England v Pakistan: fourth men’s T20 cricket international

Key events

“It seems like the World Cup is last chance saloon for a lot of players, “ ponders Tom v d Gucht. “Buttler, Ali, Wood and Bairstow are all getting a bit long in the tooth… But Liam Livingstone seems to be a mercurial talent who’s older than I realised: he’s kind of like the T20 Zak Crawley, but with a less impressive highlights reel. On paper, his spin and muscular hitting offer more than Curran’s bustling medium pace and pinch-hitting. Yet, when the chips have been down, Curran seems to have delivered more and risen to the occasion – even if we feel a batsman light with Goldenarm in the team.”

It’s an interesting one. We were discussing Livingtone at Old Trafford last week – how strange his career has been – he started off wanting to be a Test player, but his path has been shaped by both injury and the rise and rise of franchise cricket. What he and Curran both have is that infuriating (for the opposition) ability to mis-hit sixes and take wickets with terrible balls as well as their conventional finely-honed skills.

Pakistan XI

Pakistan XI: Mohammad Rizwan, Babar Azam (c), Usman Khan, Fakhar Zaman, Shadab Khan, Azam Khan (wk), Iftikhar Ahmed, Shaheen Afridi, Haris Rauf, Mohammad Amir, Naseem Shah.

An epic drops, hello Zain Malik!

“If the London weather deigns to cooperate (miracles do happen), we might witness T20-I #17 at cricket’s self-proclaimed “real home.” Ahem. Ahem. Yes, the so-called People’s Cricket Ground is set to host the Men in Green. It’s been over a decade since this historic venue condescended to accommodate the shortest format—perhaps The Oval prefers to avoid the gaudy spectacle of T20 cricket to keep its highbrow reputation intact.

”The Oval is practically Pakistan’s second home. It all started in ‘54 when Fazal Mahmood turned the English batting lineup into his personal plaything, securing Pakistan’s first Test win on English soil in just their second appearance. A real “we’ve arrived” moment if there ever was one.

“Fast forward through the decades, and the Oval has been a stage for Pakistan’s cricketing theater. Sure, there was the 2006 ball-tampering melodrama, but hey, every great venue needs a scandal. Apart from that blip, the last time England managed to best Pakistan in a Test at this ground was in 1967. Yes, 1967. Let that sink in.

“This is the same ground where Pakistan triumphed in the Champions Trophy, leaving their mark with a golden victory. It’s where cricketing maestros like Miandad and Zaheer Abbas hammered out double centuries as if they were swatting flies, and where Younis Khan added his own magnum opus to the Oval’s storied history. And who can forget Umar Gul’s demolition job on New Zealand in the 2009 T20 World Cup? The man turned the pitch into his personal firing range.

“So here we are, at a venue that’s as old as cricket itself (or at least it likes to think so). On this typically gray and gloomy Thursday evening, let’s all pray to the weather gods for a sliver of cricket amidst the clouds.”

At the moment, those gods are listening. Grey but – as I type – dry.

World Cup reminder: England are in Group B alongside Australia, Namibia, Scotland and Oman. Pakistan are in Group A alongside India, Ireland, Canada and USA.

England XI

England XI: Phil Salt, Jos Buttler (c, wk), Will Jacks, Jonny Bairstow, Harry Brook, Moeen Ali, Liam Livingstone Chris Jordan, Jofra Archer, Adil Rashid, Mark Wood

England win the toss and will bowl!

Jos Buttler is back and celebrates the baby’s birth by winning the toss on a pitch with a “little bit of green grass”. Mum and baby are apparently doing well. Babar Azam says he would have bowled too.

One change for England: Mark Wood for Reece Topley.

Two changes for Pakistan: Usman Khan and Naseem Shah for Saim Ayub and Imad Wasim

Simon has better news. “Slightly early team news: Archer and CJ have marked their run-ups so are in. I’m expecting Wood to replace Topley.” Jos Buttler is also back in the fold, though no official word yet on whether his baby has arrived.

There is a weather theme developing. “Hopefully we’ll get some cricket today,” writes Simon McMahon. “And at least we won’t have to worry about the weather when the tournament proper gets underway…

Oh dear…

Hello Brendan Large! “Why did we ever start playing cricket in England? Surely it should’ve been an indoors sport? I love watching England play and this “series” has really ruined my week. Frustrated England fan in Norway with fingers and toes crossed that we can at least get bit of play today.”

It’s dismal isn’t it. To be fair, those early Hambledon pioneers probably hadn’t forseen the many-fold disasters of man-made climate change. Luck, the ICC has embraced it so enthusiastically with their multi-million pound deal with Aramco and the like.

Update from the capital: the covers are currently on their way off and Pakistan are warming up – no doubt wondering which fool planned this stop-off in the land of constant umbrellas.

I enjoyed this piece on Uganda by Taha:

And here’s the Guardian’s team by team guide, from Rohit to Ravindra.

Preamble

Good evening from this wet land. Today’s T20 is on paper the fourth and last of the warm-up series, in theory the second and last, but the weather may run a line through the whole damn thing.

Simon Burnton is at The Oval where he has in the last five minutes reported sun, showers, “chucking it down” and sun again. But we’ll be here anyway, weather watching. Do join in.