7 matches in 13 days: why are Pakistan and England trying to play the longest T20I series ever?

 

The long-awaited T20 international series between England and Pakistan begins on Tuesday night at Karachi's National Stadium, the first of seven (yes, seven) matches over the next 13 days.


Malawi hosted Mozambique for seven men's and seven women's T20Is in November 2019, while the only other full-member T20I series of more than five games was between India and South Africa's women in October 2019, when a sixth T20I was added after rain washed out the second and third games. 

This series was originally scheduled to consist of five ODIs before of the World Cup in India in February-March 2023, but these were changed to T20Is as the Covid-19 pandemic pushed the 2020 T20 World Cup out to October-November 2022 and the 50-over World Cup back to October-November 2023.


The ECB abruptly cancelled a planned tour to Pakistan last year, citing worries over the players' emotional and physical well-being, despite the fact that the men's team was only scheduled to play two T20Is in Lahore as part of a four-day stopover on their route to the T20 World Cup. 

The ECB's chief executive at the time, Tom Harrison, and deputy chair Martin Darlow, visited Lahore in November 2021 to meet with PCB chair Ramiz Raja to discuss the circumstances of their withdrawal, which led Raja to say Pakistan had been "used and binned" by cricket's "Western Bloc."


During that tour, the boards decided to add two more T20Is to the series calendar, with both countries rotating their squads to ensure key players stay fit and fresh ahead of the T20 World Cup next month. 

"Seven games will be a struggle," added Jos Buttler, who will only be able to recover from a calf injury during the tour's Lahore leg.
"Some of them are also back-to-back, so we'll be seeking to manage our squad throughout that."


"We have a few bowlers to watch after."
We need to expose them and get them match fit, but we can't take any unnecessary risks."


England coach Matthew Mott stated, "Initially, I thought seven games over here would be a lot, but I think it's actually going to work in our favour."
We can get some games in for the guys that are returning, and we'll get to see a variety of guys under pressure." 

The two sides will also play an eighth game against each other shortly before the competition, on October 17, in an official ICC warm-up match at the Gabba.