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A short blast to see off the summer
- Updated: September 6, 2016
Match Facts
September 7, Old Trafford Start time 6.30pm (1730GMT)
Big Picture
The nights are drawing in, the kids are back at school, the summer’s main international trophies have been tussled over and divvied up. All that remains now is an autumnal farewell in Manchester, as England and Pakistan do battle for one last time in a one-off floodlit T20.
It all makes for a low-key finale to an otherwise engaging visit from a popular Pakistan touring team. Their victory in the fifth and final ODI at Cardiff on Sunday spared them the ignominy of a 5-0 series whitewash but also, to a degree, deprived this contest of its edge. Not even the Super Series (currently 16-10 in England’s favour) can keep up the pretence that there’s anything tangible at stake.
That said, there’s still plenty to prove for the personnel on both teams. England, of course, cemented their white-ball revival with their march to the World T20 final in Kolkata back in April, and for many of the main men of that tournament who sat out the one-off win over Sri Lanka at the Ageas Bowl in June – in particular Joe Root, Alex Hales and, of course, England’s fall guy on that famous evening, Ben Stokes – this will be their first return to the format.
Pakistan have no reason to recall their most recent trip to Kolkata with any fondness, either, after a group-stage defeat to India derailed their own World T20 campaign, and in their first 20-over outing since March, they will embark on the start of their own new era, with Sarfraz Ahmed, one of their star campaigners of the England tour, leading his country for the first time in international cricket.
It promises to be a fun night out in Manchester, and who can quibble with that? But, given that the next World T20 is scheduled to take place in four years’ time (notwithstanding the growing clamour for a 2018 event), anyone seeking pointers for the future directions of both teams can probably afford to let their …
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