Tag: England’s Test tour of Pakistan

RAWALPINDI: England’s star all-rounder and current Test captain Ben Stokes has announced to donate his match fees for all three matches of the historic Test series against Pakistan to the flood victims of the host country.

Stokes, who is leading England for the upcoming Test series in Pakistan, has won the hearts of numerous fans for his kind gesture as he will donate his match fees to the flood affectees in Pakistan.

Taking to Twitter, Stokes issued a statement regarding his kind gesture that received immense praise from cricketing fans.

“It is great to be in Pakistan for the first time for this historic series. To be back here after 17 years as a Test side is very exciting. There is a sense of responsibility amongst the playing and support group and to be there is special,” stated Stokes.

“The floods that devastated Pakistan earlier this year was very sad to see and has had significant impact on the country and the people.

“The game has given me a lot in my life and I feel it’s only right to give something back that goes far beyond cricket. I will be donating my match fees from this Test series to the Pakistan flood appeal.

“Hopefully this donation can go towards the rebuilding of areas of Pakistan most affected by the flooding.”

I’m donating my match fees from this Test series to the Pakistan Flood appeal ❤️🇵🇰 pic.twitter.com/BgvY0VQ2GG

— Ben Stokes (@benstokes38) November 28, 2022

It is pertinent to mention that tens of millions of people are affected by relentless monsoon rains and one of the worst-hit floods in the country’s history that have submerged a third of the country and claimed more than 1,100 lives.

Rawalpindi Test, starting on December 1, will mark England’s first Test in the country after a gap of 17 years. The touring side will then move to Multan to play the second Test, starting on December 9, before reaching Karachi to play the final Test, scheduled for December 17.

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KARACHI: ARY Digital Network has once again an exciting update for sports lovers in Pakistan as it has exclusively acquired digital rights for the upcoming home Test series against England and New Zealand’s tour of Pakistan.

After successfully acquiring the rights to the ongoing FIFA World Cup in Qatar in 2022, the next two La Liga seasons, and FIFA U20 Women’s World Cup, ARY Digital Network has now successfully secured the rights to Pakistan’s upcoming home series against England and New Zealand.

Viewers in Pakistan can watch the live streaming through the ARY ZAP application.

LIVE SPORTS ACTION CONTINUES ON #ARYZap!

Proud partners of @TheRealPCB for the upcoming home season featuring historic tours by @englandcricket and @BLACKCAPS.#PAKvENG #PAKvNZ pic.twitter.com/N9fZHV6YBh

— ASports (@asportstvpk) November 28, 2022

The historic home Test series will kick off on December 1 as Pakistan take on England on their home soil after a gap of 17 years. The second and third Tests, however, will be played on December 9 and 17 respectively. All three matches of the series will embark at 10:00 AM according to Pakistan Standard Time (PST).

Following England’s historic Test series, cricket fans can also catch New Zealand’s Tour of Pakistan in crystal clear HD quality on ARY ZAP which will be completed in two phases – December 27 – January 15 and April 13 – May 7 – and will feature two Tests, five T20Is and a total of eight ODIs.

Known for promoting sports in the country, the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of ARY Digital Network Mr Salman Iqbal- who also owns the Pakistan Super League (PSL) franchise Karachi Kings- has the honour of launching Pakistan’s first HD sports channel A-Sports in October 2021.

A-Sports has previously aired ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2022, home T20I series against England, ODI series against the Netherlands, home ODI series against England, Formula 1 Grand Prix Season 2022-23, ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2021, PSL Season 2022 and Karachi Open Squash Championship among other major sports events since its launching.

ARY ZAP, the popular app owned by ARY Digital Network, live-streamed ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2022, home T20I series against England, ODI series against the Netherlands, home ODI series against West Indies, Formula 1 Grand Prix Season 2022-23 among other major sports events since its launch.

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LONDON: England spearhead pacer Mark Wood is doubtful for the opening match of the historic Test series against Pakistan due to a hip injury, English newspaper The Telegraph reported on Friday.

According to the details, Wood sustained the injury amid England’s successful T20 World Cup campaign which forced him out of the semi-final against India and the final against Pakistan.

