England cricket team to arrive in Pakistan on Oct. 2 for three-match Test series

England's Adil Rashid, Matthew Potts, and Brydon Carse walk off the field as the rain stops playing England v Australia's fifth One Day International at Bristol County Ground in Bristol, Britain, on September 29, 2024. (REUTERS)

• All three Test matches are part of the World Test Championship cycle 
• Pakistan have not won a Test match at home since February 2021

ISLAMABAD: England’s cricket team will arrive in Pakistan during the wee hours of Oct. 2 to play a three-match Test series in the country, the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) said on Sunday, as the South Asian country desperately searches for a win at home. 

The first Test match between the two sides will be played in Multan from Oct. 7-11 while the second match will also be played at the same venue from Oct. 15-19. The third match of the series will take place in Rawalpindi from Oct. 24-28. 

The three-match series is part of the World Test Championship cycle. After getting whitewashed by Bangladesh at home this month, Pakistan are placed at number eight on the points table just ahead of West Indies. 

 “The England men’s cricket team will arrive in the wee hours of 2 October,” the PCB said in a statement on Sunday. 

The PCB said Pakistan’s cricket team will assemble in Multan on Oct. 1 where they will hold training sessions from Oct. 2. Pakistan captain Shan Masood will hold his pre-series media conference at the National Bank Stadium on Sept. 30. 

After a string of disappointing losses at home, most recently to minnows Bangladesh, the South Asian country is searching for a win. Pakistan last won a Test match at home in February 2021 when they beat South Africa by 95 runs at Rawalpindi. 

Pakistan have a busy cricket schedule in the months to come, with the green shirts scheduled to play an away white-ball series against Australia in November before playing another white-ball series against Zimbabwe in November/December. 

The green shirts will then tour South Africa for a T20, ODI and Test series in December and January before they host the West Indies for a Test series the same month.

Pakistan’s recent lackluster performances in all three formats of the game have invited scathing criticism from cricket experts and fans alike. Both have blamed a lack of quality pitches and infrastructure in the country for Pakistan’s hapless performances while many also point to frequent changes in the PCB’s management and a lack of unity in the team for Pakistan’s losses. 

Pakistan squad: Shan Masood (captain), Saud Shakeel (vice-captain), Aamir Jamal, Abdullah Shafique, Abrar Ahmed, Babar Azam, Mir Hamza, Mohammad Huraira, Mohammad Rizwan (wicket-keeper), Naseem Shah, Noman Ali, Saim Ayub, Salman Ali Agha, Sarfaraz Ahmed (wicket-keeper), and Shaheen Shah Afridi, Zahid Mehmood.

England squad: Ben Stokes (captain), Rehan Ahmed, Gus Atkinson, Shoaib Bashir, Harry Brook, Brydon Carse, Jordan Cox, Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Jack Leach, Ollie Pope, Matthew Potts, Joe Root, Jamie Smith, Olly Stone, Chris Woakes.