Dates for England tour of Pakistan announced, with UAE warmup camp falling on top of ODIs in Australia

Stokes and Co will begin their campaign with a warmup fixture against England Lions in Abu Dhabi, before moving on to Pakistan for the first Test in Rawalpindi, from Thursday, December 1

England's Test schedule for the men's tour of Pakistan has been confirmed, with Rawalpindi, Multan and Karachi set to host matches.

Ben Stokes will take England on their first red-ball trip to the country since 2005 this December, two months after the white-ball squad play seven T20s.

Stokes and Co will begin their campaign with a warmup fixture against England Lions in Abu Dhabi, before moving on to Pakistan for the first Test in Rawalpindi, from Thursday, December 1.

It will be the first time England have played a Test match in the city.

^{England take on Pakistan in Multan in 2005 [Getty Images]}

The series moves on to Multan from Friday, December 9, before culminating at the National Stadium in Karachi from Saturday, December 17.

While the Test series itself fits neatly into the England men's calendar, the warmup camp and game against a Lions side in the UAE is less simple.

The match is scheduled to take place at the Zayed Cricket Stadium from Wednesday, November 23, with the warmup camp itself set to begin on November 18.

ENGLAND IN PAKISTAN: KEY DATES

November 18: Warmup camp in Abu Dhabi

November 23-26: Warmup match vs England Lions, Abu Dhabi

December 1: First Test v Pakistan, Rawalpindi

December 9: Second Test v Pakistan, Multan

December 18: Third Test v Pakistan, Karachi

The T20 World Cup final in Australia is slated for November 13, while an ODI series against the Aussies follows. In fact, the Abu Dhabi training camp is due to start on the day between the first and second match of that series in a piece of diary work which only goes to underline the extent to which multi-format players are currently being overloaded.

Zakir Khan, the PCB director of international cricket said: "I remain confident this series will live up to the expectations of the global cricket fans who want to watch and enjoy competitive and thrilling matches."

ECB interim chief executive Clare Connor described the Test tour as "historic".

She said: "The opportunity to play Test cricket in front of passionate cricket-lovers in Pakistan after such a long time is something to be cherished."