England vs Pakistan, 1st T20I - Live Cricket Score, Commentary

Series: Pakistan tour of England, 2020 Venue: Emirates Old Trafford, Manchester Date & Time: Aug 28, 06:00 PM LOCAL

Babar and Morgan will look to start the series on a winning note © Getty

Rain, rain... called off

Oh, the groundstaff tried their best but the outfield had taken a beating and the match has been called off. Rain continues to play havoc during the English summer.

In the little bit of play that was possible, Banton cracked a quick-fire 71 before Pakistan made a comeback.

Some good news as the rain has stopped. Fingers-crossed, we will get some play.

The rain continues to pelt down. The cut off time is 21:19 local time. So time is running out. If it is a five-over game, then the target for Pakistan will be 56.

1195 95

England on the backfoot

Pakistan have done well to restrict England to 25 for 1 in five overs. Malan and Banton collected a boundary each, with Malan showing some flourish to flick one behind square on the on-side. Meanwhile, Pakistan would rue the fact that Banton was dropped at first slip of Iftikhar.

Early setback

Not exactly a good start for the home side. Bairstow falls to Imad. Tossed up delivery and Bairstow went hard at it, only for the left-arm spinner to pouch a sharp catch.

Toss and teams

Pakistan have won a crucial toss, opting to field. It is quite overcast at Manchester, and we could have a bit of inclement weather.

England (Playing XI): Tom Banton, Jonny Bairstow(w), Dawid Malan, Eoin Morgan(c), Sam Billings, Moeen Ali, Tom Curran, Lewis Gregory, Chris Jordan, Adil Rashid, Saqib Mahmood

Pakistan (Playing XI): Babar Azam(c), Fakhar Zaman, Mohammad Hafeez, Shoaib Malik, Mohammad Rizwan(w), Iftikhar Ahmed, Shadab Khan, Imad Wasim, Mohammad Amir, Haris Rauf, Shaheen Afridi

Weather update: It's very overcast at Old Trafford at the moment. Not raining presently but the covers are on as a precautionary measure.

Build up:

After England clinched the hard-fought, rain-marred Test series 1-0, the attention now shifts to T20Is. England and Pakistan - two formidable T20I sides - will go head-to-head over a three-match series.

England are missing some of their all-format regulars - Jofra Archer, Ben Stokes, Jos Buttler and co. To make matters worse, Jason Roy has been ruled out with a side strain. So that gives an opportunity for the likes of Sam Billings, Tom Banton and Joe Denly to prove their worth.

On the other hand, the visitors have a good mix of experience and youth on paper, with the likes of Fakhar Zaman, Babar Azam, Mohammad Hafeez, Shoaib Malik, Shadab Khan, Wahab Riaz, Amir and co. in the set-up.