- England have lost eight of their 12 matches since winning the T20 World Cup
- Pakistan's Mohammad Rizwan has reached 60 in six of his last 10 T20 innings against England
- Recommended bet: Mohammad Rizwan to be Pakistan Top Batter

England beat Pakistan in the T20 World Cup final in November 2022 and their preparations for next month's title defence continue against the same opponents.

The opening match of the four-game series was rained off at Headingley, but the weather should not disrupt Saturday's clash at Edgbaston.

England have lost eight of their 12 T20 internationals since their tense five-wicket win in the World Cup final in Melbourne and they are aiming for a morale-boosting series victory before the tournament in the Caribbean and the USA.

Team news

Jos Buttler will captain, open the batting and keep wicket for England, but Liam Livingstone and Mark Wood may not be risked as they recover from knee problems.

Fast bowler Jofra Archer should make his first international appearance in more than a year.

Pakistan's Haris Rauf should be available after recovering from a long-term shoulder injury.

Fellow paceman Hasan Ali has been released from the squad to return to Warwickshire. 

The stats

England have been bowled out for 128 and 121 in their last two T20 internationals at Edgbaston, while they have lost eight of their 12 matches since winning the T20 World Cup.

Opener Phil Salt scored 435 runs at a strike-rate of 182 for Kolkata in this season's IPL .

Pakistan's Mohammad Rizwan has scored 60 or more in six of his last 10 T20 innings against England, while Shaheen Shah Afridi has taken 14 wickets in his last six T20 internationals.

Pakistan had opening stands of seven, six and 16 in this month's T20 series against Ireland.

Prediction

England supporters will be looking forward to the return of fast bowler Archer, who has been sidelined by injury for more than a year.

The home side's batting unit looks as powerful as ever with Phil Salt, who had a superb IPL campaign for Kolkata Knight Riders, opening with captain Buttler.

Buttler, number three Will Jacks and number four Jonny Bairstow all scored centuries in this season's IPL, while Harry Brook is another potential matchwinner at number five.

Pakistan's Top Batter market is dominated by skipper Babar Azam and opener Mohammad Rizwan, who is one of the most reliable runscorers in T20 international cricket.

Rizwan and Babar are third and fourth in the ICC's T20 batting rankings, behind India's Suryakumar Yadav and England's Salt, and Rizwan has an outstanding record against England.

He scored 63, 37 and 76 not out in the 2021 T20 series in England and his six appearances in the 2022 home series against them included knocks of 68, 88 not out, 88 and 63.

Rizwan played a key role in this month's 2-1 series win in Ireland, scoring an unbeaten 75 and 56 in the second and third matches, and he can lead the way for the tourists at Edgbaston. 

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