Pakistan tour to England 2019 [Preview]

Pakistan is scheduled to tour England in the month of May to play a five-match one-day series. The visitors will kick-start their campaign with warm-up games against county sides like Kent and Northamptonshire. Pakistan will also play a T20- game against Leicestershire.

Sarfaraz and co. will take on England in a one-off T20 game that will be played at Sophia Gardens in Cardiff. The side will then play five-match one-day series that will start from 8th May at The Oval in London. The remaining four games will be played in venues like Southampton, Bristol, Nottingham, and Leeds.

For England, it will be a great opportunity to start their home season on a good note. Captain Eoin Morgan will be hoping that the side can continue their good form against Pakistan in the upcoming five-match one-day series.

In the batting department, the side will be relying on the likes of Jason Roy, Joe Root, and Jonny Bairstow to do the bulk of the scoring. Jonny Bairstow has shown imperious form with the bat for England in the past six months. England will be hoping that he can continue his rich vein of form in the competition.

Batting certainly has been England’s strength in the last couple of years in limited-overs cricket. Middle-order comprising of Eoin Morgan, Jos Buttler, and Ben Stokes are accomplished players that have single-handedly won games of cricket for England. Wicket-keeper Jos Buttler is currently the best finishers in limited-overs cricket. He has the ability to decimate the best bowling attack in the later stages of the game.

All-rounder Ben Stokes will be looking to find form with the bat and ball. He clearly struggled and failed to make an impact with bat and ball for Rajasthan Royals in the ongoing Indian Premier League. England will be hoping that Stokes can find form with bat and ball ahead of 2019 Cricket World Cup.

Joe Denly has been named in the limited-overs squad for the five-match one-day series against England. He can certainly provide the utility with bat and ball for England.

Moeen Ali, Chris Woakes and David Willey have played competitive cricket over the past few weeks and will be looking to do well in this one-day series.

Moeen showed exceptional form with bat and ball for Royal Challengers Bangalore in the ongoing Indian Premier League.

In the bowling department, Liam Plunkett, Mark Wood, and Chris Jordan are premier pace options included for Pakistan series. West Indies-born Jofra Archer has earned his maiden call-up to the limited-overs after successfully qualifying to play for England. The selectors will closely monitor Archer’s progress during the one-day series against Pakistan.

Leg-spinner Adil Rashid and off-spinner Moeen Ali are two front-line options for the side for this one-day series.

Pakistan will certainly face an uphill task in the upcoming five-match one-day series against England. Sarfaraz Ahmed will lead the side for this bilateral one-day series after being rested for the previous series against Australia.

Abid Ali showed signs of potential with the bat after smashing a splendid century against Australia in a one-day game. He will clearly be looking to make an impression with the bat on his first trip to the United Kingdom.

Fakhar Zaman and Imam-ul-Haq will be the first-choice opening pair for Pakistan for this one-day series. Both the openers need to find form with the bat for Pakistan ahead of 2019 Cricket World Cup.

Zaman will be focused to do well after being rested for Australia series. Left-handed batsman will certainly be crucial to Pakistan’s chances in this one-day series. Pakistan will be hoping that Zaman can find purple patch with the bat against England.

Besides Zaman, Babar Azam has been a premier player for Pakistan in limited-overs cricket. He will certainly be looking to do well against a formidable side like England. Since 2015 Cricket World Cup, Azam has topped the batting charts for Pakistan with 2462 runs in 59 matches at an average of 51.29.

Haris Sohail, Mohammad Hafeez, and Shoaib Malik will make up the middle-order for Pakistan in this one-day series. Haris Sohail made a terrific comeback to limited-overs cricket in the one-day series played against Australia earlier this year. The left-handed batsman was a standout performer in the batting department for Pakistan in the one-day series played against Australia.

Asif Ali and Mohammad Amir have been selected for the England series. The duo will be keen to make an impression in this five-match one-day series. Both the players were included in Pakistan’s squad for upcoming Cricket World Cup that will begin from 30th May.

In the spin department, Yasir Shah has been included as a last-minute replacement for Shadab Khan, who has sidelined out of the tour due to a viral infection. Imad Wasim is another option for Pakistan for the five-match one-day series.

Rookie pacer Mohammad Hasnain, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Junaid Khan, Mohammad Amir, and Hasan Ali are included in the squad for England tour.

Faheem Ashraf is another all-rounder who can provide value with bat and ball for Pakistan in the upcoming one-day series.

It will certainly be interesting to see how Sarfaraz led-unit fare in the upcoming five-match one-day series against England.