England Join Pakistan and Sri Lanka for October ODI Tri-Series

England will begin their winter programme in Pakistan with a one-day international tri-series against the hosts and Sri Lanka in October. BBC Sport reported on Wednesday that the competition will be played across Rawalpindi and Lahore, with seven matches scheduled between 18 and 31 October. The three countries will each face the other two sides twice before the leading pair advance to the final.

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Pakistan and Sri Lanka will open the series at Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium on 18 October. England's first appearance comes two days later against Pakistan at the same venue, followed by a match against Sri Lanka on 22 October. That gives England two fixtures in the opening five days of the competition and completes the first phase of their campaign in Rawalpindi.

The tournament will then move to Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore. England will meet Pakistan for the second time on 25 October, before Pakistan and Sri Lanka play their return fixture on 27 October. England's final round-robin match is against Sri Lanka on 29 October, also in Lahore.

The top two teams in the standings will contest the final at Gaddafi Stadium on 31 October. The double round-robin format guarantees four matches for every team and creates a six-game league phase before the deciding contest. No participants in the final will be known until the results of those scheduled matches determine the first two positions.

According to BBC Sport, this will be England's first ODI tri-series since they faced Australia and India in Australia ahead of the 2015 World Cup. England enter the new event having won their past two ODI series under Harry Brook, beating India earlier this year and Sri Lanka in January. The October schedule therefore restores a three-team format to England's 50-over programme after an absence of more than a decade.

The tri-series also represents the opening assignment of England's winter. BBC Sport said it will be followed by an Australia tour comprising three ODIs and five Twenty20 internationals from 13 November. Before that next leg begins, England will have four guaranteed 50-over matches in Pakistan and a possible fifth if they secure one of the two places in the Lahore final.