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LONDON: Pakistan will play five One-day Internationals against England to mark the hosts’ 2027 season open, the cricket boards of the two countries announced on Thursday.
The series will be played from May 15 to 26, with the opening match scheduled to take place in Southampton.
The second ODI will be played in Manchester on May 19, while Leeds will host the third match of the series on May 21.
The fourth and fifth ODIs will be played in Chester-le-Street and Cardiff on May 23 and 26, respectively.
According to the season’s schedule released by the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB), Southampton’s Utilita Bowl will host a men’s Ashes Test for the first time next year with the men’s and women’s series against Australia again running concurrently.
Trent Bridge will host the first men’s Test, starting on June 18, while the first match of the multi-format women’s series, the sole Test match, begins at Headingley on June 24.
Southampton will host the fourth men’s Test starting on July 21. England last played a Test match at the venue, also known as the Rose Bowl, in 2020 when Pakistan were the opposition during the Covid-19 pandemic.
The World Test Championship final was also played at the ground in 2021 when New Zealand beat India.
A packed summer of cricket in England will also include 10 ODIs for the England men’s team, the final of the World Test Championship at London’s Oval.
The men’s and women’s Ashes were also held at the same time in England in 2023, boosting crowds for the women’s fixtures.
England will also play a five-match ODI series against New Zealand later in the summer as well as a one-off Test against Bangladesh starting at Lord’s on May 28.
It will be the first time Bangladesh have played a Test in England since 2010.
The International Cricket Council last year agreed that the ECB would host the World Test Championship final in 2027, 2029 and 2031 after the sell-out in 2023 when Australia beat India for the title at a sold-out Oval.
Next year’s Oval clash will start on June 9.
Published in Dawn, July 24th, 2026
