England will face old rivals Australia, as well as Scotland, Namibia and Oman during the first pool stage of the T20 World Cup this summer.
The schedule for the tournament in the USA and Caribbean was unveiled on Friday afternoon, with the opening phase headlined by a blockbuster clash between India and Pakistan in New York.
The initial round consists of 20 teams split into four groups of five, with the top two in each advancing to a second ‘Super Eight’ group stage.
Jos Buttler’s side won the tournament on Australian soil at the back end of 2022, but endured a difficult year in white-ball cricket in 2023, surrendering their 50-over crown in meek fashion in India.
While the tournament is being shared with the US, England will play all of their matches in the Caribbean, starting with the meeting with Scotland in Barbados on June 4.
The Australia clash takes place on the same island four days later, before games against Oman (June 13) and Namibia (June 15) follow in Antigua, with the entire tournament from the Super Eight onwards to be played in the West Indies.
The USA open the tournament against Canada in Dallas on June 1, before West Indies start their campaign against Papua New Guinea in Guyana the following day.
Ireland have been placed in Group A, alongside the US, Canada, India and Pakistan, while Group C sees New Zealand, Afghanistan, Uganda and Papua New Guinea join West Indies.
Group D looks the most competitive, where Nepal are joined by four of the ten teams to have featured at the recent ODI World Cup - Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, South Africa and Netherlands - in the battle for just two qualifying spots.
