Across the sea from the football and following a bellyful of white-ball cricket, England’s men turn their attention to the red. Abu Dhabi hosts a three-day match against the Lions starting on Wednesday before Ben Stokes and his squad jet to Pakistan for next week’s first Test in Rawalpindi.
As well as a tune-up for the three-match series, this comes at an interesting time for the Lions. English cricket’s high-performance review may have met stiff resistance over its proposed domestic structure but among the recommendations which can be adopted without approval from the counties is greater investment in the second string.
