Daily Times

LAHORE: England will play two men’s T20 Internationals in addition to the five T20Is originally planned when they will tour Pakistan in September-October 2022, England and Wales Cricket Board Chief Executive Tom Harrison announced here Tuesday. The announcement came following his meeting with Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) Chairman Ramiz Raja. Relations between Pakistan and English cricket boards were strained after England cancelled its Pakistan tour in September, citing “increasing concerns about travelling to the region” as the reason behind their decision, just days after New Zealand also pulled out of a tour to Pakistan over security concerns. England’s men’s side will then return to Pakistan in November-December at the back of the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup Australia 2022 to play three Tests, which will form part of the ICC World Test Championship.

ECB Chief Executive Tom Harrison said he had visited Lahore with ECB’s Senior Director Martin Darlow to talk face-to-face with the PCB around some of the things that have happened over the past few weeks, which led to the cancelation of our tour in October. “We also wanted to discuss the future as the two boards have a historic relationship and want to move the agenda towards a forward-looking one as opposed to one looking back,” he said. “We’re happy to announce that we’ll play two extra white-ball T20Is on our men’s tour of Pakistan in September-October 2022. We will then return after the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup in Australia to complete the Test match element of that tour. This is just to reaffirm our commitment to Pakistan cricket to getting England teams, men’s and women’s teams, eventually playing in Pakistan at home. I don’t think there’s a cricketer in England who doesn’t want to test their abilities against the huge talent this country has and in the conditions they know best,” he added.

Meanwhile PCB Chairman Ramiz Raja said: “The ECB have shown their large-heartedness to be here for which I am thankful to Tom and Martin. It means a lot to us.” The PCB chairman said he was that England had committed to playing two additional T20Is as part of their white-ball tour in September-October in 2022. “We put in lot of efforts to make sure that all visiting teams are comfortable in Pakistan. As such, it is a matter of pride for the Pakistan fans, who look forward to welcoming Australia and England in 2022,” he said.