England Ditch Pakistan; Pick New Opponent For Historic Match

Ben Stokes & Mohsin Naqvi (Source: AFP Photos)

The England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) were supposed to play Pakistan for a one-off Test match just before The Ashes next year. However, according to new reports, it seems it won’t happen in reality.

As revealed by The Telegraph, the ECB has already made up their mind to replace Pakistan for the historic match, something they don’t do often just before their all-important Ashes series. In fact, the opposition, in all likelihood, has already been finalised.

England Prefer Bangladesh Over Pakistan For Ashes Prep

According to the latest developments, England will play Bangladesh in a one-off Test match in late May. However, the venue for the England versus Bangladesh Test is yet to be determined.

Originally, Old Trafford in Manchester was slated to host the England versus Pakistan Test match just before the Ashes 2027. As there is no Ashes Test to be played in Manchester, the venue was picked to host the one-off Test match.

However, given that the WTC final is all set to be moved from The Lord’s, it could host the Bangladesh match. There is a contract for the ECB with the Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) for having two Tests at the Lord’s every summer.

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Now, with the WTC final set to be out of Lord’s, it can host the England versus Bangladesh match.

When Did Bangladesh Last Tour England For A Test Match?

Bangladesh and England have had five Test series so far in the history of the game. It all started with England in Bangladesh for a two-match Test series in 2003. England defeated Bangladesh comprehensively on both occasions.

After that, Bangladesh travelled to England in 2005 and lost the two-match Test series 0-2. Then England travelled to Bangladesh in 2010, and within three months, Bangladesh travelled to England as well.

Bangladesh lost both two-match series with a 2-0 scoreline.

Bangladesh’s best accomplishment versus England in Test cricket came in 2016/17, when England came to their land. After losing the first Test match in Chattogram, they won for the first time in this format against them. It happened in Mirpur, as Bangladesh won by 108 runs.

So, technically, this would be the first time Bangladesh has toured England since 2010.

Pakistan Tour Of England 2026 Stays Intact

Pakistan, however, will have three Test matches in England this year in August. There is no change to the Pakistan Tour of England 2026 as of now.

The series will begin on August 19, with Headingley’s Leeds set to host the first of the three assignments. After that, Lord’s and Edgbaston will host the Tests, from August 27 and September 9 onwards.

More significantly, this will be the first time Pakistan will travel to England since 2020. Back then, they had three T20Is and three Tests.

Azhar Ali was Pakistan’s Test captain when they last toured England, while Babar Azam was the captain of the T20I side.

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