz, Imad Wasim, Haris Rauf, Shaheen Afridi, Mohammad Hasnain.
Prediction
Expecting a high-scoring contest. Probably a Pakistani win.