England confirms Pakistan tour in October, but only after venue is changed

The England men’s and women’s teams will tour Pakistan in October. The men’s teams will take on each other in a couple of T20Is while the women’s teams are slated to play two T20Is and three ODIs.

The fixtures will be held at Rawalpindi’s Pindi Cricket Stadium. The T20I encounters will be double-headers which will take place on October 13 and 14 while the women’s ODI series will be played on October 17, 19 and 21 respectively. England's men's team will then take the flight to Dubai on October 15.

The England teams will arrive in Islamabad on October 9. The English senior team (men or women) will be touring Pakistan for the first time since 2005-06.

The matches were earlier scheduled to take place in Karachi on October 14 and 15 but had to be shifted due to "operational and logistical reasons".

PCB Chief Executive Wasim Khan expressed delight while confirming the tour. The tour looked in jeopardy after the World Cup schedule was announced as the dates were too close for England to risk travelling to two nations in a short span at such times when Covid is still more than prevalent.

"We are delighted to welcome both the England men's team for what will be their first tour to Pakistan since 2005 and the England women's team, who will be touring Pakistan for the first time. Both are additional tours with England men's side scheduled to return to Pakistan in the last quarter of 2022 for white-ball and ICC World Test Championship fixtures," Khan said.

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England wear special jersey to support 'Red for Ruth' day at Lord's

The iconic Lord’s cricket ground will turn Red to support the cause of the Ruth Strauss Foundation which aims at helping families in the United Kingdom fight the death of a parent. This will happen on the second day of the India- England second Test taking place at the Home of Cricket. The England cricket team would support the cause as well by wearing a special jersey with names and numbers written on the back in red and supporting that jersey would be red caps, different from the usual blue ones. On this occasion, former England skipper Sir Andrew Strauss would be present in the august gathering and hopes that Friday's 'Red for Ruth' day will help shine a spotlight on how the Ruth Strauss Foundation can help families facing the death of a parent. To show support to the cause, cricket fans are invited to wear red on Friday. "From the Foundation's point of view I'm just so excited about these next five days; it's an opportunity for us to showcase all the work we're doing to help families facing the death of a parent," Strauss was quoted as saying to Sky Sports Cricket. Early 2018, Ruth Strauss, wife of Sir Andrew Strauss the former England cricket captain, was diagnosed with incurable lung cancer that affects non-smokers. Ruth died on December 29th 2018; she was 46 years old and mother to two children, then aged 10 and 13. In her memory, sir Andrew has launched the Ruth Strauss Foundation The foundation provides emotional support for families to prepare for the death of a parent and raises awareness of the need for more research & collaboration in the fight against non-smoking lung cancers.

It was the best I have seen KL Rahul bat: Rohit Sharma

India opener KL Rahul unleashed a brilliant knock on the first day of the second Test against England at Lord’s, notching up a century to get his name on the Honours board. Rahul remained unbeaten at 127 at the end of the day’s play. His opening partner Rohit Sharma lavished praise on the right-hand batter, saying that it was probably his best performance to date. “It was probably the best I have seen KL bat and he was in control from ball one till we finished the day today. Very much in control,” Rohit said after the day’s play on Thursday. “At no given point, it looked like he was confused or thinking too much. He was very clear with his plans and when you trust your plans, it definitely works,” India's limited-overs vice-captain added. Earlier in the day, after India lost the toss, Rohit and Rahul began the proceedings in a cautious manner and never really let the England bowlers take the upper hand during the course. The two batsmen put up 126 for the first wicket before Sharma was undone by James Anderson for 83. India then lost Cheteshwar Pujara in quick succession but Rahul held the other end and stitched a partnership of 117 runs for the third wicket with skipper Virat Kohli. India were 276/3 with Rahul and Ajinkya Rahane unbeaten at the crease on Day 1.

Plan was to bowl around fourth, fifth stump: Ollie Robinson on Kohli's dismissal

England fast bowler Ollie Robinson scalped the important wicket of Indian skipper Virat Kohli on the first day of the second Test between England and India at Lord’s on Thursday. Robinson revealed how he succeeded in executing the plans but also lauded the Indian batsmen for their efforts. Talking about the dismissal in a virtual press conference after the day’s play, Robinson said, "It was huge and gave us a bit of momentum for the morning. The plan to him was always fourth, fifth stump, back of a length... luckily the plan worked." "We toiled hard today against their batters and to be fair, they played well," added the young bowler. The right-handed batsman had a cautious start to his innings and scored 42 off 103 balls before he was sent back to the pavilion. The visitors had a brilliant day at the office though, putting up 276/3 on the first day of the second clash. India were put into bat by England captain Joe Root and openers KL Rahul and Rohit Sharma provided a steady start. The two batsmen put together 126 for the first wicket before Sharma departed for a well compiled 83 while Rahul went on to score a ton to get his name on the Honours Board at Home of Cricket. Cheteshwar Pujara came in at number three, but failed to leave a mark and was dismissed for 9 by James Anderson who eventually returned with figures of 2/52 in 20 overs.

WI vs PAK | 1st Test | Day 1: Pakistan fight back after getting bowled out for 217

West Indies had a struggling start in the first innings of the first Test against Pakistan after they were reduced to 2/2, trailing by 215 runs before the stumps were called at the Sabina Park in Kingston, Jamaica. Opener Kieron Powell was the first batsman who was sent back to the pavilion by Mohammad Abbas for a 6-ball duck while Nkrumah Bonner followed him for a golden duck on the very next delivery after, getting trapped in front of the stumps by Abbas. He returned with figures of 0/2 in two overs at the end of the day’s play. Earlier, the visitors were bundled out for 217 after Jayden Seales and Jason Holder ran through the Pakistan batting line up. The two bowlers shared a total of six wickets between themselves. Pakistan had a disappointing start to the proceedings as they lost Imran Butt for 11 after he was cleaned up by Kemar Roach. The visitors then lost wickets at regular intervals and were 101/5 when Fawad Alam and Faheem Ashraf steadied the Pakistan ship. The two batters put on a stand of 85 runs for the sixth wicket before Ashraf departed for 44. The 35-year-old Alam went on to score 56 runs, which would also be his maiden half-century in Test cricket having previously scored four hundred in 11 matches. He was undone by Holder for 56. The pacer eventually returned with impressive bowling figures of 3/26 in 15.3 overs. The right-hander talked about his preparations and performance after the first day. “I had a few days to prepare (after white-ball cricket) and for me, it's just about getting my rhythm back in this format and it wasn't a bad transition, we had a good day as a bowling unit. It was slower than expected and we had to be a little fuller and make them play as much as possible,” he said.