England have begun their winter in Rawalpindi, with Harry Brook winning the toss and choosing to bowl first against Pakistan in the opening game of a 50-over tri-series that also features Sri Lanka. Without Jos Buttler and Jofra Archer, Brook’s side arrive as favourites — but in conditions that will test them like few ODI assignments have in recent years.
Key takeaways
- Brook won the toss and elected to field, warning that evening dew could be a major factor under the Rawalpindi lights.
- Jordan Cox keeps wicket in place of the injured Buttler, while Sonny Baker comes in for the rested Archer.
- Pakistan are unchanged from their 37-run win over Sri Lanka on Sunday, when Salman Ali Agha struck a century.
- The three teams play each other twice, with the top two meeting in the final in Lahore on 31 October.
Brook gambles on the dew
Brook’s decision at the toss was shaped by what happened in the tournament opener. On Sunday, heavy dew made life miserable for the bowlers under lights at the Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium, with a wet ball hard to grip and harder still to control. By bowling first, England hope to take advantage of drier conditions early on and then chase when the ball skids on and the spinners lose their bite.
The England captain was open about his thinking, saying that "dew might play a big factor tonight" and that his priority was to restrict Pakistan. It is a familiar calculation in day-night cricket in the subcontinent, but it puts pressure on England’s attack to keep the target manageable.
Brook also has history on his side. Across 16 games in all formats in Pakistan, he has scored 1,126 runs, including 468 in a single three-Test series. He also knows the local conditions from playing for Lahore Qalandars in the 2022 Pakistan Super League, and few visiting batters know these grounds better.
How the teams line up
England went with four seamers and also found room for specialist leg-spinner Adil Rashid. Sam Curran and Rashid both come into the side, with Cox taking the gloves and batting in the middle order and Baker handed the new-ball role that Archer would usually fill.
The XIs
Pakistan: Fakhar Zaman, Saim Ayub, Babar Azam, Saad Baig, Hasan Nawaz, Salman Ali Agha, Arafat Minhas, Faheem Ashraf, Shaheen Afridi (captain), Naseem Shah, Haris Rauf.
England: Ben Duckett, Tom Banton, Joe Root, Harry Brook (captain), Jordan Cox, Sam Curran, Will Jacks, Jamie Overton, Gus Atkinson, Adil Rashid, Sonny Baker.
Pakistan kept faith with the side that beat Sri Lanka, fielding four fast bowlers alongside two spin-bowling all-rounders in Arafat Minhas and Saim Ayub. With Shaheen Afridi, Naseem Shah and Haris Rauf all in the attack, England’s top order faces one of the quickest new-ball trios in white-ball cricket.
No Buttler, no Archer
England are missing two of their most important white-ball players. Buttler injured his hamstring during the 16-run defeat to Sri Lanka in the second ODI at Headingley last month, while Archer has been rested after a heavy home summer. Their absence gives white-ball coach Brendon McCullum a chance to look at England’s depth before next year’s World Cup.
Cox, in particular, has a big opportunity as wicketkeeper-batter, while Baker will be watched closely. His skills with reverse swing and yorkers at the death are exactly what can make the difference on slow subcontinental pitches, and this tournament is his chance to show they work at international level.
Players with something to prove
The tri-series is also a shop window for England’s Test tour of South Africa, which begins on 17 December. Spin remains a problem in the longest format, and the white-ball squad includes three younger spin options — Will Jacks, James Coles and the recalled Mason Crane — who could all push for places. Crane, who has not played for England since 2018, has also improved his batting, with two Championship hundreds for Glamorgan last season.
Seamer Henry Crocombe is in the squad too, despite still waiting for his senior debut. The 25-year-old was handed a two-year central contract last week on the back of 125 first-class wickets in 51 matches, including back-to-back hat-tricks this season, and he is set to make his T20 international debut in Australia next month.
Ben Duckett, meanwhile, could do with runs. He missed out on a two-year contract extension, and with Jacob Bethell returning from injury and Tom Banton fresh from his maiden ODI hundred, the opening spot is no longer guaranteed. Sam Curran is another name to watch: with Ben Stokes now retired from international cricket, the pace-bowling all-rounder role in the Test side is open, and a strong tournament here would strengthen his case.
England’s ODI revival
A year ago, England’s one-day side was in trouble. A 3-0 defeat in New Zealand left them so low in the rankings that there was talk of having to go through qualifying for the 2027 World Cup. Since then, they have turned things around, winning three bilateral series in a row — away in Sri Lanka, 2-1 at home to India and then again against Sri Lanka, sealed with a thumping win in the decider at The Oval in September.
All three teams in this tournament have now secured direct qualification for the World Cup, which will be co-hosted by South Africa, Zimbabwe and Namibia. In the rankings, Pakistan are fifth, England sixth and Sri Lanka seventh, so the margins between them are fine.
"Challenges we haven't faced yet"
Before the tournament, Brook said Pakistan were "going to present us challenges that we probably haven't quite faced yet as an ODI side", adding that England want to be "a side where we can win in any conditions against any opposition".
Pakistan’s chance to make history
The hosts will be no pushover. Pakistan have won their last three bilateral ODI series at home, including against Australia and South Africa, and opened this tournament with victory over Sri Lanka. Yet they have never won a home ODI tournament involving more than two teams since first hosting a tri-series with Australia and South Africa in 1994.
Much will depend on Babar Azam. The star batter averages 53.43 in ODIs, with 6,626 runs and 20 hundreds, but he has scored only one century in the format in the last three years and managed just 12, 4, 21 and 21 in four domestic innings after England’s 3-0 Test sweep this summer. Afridi described him as "a backbone of our team".
The road to Lahore
The tournament is played as a double round-robin, so each side plays the other two twice. Rawalpindi hosts one more game, England against Sri Lanka on Thursday, before the action moves to Lahore for the remaining four matches, including the final on 31 October. Sri Lanka arrive weakened, without injured opener Pathum Nissanka and spinner Wanindu Hasaranga, and with Dasun Shanaka recalled to the ODI side for the first time since early 2024.
For England, the tri-series is the start of a packed winter that includes a white-ball tour of Australia, Test trips to South Africa and Bangladesh, and a return to Australia in March for the pink-ball Test marking the 150th anniversary of Test cricket. A strong start in Rawalpindi would set the tone for all of it.
Source: Sky Sports
