England will play two Twenty20 matches against Pakistan in Dubai next month ahead of its tour of Bangladesh, the England and Wales Cricket Board announced Friday. The matches will take place on Feb. 19 and 20. The senior England squad will leave Dubai on February 21 for Dhaka, where they will play two one-day tour matches before the start of the three-match ODI series against Bangladesh. England's second-string Lions side will also tour the United Arab Emirates (UAE) next month with their program featuring T20 matches against England, the UAE and Pakistan ‘A' followed by a further three 50-over matches against Pakistan ‘A.' ECB Managing Director, England Cricket, Hugh Morris said: “We are delighted to have agreed in partnership with Pakistan Cricket Board and Dubai Sports City such a comprehensive program of cricket in the UAE for both England and England Lions. “The two T20 Internationals against the current world champion in this format of the game will be an exciting challenge for the England team and provide important additional T20 international experience before the next ICC WT20 tournament in the Caribbean in April. “The combination of three T20 matches and three 50-over matches for the England Lions team to be played at Dubai, Sharjah and Abu Dhabi will also provide those players with an excellent opportunity to push their case for selection for the England One-Day side as we continue to build not only for the World T20 in West Indies later this year but also for the ICC World Cup in India, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh.” ‘England showed character' South Africa captain Graeme Smith paid tribute to England's batsmen for hanging on to secure a draw in the third cricket Testin Cape Town Thursday. “England have shown great strength of character throughout the series and we've had to earn every inch,” Smith said after the visitors' final pair of Graeme Swann and Graham Onions survived 17 balls to salvage a draw and keep England 1-0 ahead in the series. Paul Collingwood (40) and Ian Bell (78) had shared a four-hour partnership to take England to the brink of safety before the batting collapsed. “You have to give credit to the Collingwood/Bell partnership,” Smith said. “They stuck to their game plan well and showed a lot of character.” South Africa will be highly motivated to push for victory in the final Test in Johannesburg starting on Jan. 14, to square the series and retain the Basil d'Oliveira Trophy it won in England in 2008, Smith said. England captain Andrew Strauss also praised Collingwood and Bell, who survived a ferocious spell of new-ball bowling from Dale Steyn.
