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The tour will begin with the first at Lord’s while the second Test will be held in Manchester from August 7. @ AFP

Pakistan will tour England for a three-match Test series in 2020 which will be part of the World Test Championship, it was announced on Wednesday. The tour will also consist of three T20Is and will start with the Test series on July 3.

The tour will begin with the first at Lord’s while the second Test will be held in Manchester from August 7. The final match will be played at Trent Bridge from August 20. The three-match Twenty20 Internationals will be played on on August 29, 31 and September 2 in Leeds, Cardiff and Southampton respectively.

It was also confirmed that England’s return tour in 2022 will be played in October (3 ODIs) and in December (3 Tests). “This tour holds special significance since this will be Pakistan’s first-ever tour of England for World Test Championship matches,” Zakir Khan, Pakistan Cricket Board‘s (PCB) director of International cricket, said.

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“A tour of England tests the skills and limits of the visiting sides and I anticipate this tour to help Pakistan furnish their red-ball skills and also prepare them for the all-important ICC T20 World Cup in Australia latter in 2020.

“The PCB and the English and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) enjoy an amicable relationship and this being Pakistan’s third bilateral tour of England in the last four years perfectly mirrors it. In 2010, the ECB provided the PCB facilities to host Australia in a two-match Test series.”

Meanwhile, England’s home season next year will begin with the visit of West Indies, who will play three Tests at The Oval, Edgbaston and Lord’s starting on June 4.

In a jam-packed schedule which consist visits by West Indies and Pakistan, England will play a white-ball series against Australia in July comprising three T20Is and as many number of ODIs. The season will close with a further three ODIs against Ireland.

England home season, 2020

vs West Indies

June 4-8 – 1st Test, The Oval

June 12-16 – 2nd Test, Edgbaston

June 25-29 – 3rd Test, Lord’s

vs Australia

July 3 – 1st T20I, Edgbaston

July 5 – 2nd T20I, Old Trafford

July 7 – 3rd T20I, Headingley

July 11 – 1st ODI, Lord’s

July 14 – 2nd ODI, Ageas Bowl

July 16 – 3rd ODI, Bristol

vs Pakistan

July 30 – 1st Test, Lord’s

August 7 – 2nd Test, Old Trafford

August 20 – 3rd Test, Trent Bridge

August 29 – 1st T20I, Headingley

August 31 – 2nd T20I, Cardiff

September 2 – 3rd T20I, Ageas Bowl

vs Ireland

September 10 – 1st ODI, Trent Bridge

September 12 – 2nd ODI, Edgbaston

September 15 – 3rd ODI, The Oval