'We are geared up to host Pak-Eng series'

Abu Dhabi - Abu Dhabi, Dubai and Sharjah will stage the matches.

The Emirates Cricket Board's (ECB) senior Administrator Mazhar Khan said they were delighted to again host Pakistan's home series in the UAE.
The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) announced the detailed itinerary for England's tour of Pakistan in the UAE, on Thursday with the England and Wales Cricket Board too confirming the schedule in a simultaneous press release from London.
England are scheduled to arrive in the country on September 30 and depart on December 1. During this time, they are set to battle with Pakistan over three Tests, four One-Day Internationals and three T20 Internationals.
"It is a good two months tour. We, at the ECB, are all geared up and the venues are ready to host an important series between Pakistan and England," Mazhar Khan told the Khaleej Times on Thursday.
"We are thankful to both PCB and the England and Wales Cricket Board for giving us an opportunity to host the series in the UAE. I'm sure it will be a very competitive event and we hope to have more English fans travelling to the UAE to support their team," added Mazhar. Pakistan have been forced to play most of their home fixtures in the UAE after militants attacked the Sri Lankan team bus in Lahore in 2009. Zimbabwe did provide a ray of hope by touring Pakistan for a short series in May. But a fully fledged resumption will take a while.
Nevertheless, the Emirates Cricket Board said they were always there to support the PCB. "We are always there to support the PCB in hosting such big events. We are happy to be hosts. All the venues are ready and we have got good infrastructure and we provide the best facilities," said Mazhar.
And Mazhar said that touring teams have given a positive feedback. "It has always been positive. Australia, New Zealand, whoever have toured here, have gone back happy. England will feel at home and will enjoy the trip," assured Mazhar.
The last time England played a series in the UAE was in 2012 and they lost the Test segment 3-0 to Pakistan. However, they made a clean sweep of the four-match ODI series before winning the T20 internationals 2-1.
There have been changes in personnel for England since that series. Andrew Strauss, now England's Director of Cricket, was the Test captain, while the unwanted Kevin Pietersen played in that series.
The current tour will see England play in Sharjah for the very first time. In 2012, the fixtures were split between Dubai and Abu Dhabi. Sharjah will host a brace of two-day games, one Test, one ODI and a T20 International.
The last time England played an international at Sharjah was in 1999.
"We are most happy to be hosting England for the first series of our home season 2015-16. Like ever, with few exceptions since 1954, we expect this bilateral series to produce cricket of a very high standard. As is evident from its away wins in Sri Lanka, Team Pakistan is upwardly mobile and we hope that it would maintain this trajectory against England across the three formats," PCB chairman Shaharyar Khan, said.
Meanwhile, Tom Harrison, Chief Executive of the ECB said: "We are pleased to have agreed the schedule for this series with the Pakistan Cricket Board. Our last tour to UAE saw Pakistan win the Test series while we were victorious in both the ODI and T20 series. We expect this autumn's tour will be equally hard fought and we trust that as many England fans as possible will make the trip to UAE to show their support for the team."
james@khaleejtimes.com