Reporting note: this article draws on Sky Sports; PGLive provides the summary and editorial framing.
England's men begin their ODI tri-series against Pakistan in Rawalpindi on Tuesday, with the first ball at 9am UK time and live coverage on Sky Sports. The series also includes Sri Lanka and sits at the front of a winter that runs through a white-ball tour of Australia, Test trips to South Africa and Bangladesh, and a pink-ball Test in Australia in March.
England arrive after an ODI series win over Sri Lanka completed on September 27, and Pakistan have already opened the tournament with a victory over Sri Lanka. The three sides are ranked fifth, sixth and seventh respectively.
England ODI tri-series begins against Pakistan
Harry Brook captains a 16-man squad that mixes established names with players pushing for higher honours. The group is: Brook, Gus Atkinson, Sonny Baker, Tom Banton, James Coles, Jordan Cox, Mason Crane, Henry Crocombe, Sam Curran, Liam Dawson, Ben Duckett, Will Jacks, Jamie Overton, Adil Rashid, Joe Root and Josh Tongue.
Pakistan should be tougher opposition than the side England beat 3-0 in the Test arena this summer. The hosts have won their last three bilateral ODI series at home, including against Australia and South Africa, and began this tri-series with a win over Sri Lanka.
Spinners press claims for South Africa Test places
England's white-ball spin formula is settled: Adil Rashid leads, supported by all-rounders such as Will Jacks and Liam Dawson. The Test picture is less clear. Dan Lawrence is the current first-choice spinner largely because of his batting, and Shoaib Bashir holds a central contract but has played only two Tests in the past year.
That leaves this subcontinent series as an audition for the Test tour of South Africa, which starts on December 17. Jacks, who played four Ashes Tests last winter, and Coles both offer batting depth. Crane is the specialist of the three and has improved his batting with two Championship hundreds for Glamorgan last season.
Crane is in line for his first England appearance since 2018 and has moved ahead of Rehan Ahmed in the white-ball pecking order. At minimum he can stake a claim as Rashid's leg-spin deputy and possible long-term successor.
Henry Crocombe's rapid rise after central contract
Seam bowler Henry Crocombe was awarded a two-year central contract last week without having made a senior England appearance. The 25-year-old, Eastbourne-born and set to join Surrey from Sussex before the 2027 domestic season, has 125 wickets in 51 red-ball matches, including back-to-back hat-tricks against Somerset and Essex this season.
His 50-over record stands at 49 wickets in 36 matches, and the length of the deal suggests England see him as a multi-format bowler alongside Jofra Archer, Josh Tongue and Gus Atkinson. He is due to make his T20I debut in Australia in November and has a strong case for the South Africa Test trip.
Ben Duckett and Sam Curran face different pressures
Ben Duckett did not receive a two-year extension in England's updated central contracts, though his current deal runs to 2027. The 31-year-old has scored runs in ODIs since a lean spell late in 2025, when his top score at home to South Africa was 31 and he managed 11 runs across three games in New Zealand.
His opening spot looks less secure with Jacob Bethell returning from injury and Tom Banton having just hit his maiden ODI hundred. Duckett averages 23.42 across his last 11 Tests, with one hundred and a next-best score of 42, so a poor tri-series would revive questions about his red-ball place too.
Sam Curran has not played a Test in more than five years, largely because Ben Stokes filled the pace-bowling all-rounder role until his international retirement this summer. A groin injury ended Curran's home summer early and probably cost him the 3-0 win over Pakistan. He offers variations with the ball, class with the bat and captaincy experience, with his fitness the main question.
England's ODI revival under scrutiny
Around this time last year England were beaten 3-0 in New Zealand and there was open discussion about whether they would need to qualify for the 2027 World Cup. Back-to-back series wins in Sri Lanka and at home to India, both coming from behind, ended that concern, and a decisive win over Sri Lanka at The Kia Oval last month made it three ODI series victories in a row.
England will be expected to reach the tri-series final given their recent 50-over record against Sri Lanka. Continuing that run would strengthen the case that they can be genuine contenders at the next World Cup.
Residual tension: the held breath before the first ball in Rawalpindi, with winter tour places still unresolved.
The original report is from skysports.com.
