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England confirm Pakistan, Ireland cricket tours

Published:Tuesday | July 7, 2020 | 12:18 AM
England’s Ben Stokes (centre) celebrates dismissing West Indies’ Shai Hope during the second One-Day International cricket match at the Kensington Oval in Bridgetown, Barbados, on Friday, February 22, 2019.
England’s Ben Stokes (centre) celebrates dismissing West Indies’ Shai Hope during the second One-Day International cricket match at the Kensington Oval in Bridgetown, Barbados, on Friday, February 22, 2019.

LONDON (AP):

England has accommodated Pakistan and Ireland by jamming their cricket tours into late summer.

England and Ireland will play three One-Day Internationals (ODI) in six days up to August 4; then from the next day, England and Pakistan will begin a three-Test series, followed by three Twenty20s in the space of 28 days.

All matches will be at Old Trafford in Manchester or the Ageas Bowl in Southampton, where England has set up bubbles isolated from the coronavirus. There will be no spectators at any match.

England’s three-Test series against the West Indies starts in Southampton tomorrow.

Ireland were supposed to tour in September, but agreed to bring it forward and play every match in Southampton.

The Irish will arrive on July 18 and go into quarantine to prepare for their first match on July 30, two days after the scheduled end to the England-West Indies series.

The other two ODIs will be on August 1 and August 4.

IN QUARANTINE

Pakistan have been in quarantine in Worcester for more than a week. They transfer north to Derby next Monday to prepare for the first Test on August 5 in Manchester.

The other two tests are in Southampton, from August 13 and 21.

All three T20s will be in Manchester on August 28 and 30, and September 1.

England said they were still in talks about their other postponed fixtures against the Australia men, and a women’s tri-series against India and South Africa.

“It has taken significant effort and expertise to allow us to reach a position where cricket is now ready and able to return to the field of play, from the elite level to recreational cricket,” England and Wales Cricket Board CEO Tom Harrison said.