England will visit Pakistan for the first time in 16 years when they play two T20 Internationals in October 2021, the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) announced yesterday.
The short tour will serve as a build-up to the Twenty20 World Cup in India that is scheduled to start the same month, and comes as international cricket returns to Pakistan following an attack on the Sri Lanka team bus in 2009 that killed six policemen and two civilians.
The matches are scheduled for Oct. 14 and 15, both in Karachi.
“This will be the first time since 2005 that an England team has toured Pakistan and as such it represents a significant moment for both nations,” ECB Chief Executive Officer Tom Harrison said.
“As always, the safety and welfare of our players and staff will be paramount. We are working closely with the PCB to ensure all the necessary plans are in place, especially concerning the anticipated levels of security around the team, the proposed travel protocols and of course the situation regarding the fast-moving and ever-changing Covid-19 pandemic.”
Pakistan have hosted Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and Zimbabwe on home soil since September 2019. Since the bus attack, they had mostly used Sharjah, Dubai and Abu Dhabi as home venues.
Pakistan will also travel to England in July for three ODIs as part of the Super League, which will determine who qualifies for the 50-over World Cup in India in 2023.
The games will be played in Cardiff, London and Birmingham on July 8, 10 and 13.
The Super League features the 12 ICC Test-playing nations and the Netherlands, who qualified by winning the World Cricket Super League 2015-17.
The top seven teams in the league, in which each side play four home and four away series of three matches, will automatically confirm their spot at the 2023 event.
England lead the Super League table after picking up 30 points from their series against Ireland and Australia, while Pakistan and Australia are level on 20 points.
England and Pakistan will also contest three T20Is in Nottingham, Leeds and Manchester on July 16, 18 and 20 respectively.
The ECB also said yesterday they hoped spectators would return to matches next year as they announced a full international programme for 2021 culminating with a five-Test series at home to India.
Unlike this year’s coronavirus-hit schedule, where a full set of men’s international matches were played behind closed doors at Old Trafford and Southampton, the ECB are now planning to take fixtures all round the country as in a normal year.
The draft itinerary issued yesterday includes nine different host grounds and anticipates a ticket ballot to allow spectators to attend matches once again.
The centrepiece of next year’s programme is a Test series against India in August and September, with matches at Trent Bridge, Lord’s, Headingley, the Oval and Old Trafford.
Meanwhile, white-ball series against Sri Lanka and Pakistan are scheduled throughout June and July, with fixtures also due to take place at Durham, Edgbaston, Bristol and Cardiff.
It is possible that more games could be added amid uncertainty over whether the planned 2021 World Test Championship final will go ahead after several qualifying matches this year were cancelled because of the Covid-19 outbreak.
Any additional fixtures could take place at Southampton’s Ageas Bowl, not included in the provisional schedule despite its key role in 2020.
England all-rounder Moeen Ali, speaking via conference call from Cape Town ahead of white-ball series against South Africa, welcomed the planned return of spectators by saying: “I think the most important thing for us is to play in front of crowds.
“It’s huge – you realise how much you miss them, the extra motivation they give you when you’re playing, going round the country.
“If the fans could come in next year that would be amazing. I think players all over the world are missing the fans a lot.”
An optimistic Tom Harrison, the ECB chief executive, added: “It’s an exciting prospect for England fans and, while Covid means there’s still a great deal of uncertainty, we really hope to be able to welcome fans back into the grounds safely next year to bring that unique atmosphere to stadia across the country.”

England all-rounder Moeen Ali still yearns to play Test cricket
Reuters/Cape Town

Moeen Ali still wants to play Test cricket for England after conceding he had lost the hunger for the five-day game, but is desperate to feature in The Ashes against Australia next year.
The spinning all-rounder lost his place in the Test side after recording match figures of 3/172 against the Australians in Birmingham last year, a game the tourists won by a massive 251 runs.
Ali, 33, bore the brunt of that defeat, and said Test cricket lost some of its appeal as a result.
“A year-and-a-half ago I lost that hunger to play Test cricket, but I feel like over the last six months it is coming back,” Ali told reporters yesterday.
“I have been thinking a lot about my game and if the call did come, I would be keen on it. I have not retired or anything, but probably have just taken a step back from the Test game.”
Ali took five wickets at an average of 115 in the 2017-18 Ashes series in Australia, which began to sow the seeds of doubt on his position, and admits he could have been better prepared for the contest.
“I went there on the back of being in some of my best form for England,” he said. “I was confident, but I probably didn’t do as much planning as I should have and could have.”
The all-rounder has 181 Test wickets and 2,782 runs, including five centuries, but for now is concentrating on the shortest format with two Twenty20 World Cups in the next two years.
He is currently with the England team in South Africa for a six-match limited overs tour that starts on Nov. 27.
“There is an opportunity to be one of the greatest sides ever and to be part of that is something I would like to do,” he said.
“I must just play as much cricket as I can and play as best as I can.”