Dubai: England team which will arrive early to get acquainted to the UAE conditions before their Test series against Pakistan and is likely to play against the Pakistan A team in a three-day practice match.
According to sources, plans are on to fly in the Pakistan ‘A' team before the Pakistan Test squad. England will arrive on January 3 and play their first warm up match on January 7 to 9. The second warm up match will be held from January 11 to 13.
It is likely that a team made up of top players from non-Test playing countries, including UAE, will play against England in one of the warm up matches. The venue and the squad will be announced shortly.
England is keen to get acclimatised to the spinning wickets at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium and the Abu Dhabi's Zayed Cricket Stadium before the start of the first Test match on January 17. They have strengthened their spin attack by recalling Monty Panesar to back their off spinner Graeme Swann.
Meanwhile, the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) announced that the Decision Review System (DRS) will be available during the Test series against England. The recent Pakistan-Sri Lanka Test series last October was played without the DRS system though PCB managed to introduce it for the One Day International series that followed the Test series.
The PCB has got sponsorship from Pepsi to meet the cost of the DRS system. Pepsi had sponsored the DRS for the One Day Internationals against Sri Lanka but for the England series they have agreed to support both the Test series and the One Day International matches. Incidentally, PCB is the first international cricket board to have obtained sponsorship for the DRS system.
Pakistan and England will play three Test matches, four One-day matches and three Twenty20 matches within a span of 50-days.