Despite Wood’s rehabilitation reportedly going well, it is improbable for the pacer to gain enough fitness to prepare himself for the rigours of a Test match with only three training days left before the series begins on December 1.

The right-arm pacer, however, will accompany England’s squad, scheduled to step foot in Pakistan on Sunday (November 27) to play a historic series after a gap of 17 years.

England Test captain Ben Stokes also confirmed that Wood’s absence from Abu Dhabi’s leg of training – where they played a training match against England Lions – had nothing to do with the latter’s injury and in fact, Wood, alongside Harry Brook was given time off at home due to excessive workload.

“No, we’re sticking with it,” said Stokes. “We’re not going to call up another seamer to this group.

“We took the decision to let Brooky and Woody spend that time at home, obviously being at Pakistan and the World Cup,” Stokes said. “We felt a week at home for them would be more beneficial, just to get their batteries recharged, and obviously with Woody’s injury, getting home and being around his wife and child would be better than being out here and getting all his rehab, which he could do at home.

“We’ve let them go home. I haven’t had much contact with them, just to let them chill out and relax. From all reports, Woody’s coming on nicely and we’ll see how he is when he gets out here.”

Despite Stokes’ refuting the probability of calling a seamer to the squad, the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) made an eleventh-hour addition as Rehan Ahmed was officially called up to the Pakistan-bound squad.

It is worth mentioning here that the historic three-match series between Pakistan and England will be played in Rawalpindi, Multan and Karachi, respectively from December 1 to 21.

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LAHORE: The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) on Thursday, unveiled the match officials for the historic Test series between Pakistan and England, scheduled to commence on December 1.

According to the PCB, Andy Pycroft, a member of the ICC Elite Panel of Match Referees, will lead the playing control teams for the historic Test series between Pakistan and England.

Meanwhile, a total of seven umpires will be officiating the three ICC World Test Championship fixtures, out of whom three are from the ICC Elite Panel of Umpires.

West Indian umpire Joel Wilson, one of the 11 members of the ICC Elite Panel of umpires will join Ahsan Raza as the on-field umpire for the first and third Test, while Marais Erasmus and Asif Yaqoob will serve as the third and the fourth umpire respectively.

For the second Test in Multan however, Erasmus will join Aleem Dar for the on-field, while Wilson and Riaz will be performing third and fourth umpire roles.

It is pertinent to mention that the first Test between Pakistan and England in Rawalpindi will mark England’s first Test on Pakistani soil since 2015.

The historic series part of the ICC World Test Championship will take place from December 1 to 21.

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ABU DHABI: England’s Pakistan-bound Test squad will play a three-day warm-up match against England Lions here to race up their preparation for the upcoming Test series against Pakistan.

According to the details, England’s warm-up match against the Lions will commence tomorrow and will conclude on November 25.

Following this, the English squad will take a rest day on November 26 before departing for Pakistan a day later.

England Test captain Ben Stokes will not participate in the warm-up match against the Lions due to excessive workload and Olly Pope will take up the leadership responsibility in the former’s absence.

Injury-prone English pacer Jofra Archer will represent England Lions, led by Dan Lawrence.

It is pertinent to mention that the three-match Test series between Pakistan and England will take place from December 1 to 21. Rawalpindi, Multan and Karachi will respectively host the matches.

LAHORE: England’s first Test in Pakistan after a gap of 17 years will go as per schedule in Rawalpindi despite the potential of political unrest in the city, sources claimed.

Following the potential political unrest in the city, the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) earlier considered shifting the first Test of the series between Pakistan and England to Karachi.

The consideration came in light of Pakistan Tehreek-e- Insaf’s (PTI) long march that is likely to reach Islamabad in the third week of November.

The PCB, however, feels confident enough to go with the original plan despite the continued risk of political instability in the region.

Consequently, the series, as per the original schedule, will begin in Rawalpindi on December 1 and conclude in Karachi. The second Test will take place in Multan.

It is pertinent to mention that England’s Test squad is likely to land on November 27 to lock horns with Pakistan in the three-match Test series.

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