LAHORE — The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has announced that the Pakistan-England One-Day International on October 25 will be dedicated to breast cancer awareness, as part of the Pink Ribbon campaign.
The match is the fourth of the ODI tri-series involving Pakistan, England and Sri Lanka. The series runs from October 18 to 31 at Rawalpindi’s Pindi Stadium and Lahore’s Gaddafi Stadium. The sides play each other twice before the top two teams meet in the final on October 31. The October 25 game is the first of the Lahore fixtures, with the final also due at Gaddafi Stadium.
What fans can expect
According to the PCB, the Pakistan team will wear specially designed pink kit. England’s players, the match officials and the commentators will be invited to wear pink ribbons. Pink stumps will be used, and awareness messages will run on the stadium’s big screens and LED boards.
Special Pink Ribbon activities will begin at Gaddafi Stadium two hours before the start of play.
Special pink shirts have also been introduced. From October 19, they will be available at the PCB merchandise shop at Gaddafi Stadium and online.
Officials’ comments
PCB Chief Operating Officer Sumair Ahmed Syed said the board wants to use cricket’s popularity to spread the message of breast cancer awareness, early detection and treatment.
PCB Director Commercial Ali Adnan Zaidi urged fans to join the campaign and carry the message of timely diagnosis and screening to their families and communities.
Part of a continuing campaign
The PCB has backed the Pink Ribbon cause before. In October 2019, Gaddafi Stadium turned pink for the first time for the third T20I between Pakistan and Sri Lanka. In November 2022, a Pakistan-Ireland women’s T20I in Lahore was also played under the campaign, with players, officials and commentators wearing pink ribbons. At the 2019 launch, the PCB noted that Pakistan has the highest burden of breast cancer among Asian countries, and that survival chances rise above 90 per cent when the disease is caught early.
Tri-series so far
The series opened on Sunday with Pakistan facing Sri Lanka in Rawalpindi. Shaheen Shah Afridi leads Pakistan, with Harry Brook captaining England and Kusal Mendis leading Sri Lanka. England will be without Jos Buttler, who has had hamstring surgery, and Jacob Bethell, who has a knee injury. England arrive in good form, having won their last three ODI series, two at home and one away.