Pak vs Eng Tests | Recharged England faces Pakistan challenge in long-awaited series

Security issues have meant Pakistan have had to play most of their home Tests of the last two decades on neutral grounds, usually the UAE.

A recharged England, playing swashbuckling cricket under skipper Ben Stokes and coach Brendon McCullum, will get their first taste of Pakistan conditions in 17 years when the first Test begins in Rawalpindi on December 1, 2022.

Under Stokes and former New Zealand great McCullum, England have remodelled their game — winning six of their last seven Tests at home playing what has been dubbed “Bazball” after the coach’s nickname. 

That came after a dismal sequence of just one win in 17 Tests — including a 4-0 humiliation in the Ashes in Australia -- resulting in head coach Chris Silverwood being sacked and Stokes taking over as skipper from Joe Root. 

But low and slow pitches in Pakistan — where England last played a Test in 2005 — pose a different challenge, McCullum admits. 

Security issues have meant Pakistan have had to play most of their home Tests of the last two decades on neutral grounds, usually the United Arab Emirates.

“We understand the size of the challenge in front of us — but that’s great, and that’s why you want to play the game,” McCullum told a press conference. 

“But at the same time, if we are given the opportunity to try and play aggressive and attacking cricket, we’ll try and take that option.”