England vs Pakistan: first T20 international cricket match – as it happened

Sadly that is it from our live coverage of the first T20 international of the series between England and Pakistan.

There are three games still to go in the series before the teams jet off to the USA and the Caribbean for the 2024 T20 World Cup.

We’ll be with you every step of the way in this series and at the tournament itself.

It was frustration in Headingley, let’s hope for better luck in the second game of the series at Edgbaston on Saturday.

The first match of the #ENGvPAK T20I series has been abandoned due to rain 🌧 pic.twitter.com/qcHHgG5YHL

— ICC (@ICC) May 22, 2024

An amber weather warning was issued in the United Kingdom on Wednesday for heavy rain through to the early hours of Thursday.

The second match of the series isn’t played until Saturday in Birmingham, England by which time the forecast has dramatically improved.

Cloudy with sunny spells is the early forecast for the match, however, the long-range look suggests the third and fourth matches could be rain affected, much like the opening game.

England squad: Jos Buttler, Moeen Ali, Jofra Archer, Jonny Bairstow, Harry Brook, Sam Curran, Ben Duckett, Tom Hartley, Will Jacks, Chris Jordan, Liam Livingstone, Adil Rashid, Phil Salt, Reece Topley, Mark Wood.

Pakistan squad: Iftikhar Ahmed, Imad Wasim, Salman Ali Agha, Shadab Khan, Babar Azam (captain), Fakhar Zaman, Saim Ayub, Usman Khan, Abrar Ahmed, Haris Rauf, Abbas Afridi, Mohammad Amir, Irfan Khan, Naseem Shah, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Azam Khan, Mohammad Rizwan

Helped by a burly batsman from New Zealand and a former India junior, the United States savoured a confidence-boosting five-wicket win over Bangladesh in a T20 on Tuesday, just more than a week out from co-hosting the tournament.

Batting all-rounder Corey Anderson, who played 13 Tests and more than 80 white-ball matches for New Zealand, clobbered an unbeaten 34 to help the US chase down Bangladesh’s 153-6 with three balls to spare in Prairie View, Texas on Tuesday.

Read more: Cricket novices US begin T20 World Cup preparation with win over Bangladesh

“Fast bowler Hasan Ali has been released from the T20I squad,” the Pakistan Cricket Board said in a statement.

“The team management has decided to let Hasan Ali continue his commitments in county cricket.

“Initially, Hasan was selected as an injury cover for Haris Rauf.”

The 29-year-old will now return English county cricket club Warwickshire with the upcoming T20 Blast on the horizon.

Hasan played in two County Championship matches for Warwickshire in April before featuring in one T20i for Pakistan on the tour of Ireland.

Warwickshire travel to Old Trafford, Manchester, England on Friday to face Lancashire in the last round of Division One matches in the Championship before the T20 Blast begins.

𝗛𝗮𝘀𝘀𝗮𝗻'𝘀 𝗯𝗮𝗰𝗸! 💙

The seamer could return to red ball action against former club Lancashire on Friday.

🐻#YouBears

— Warwickshire CCC 🏏 (@WarwickshireCCC) May 22, 2024

The International Cricket Council (ICC) hosts the ninth edition of its men’s T20 World Cup from June 1 in the Caribbean and the United States.

Cricket’s shortest format serves as the backbone of the most lucrative leagues worldwide and is responsible for bringing new fans to the game with its slap-bang nature.

Read our: History of the ICC T20 World Cup: India vs Pakistan, shocks, records, stars

The World Cup in the USA and the Caribbean is little more than a week away now.

Here’s how the groups line up for England and Pakistan:

Group A: India, Pakistan, Ireland, United States, Canada
Group B: Australia, England, Namibia, Scotland, Oman

You can read our full preview of the tournament here: ICC T20 World Cup 2024: Teams, groups, format and full match schedule

The rain may have got the better of the men’s fixture at Edgbaston, but England and Pakistan Women will be hoping for better luck on Thursday.

The match at Derby is the first of three one-day internationals between the teams.

England sealed a 3-0 T20 series win against the Pakistanis on Sunday with a 34-run victory at Headlingley, following wins at Edgbaston and Northampton in the first two matches.

Indoor training for the players 🏏

Getting ready for the ODI series against England Women.#ENGWvPAKW | #BackOurGirls pic.twitter.com/E3LC325tLb

— Pakistan Cricket (@TheRealPCB) May 22, 2024

“Absolute clarity is what I want to see from Jos Buttler and his team,” World Cup-winning captain Eoin Morgan told Sky Sports.

