Thursday 16 / January / 2025
Weather in England has been less than ideal over the past few days with T20 games on Thursday and Friday, including T20 Blast matches, getting washed out at nine venues. But the forecast for the second T20I looks far more promising.
England are unlikely to make many changes. One option they have is to bring in David Willey, who was effective in the limited-overs series against Ireland with the new ball. Willey is also an effective batsman against spin and pace and could be handy if the middle order has a collapse, as on Friday.
With Jason Roy out of the series, Tom Banton grabbed his chance and could once again be a key player for England. Dawid Malan, who has made double digit scores in each of his 11 T20I games, will likely continue at No.3.
For the first game, Pakistan left out Haider Ali, who impressed in the Pakistan Super League earlier this year. The youngster is likely to be sidelined again as the team did not bat on Friday.
Wahab Riaz, who missed out, is the only one with a chance to come in on Sunday. He might replace one of Mohammad Amir or Haris Rauf, with Shaheen Shah Afridi impressing yet again with the new ball.
Remember the last time
Pakistan looked a far cry from the side that was at the top of the MRF Tyres ICC T20I Team Rankings until a few months ago, when 21-year-old Banton went on the attack. However, they went on to reaffirm their bowling efficiency, reducing England to 131/6 before rain intervened.
Overall, England maintain a 10-4 win-loss record against Pakistan in T20Is, with one match tied.
