Pakistan vs. England, 1st T20I: Date, Time, Live Stream, TV Info and Preview

Pakistan and England open their three-match Twenty20 series on Thursday at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium in the United Arab Emirates.

Fresh off a 3-1 series triumph in the one-dayers, England will be eager to finish their tour on a high. They have some new blood on the trip, with Stephen Parry and James Vince included in the 15-man squad.

Pakistan will also freshen things up for the T20 fixtures. After Misbah-ul-Haq and Azhar Ali led the side in Test and ODI action respectively, Shahid Afridi takes over the captaincy in the shortest format.

Dubai hosts the first two matches on back-to-back days, with the series finale taking place at the Sharjah Cricket Stadium, Sharjah, UAE, on November 30.

Date: Thursday November 26, 2015

Time: 8 p.m. local (4 p.m. GMT, 11 a.m. ET)

Venue: Dubai International Cricket Stadium, Dubai, UAE

Live Stream and TV Info: Sky Sports (UK), PTV (Pakistan), SuperSport (South Africa), Ten Sports (Bangladesh), NowTV (UK Streaming Service)

Weather: According to AccuWeather.com, the conditions will be warm with no chance of rain. Temperatures in the evening will still be around 21 degrees Celsius.

Overview

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With the ICC World Twenty20 coming up in March 2016, the series takes on extra importance for the two teams.

England will be particularly grateful for the chance to give their players further experience of playing in conditions similar to those they will experience in next year's tournament in India.

Coach Trevor Bayliss said of the three matches, per Sky Sports: "We want to play this Twenty20 series and win that as well as we possibly can, but it's also a bit of a testing ground. We've got a few players that haven't been involved in this series that could get a run in the Twenty20 series."

England have won five of the last six T20 fixtures against Pakistan, though the latter are on a six-match winning streak in the format (albeit with four of those victories coming against Zimbabwe).

The last series between the nations took place in the United Arab Emirates back in February 2012.

England triumphed by a 2-1 scoreline on that occasion, although only captain Eoin Morgan and wicketkeeper-batsman Jos Buttler remain from that side.

As for the current bunch of tourists, they recorded a 79-run triumph in their solitary practice fixture, against the United Arab Emirates.

Vince and Sam Billings both played in the match at the Sheikh Zayed Stadium in Abu Dhabi, though they could both make way on Thursday to allow for the return of Joe Root and Buttler.

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Paceman Chris Jordan did his chances of being selected no harm by picking up two for 14 with the ball.

Left-arm slow bowler Parry also had a brief opportunity to impress, claiming one for eight in two overs.

However, England are blessed with two batsmen who can bowl spin in Moeen Ali and Root, therefore decreasing the possibility of Lancastrian Parry making the final XI.

As for Pakistan, Afridi's side warmed up for the series with a 64-run win over Hong Kong.

Mohammad Rizwan was the star performer with the bat, making an unbeaten 55 from 38 deliveries out of a total of 167 for seven.

The uncapped Rafatullah Mohmand, meanwhile, made 29 at the top of the order. He could be handed an international debut at the tender age of 39.

With Afridi and Mohammad Hafeez both 35, plus Mohammad Irfan and Shoaib Malik aged 33, Pakistan are banking on experience in T20 cricket.

England's management team, in contrast, is putting its faith in youth. At 30, Liam Plunkett is the oldest player in the visitors' squad.

Key players

Pakistan

Captain Shahid Afridi has the potential to add some much-needed spark to a Pakistan batting lineup that was far too pedestrian during the recent one-day matches.

His career statistics are hardly overwhelming. As a batsman, he averages 18.51 in the shortest format, including making just two half-centuries in 78 innings.

However, he scores at a rate of 147.22 runs per 100 balls. A quick cameo from the big-hitting right-hander could make all the difference in the final reckoning.

The presence of Afridi in the middle should immediately make England at least think about their field settings, though boundary riders barely register with a player famed for hitting sixes.

England

At the end of the three-Test series against Pakistan (which England lost 2-0), Jos Buttler had lost his place in the team due to a crisis of confidence.

Move forward to the end of the one-day series, however, and suddenly Buttler was back to his best. In fact, he was at his very best in the fourth and final ODI, smashing the fastest century by an Englishman in 50-over cricket. 

The wicketkeeper-batsman now returns to the same venue in Dubai where he needed just 46 balls to reach three figures in his last international innings.

Pakistan will be wary of a repeat performance from a player who now seems to have rediscovered his mojo.

Squads

Pakistan

Shahid Afridi (captain), Ahmed Shehzad, Mohammad Hafeez, Rafatullah Mohmand, Shoaib Malik, Sohaib Maqsood, Umar Akmal, Mohammad Rizwan, Sarfraz Ahmed, Anwar Ali, Bilal Asif, Imran Khan, Mohammad Irfan, Sohail Tanvir, Wahab Riaz, Aamer Yamin.

England

Eoin Morgan (captain), Moeen Ali, Sam Billings, Jos Buttler, Alex Hales, Chris Jordan, Stephen Parry, Liam Plunkett, Adil Rashid, Joe Root, Jason Roy, Reece Topley, James Vince, David Willey, Chris Woakes.