The limited overs series between England and Pakistan turned on its head on Tuesday with the news that the entire home squad was forced into quarantine following a coronavirus outbreak within the camp.
Ben Stokes was named captain of England after three of their players and four support staff tested positive for Covid-19 in Bristol on Monday following the washed-out third ODI against Sri Lanka.
Among the numerous new faces in the squad are Test batsmen Zak Crawley and Dan Lawrence, who now have a chance to make their 50-over debuts. They will be joined in the squad by newcomers including Durham's Brydon Carse and Middlesex's Tom Helm and John Simpson.
The misfortune of the hosts is great news for Pakistan, who will now fancy their chances against the 50-over world champions who are being forced to pick a second-string team.
Babar Azam's men in green play three ODIs, starting on Thursday in cardiff, and three T20s during their short tour of England. It will undoubtedly be a golden opportunity to get some confidence under their belt as they build up towards the T20 World Cup later in the year.
England would have carried a lot of momentum from their recent series against Sri Lanka, where rain denied them a chance to complete a 6-0 whitewash across ODIs and T20s. But with the wholesale change to their squad, nothing is certain.
Crowds are back
It's time for cricketers to play in front of a packed house again. The second ODI at Lord's between the teams will be first time England will be playing a home international match in front of a capacity crowd since September 2019.
Also, the third ODI at Edgbaston has been granted permission to allow 19,000 spectators, or 80 per cent capacity. How long all of this lasts remains to be seen, especially after outbreak in the England camp and a recent incident of crowd invasion during a domestic match in the UK.
Omissions
Even though England had to pick an entirely new squad, there was still no space for Alex Hales.
Hales has been sidelined since being discarded on the eve of the 2019 World Cup following a positive test for recreational drugs. However, he has been incredibly consistent in limited-overs cricket.
The opening batsman topped the run-charts in Australia's Big Bash League last season. In the ongoing T20 Blast, the 32-year-old is averaging 47.75 at a strike-rate of 172.07 in 11 matches with Nottinghamshire.
Pakistan will be without batsman Haider Ali who was suspended ahead of the PSL final in Abu Dhabi for violating the tournament's safety protocols by meeting people from outside the bio-secure bubble.
ODI squads
England: Ben Stokes (captain), Jake Ball, Danny Briggs, Brydon Carse, Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Lewis Gregory, Tom Helm, Will Jacks, Dan Lawrence, Saqib Mahmood, Dawid Malan, Craig Overton, Matt Parkinson, David Payne, Phil Salt, John Simpson, James Vince
Pakistan: Babar Azam (captain), Shadab Khan, Abdullah Shafique, Faheem Ashraf, Fakhar Zaman, Sohaib Maqsood, Haris Rauf, Haris Sohail, Hasan Ali, Imam-ul-Haq, Mohammad Hasnain, Mohammad Nawaz, Mohammad Rizwan, Salman Ali Agha, Sarfaraz Ahmed, Saud Shakeel, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Usman Qadir
Fixtures
First ODI: July 8, Cardiff, 4pm UAE time
Second ODI: July 10, Lord's, 2pm
Third ODI: July 13, Birmingham, 4pm
First T20: July 16, Nottingham, 9:30pm
Second T20: July 18, Leeds, 5:30pm
Third T20: July 20, Manchester, 9:30pm