“The Jason Roy saga [before the last World Cup] had him in and then out again and then when they got to the World Cup there was inconsistency in selection.

“You want to see Jofra Archer given time and Chris Jordan, who was overlooked for the series in West Indies last year, consistency builds confidence.”

The second match of the four-game series will be played, weather permitting on Saturday at Edgbaston, Birmingham, England.

We’ll bring you all the action from the series as preparation continues ahead of next month’s 2024 T20 World Cup.

No play possible as the first T20I has been called off due to rain 🌧️

The second T20I will take place in Birmingham on Saturday 🏏#ENGvPAK | #BackTheBoysInGreen pic.twitter.com/3tdAdMnYWb

— Pakistan Cricket (@TheRealPCB) May 22, 2024

The news that we did not want is just in from Headingley.

Our first IT20 against Pakistan has been abandoned ❌

See you at Edgbaston, England fans 👋 pic.twitter.com/luw2mcUR4c

— England Cricket (@englandcricket) May 22, 2024

Before the match at Headingley came the news of the passing of Sajjad Akbar.

The 63-year-old played in two one-day internationals for Pakistan in 1990 and enjoyed a 23-year career with Lahore.

The former off-break bowling allrounder, who took 64 first-class wickets at an average of 25 and average 30 with the bat, was currently working for the Pakistan Cricket Board at the National Cricket Academy in Lahore.

The PCB is saddened by the passing of former international cricketer and Level-4 coach Sajjad Akbar. He represented Pakistan in two ODIs in 1990. He was presently employed by the PCB and helping in player development at the NCA. PCB offers its heartfelt condolences to his friends… pic.twitter.com/ZFSHs2e81K

— Pakistan Cricket (@TheRealPCB) May 21, 2024

The current scene in Headingley is making the toss look unlikely at 6pm local time (17:00 GMT).

The groundstaff are working away to clear up so all hope is not lost.

Injuries have been cruel to England fast bowler Jofra Archer.

The Sussex quick, who was born in Barbados, last played for England in March last year.

The 29-year-old appeared in the Indian Premier League in April and May for the Mumbai Indians, but long-term injuries have plagued Archer, who is only just returning from the latest before next month’s World Cup.

⏳ Loading: 𝗝𝗼𝗳𝗿𝗮 𝗔𝗿𝗰𝗵𝗲𝗿
■■■■■■■■■□□□ pic.twitter.com/nGU166ocEX

— England Cricket (@englandcricket) May 22, 2024

The rain has been falling steadily across England throughout the day.

The country has even issued a yellow weather-warning given the amount of rain expected to fall.

We’ll keep you updated on any delays and news of starts or restarts throughout the day should rain interrupt proceedings.

Current scenes at Headingley: 🌧 pic.twitter.com/9ziiji5smb

— England Cricket (@englandcricket) May 22, 2024

Sarfaraz Ahmed is celebrating his 37th birthday.

The Karachi-born wicketkeeper-batter has played in 54 Tests, 117 one-day internationals and 61 T20 internationals.

🏆 2017 Champions Trophy winning captain
🏆 2006 U19 World Cup winning captain
🧢 232 international matches
🏏 6,164 runs across all formats
🧤 315 catches & 56 stumpings

Happy birthday @SarfarazA_54! 🎂 pic.twitter.com/RIbEd7AjJP

— Pakistan Cricket (@TheRealPCB) May 22, 2024

After the opening match at Headingley, Leeds the series moves to Birmingham and Cardiff before finishing at the Oval, London.

Series opener! 🏏

🇵🇰 Pakistan 🆚 England 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿
🗓️ Wednesday, 22 May 2024
⏰ 10:30 PM PKT
🏟️ Headingley, Leeds#ENGvPAK | #BackTheBoysInGreen pic.twitter.com/yOcFRNePlE

— Pakistan Cricket (@TheRealPCB) May 22, 2024

Hello and welcome to our live coverage of England against Pakistan in the first game of their T20 cricket series.

The 2024 T20 World Cup, which starts in June, is nearly upon us and teams around the world are making their final preparations.

The series marks England’s first fixtures since the five-Test tour of India that ended in March.

Pakistan just beat Ireland 2-1 in the T20 series to open their tour of the UK and Ireland.

I’m Shubi Arun and I’ll bring you build-up, team news and text commentary of the 6:30pm local time (17:30 GMT) match at Headingley in Leeds, England.