Pakistan and England play the first of three T20 matches over the next week on Thursday afternoon. Pakistan have already won the Test series while England triumphed in the ODIs. These T20s can determine a successful tour for England.
Both sides are expected to be very competitive in these three matches as they work towards the World T20 in India in 2016. Usually at the end of a tour minds can be on the plane home but England can’t afford that to be the case in these matches.
Pakistan were abject in the ODIs. Their batting really struggled and they were found wanting but with only twenty overs to bat in these matches we should expect them to be much more competitive especially as they have recalled the likes of Umar Akmal and Shahid Afridi.
England will have been delighted with the way they played in the last three ODIs. Their batting was very good and by and large they were competent with the ball which has been an area of concern for them.
Shahid Afridi not only comes in to the Pakistan side for this match but he captains them in this format now. With Umar Akmal and Sohail Maqsood in their side too suddenly Pakistan look rather daunting with the bat. That is the key for them because their bowling attack in this format is perfectly suited.
England will most likely play the majority of the side that won the last three ODIs although there is some concern over the fitness of David Willey. He busted his hand in the final ODI. James Vince and Chris Jordan have both been added to the ODI squad and they will hope to feature here.
This first match of the series comes from the Dubai International Cricket Stadium which was the scene of the final ODI. There have been 32 previous T20s on this ground. Pakistan have played 17 times and have won eight and lost eight with one washed out game. England have played four games here with two wins and two defeats.
We saw in the ODI here that the wicket is good for batting and the boundaries are accessible so we should expect a relatively high scoring opening match on this series.
After the domination England showed in ODIs it is no surprise that they are favourites for this match but I suspect Pakistan will be much stronger and much more competitive in the 20 over game than the 50 over one.
I have to admit I have concerns over England’s bowling particularly when the likes of Akmal and Afridi start attacking them. There are no such concerns over Pakistan’s attack and with that in mind the value looks to be on the home side to draw first blood in the series.
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