Washout at Headingley denies England, Pakistan valuable World Cup prep

England vs Pakistan – match abandoned

The first T20I between England and Pakistan was called off even before the scheduled start time after heavy, persistent rain drenched Leeds for much of the day. Puddles had begun to form on the ground long before the umpires first came out to inspect conditions, and it did not take them much time to determine there was no point delaying the inevitable.

With the deadline for T20 World Cup squad announcements on Saturday – the day of the second T20I of the series in Birmingham – this was effectively the last chance for both sides to give their players a run-out before finalising their squads. The rain means England are deprived of the only realistic chance to give the returning Jofra Archer a game before the deadline, and though they will be permitted to make injury-related changes after the May 25 deadline – they will ultimately have to make an initial decision on his inclusion without the benefit of watching him play a competitive match.

Pakistan, meanwhile, remain the only one of the 20 participating sides at the World Cup not to have made their provisional squad for the tournament public. The PCB had specifically pointed to this game when declaring their intention to withhold the squad announcement, saying it would be finalised after the first T20I between the sides, although Hasan Ali was released from the squad earlier in the day to fulfil his county deal with Warwickshire.

Yorkshire’s weather, though, doused out Pakistan hopes of getting in one last look at the players before locking in the travelling party to North America.

The sides are scheduled to play three more games before flying out for the World Cup – at Edgbaston on Saturday, Cardiff on Tuesday, and The Oval a week on Thursday.

Danyal Rasool is ESPNcricinfo’s Pakistan correspondent. @Danny61000