England has seen its fair share of historic moments as of late, and the trend will continue when the men's national cricket team plays a first match in Pakistan since 2005.
The first of seven T20Is takes place in Karachi on Tuesday, with England facing a Pakistan team that lost to Sri Lanka by five wickets in the final of the Asia Cup earlier this month.
It is expected that a sell-out crowd of 35,000 will be on hand to take the moment in, and England vice-captain Moeen Ali is "honoured" to be leading his team against in the country of his birth, with regular skipper Jos Buttler missing for the opener with a calf injury.
"Being captain, regardless of who it's against, is a great honour," he said at a press conference. "But to do it in Pakistan, coming back after so long... on top of that, having family who migrated from here back in the day, it's amazing to lead the England side. It's awesome.
"I'm somebody that wants to play cricket in every cricketing nation. Pakistan and Zimbabwe were the two I've really wanted to tour. It's amazing that we're here. It's a big thing for England to come to Pakistan."
With the T20 World Cup on the horizon, both teams will be looking to prepare with a strong showing in this series.
England are unbeaten in their last five men's T20I matches against Pakistan away from home, winning four and drawing one.
However, they have not played them outside of England since November 2015.
Despite heartbreak in the recent Asia Cup final against Sri Lanka, Pakistan are in strong form, having won four of their last five men's T20Is on home soil, with their only defeat coming in their most recent clash against Australia in April.
They have a 100 per cent winning record in the seven T20Is played at the National Stadium in Karachi. At no other venue have Pakistan won more games in the format without registering a single loss, which does not bode well for the tourists given the first four games of the series will be played there.
England come into the series having begun a new white-ball era, with head coach Matthew Mott and freshly installed captain Buttler, who took over following the retirement of Eoin Morgan.
Moeen is taking his role as vice-captain seriously, though, and wants this tour to be the "starting point" as England look ahead to the World Cup in Australia.
"It's important we don't put pressure on ourselves and say 'we are going to win the World Cup'," he said. "I don't think we're favourites now. We are one of the better sides, but not favourites.
"This summer was quite poor for us. We didn't play very well at all. This is going to be the starting point. You are going to see a real change in the way this side plays and goes about things."
If they can match the change in fortunes of their Test side, England could be about to put on a show in Pakistan. Either way, the fact they are once again playing in the country feels more significant than any result that could occur over the next seven games.
Shadab looking to climb the ranks
Pakistan vice-captain Shadab Khan is hoping for a historic series of his own.
He currently sits on 81 wickets in T20Is, and needs just five more to become the outright second-highest wicket-taker for Pakistan in the format, with Saeed Ajmal and Umar Gul on 85 each.
Safe hands the key for England
T20Is can often be decided by the fine margins, such as competence in the field. To that end, England have managed a catch success rate of 89 per cent in the format in 2022, the highest such rate for any full member side of the ICC this year.
England have caught 47 of the 53 chances presented to them in this span.
Buttler 'enjoyed' setting England on way to second West Indies win
Jos Buttler "enjoyed" being back out in the middle after powering England to a seven-wicket victory over West Indies in the second T20I.
The captain scored 83 off 45 balls, hitting eight fours and six sixes in his knock, as he turned the game back in England's favour, having been taken for a golden duck in his first match back from injury last time out.
West Indies struggled to gain momentum early on, with Rovman Powell's 43 settling them somewhat after a shaky start, but Saqib Mahmood (2-20), Liam Livingstone (2-16) and Dan Mousley (2-29) kept England in a good position, helping keep their target down as the hosts finished on 158-8.
The chase got off to the worst possible start though, as Phil Salt was dismissed on the first ball, but Buttler stepped in to put up a 129-run stand with Will Jacks before they were both dismissed by Romario Shepherd in the 13th over.
Livingstone (23) and Jacob Bethell (3) then helped get the tourists over the line, reaching 161 with 31 balls remaining to extend their series lead to 2-0.
Buttler was pleased to find his rhythm this time around but is already looking ahead to how they can stay in control in the third match.
"It is great to spend time in the middle. I was a bit scratchy for the first few balls, but I managed to come through that period and really enjoyed it. It was great to be back out there," Buttler told TNT Sports.
"I have lots of experience, I have played for a while and batted in lots of different positions. I am just waiting to see what happens and playing what is in front of me.
"We have got to start again [in the third T20I of the series]. We are playing a top team in the West Indies, who are excellent in T20 cricket. They will come back hard, and we have to be ready from ball one in the next game."
West Indies stumbled through the powerplay, losing their first three wickets in the first four overs for just 35 runs.
Powell was disappointed not to make a better start, pointing out that they gave themselves a mountain to climb.
"Obviously the surface gave a bit to the fast bowlers, something that is a trend here in Barbados," he said. Teams generally win the toss and bowl because of what can happen in the first six [overs].
"It's a case of us trying to come out of powerplay not three down. The statistics show that if you do that, the majority of the time you come out on the losing side. As a batting group, we have to adjust.
"Somebody in the top four or five needs to bat the majority of the overs. In the past, we have done that but have struggled to do that in this series. The next three games provide an opportunity for batters to do that."
Stubbs stars as South Africa level India series, New Zealand hit back against Sri Lanka
Tristan Stubbs' unbeaten 47 propelled South Africa to a three-wicket win over India in the second of their three T20Is.
South Africa were labouring on 66-6 but Stubbs took centre stage to inspire them to a series-levelling victory, leaving matters delicately poised ahead of the final two matches.
India were unbeaten in 11 T20Is heading into Sunday's contest at St George's Park, though a sluggish display with the bat saw them reach just 124-6 after 20 overs.
Only Tilak Varma (20), Axar Patel (27) and Hardik Pandya (39 not out) made a dent for India, as South Africa's bowlers kept things tight.
Yet the Proteas did not look set to capitalise on that good work with the ball as Varun Chakravarthy (5-17) blitzed through their top order.
Yet Stubbs offered the resistance, and a 42-run stand from 20 balls with Gerald Coetzee got South Africa over the line.
Elsewhere, New Zealand hit back to ensure they drew their two-match T20I series against Sri Lanka 1-1.
Having been well beaten in the opening match, the Black Caps won by five runs in a low-scoring encounter in Dambulla.
Lockie Ferguson took a hat-trick before he had to leave the field injured, as New Zealand successfully defended a total of 108.
Pathum Nissanka (52) plundered over half of Sri Lanka's runs as the hosts were skittled out for just 103, with New Zealand wicketkeeper Mitchell Hay making history.
Hay became the first wicketkeeper to play a part in six dismissals in a single T20I innings, surpassing the previous record of five set by Afghanistan's Mohammad Shahzad against Oman in 2015.
Forest taught 'a lesson' as winning run ended by Newcastle according to Nuno
Nuno Espirito Santo acknowledged Nottingham Forest were taught "a lesson" by Newcastle United, even if he did not criticise his side following a 3-1 defeat at the City Ground.
Forest had won their previous three matches to climb to third in the Premier League, and Murillo's opener had them on course for another victory.
But that goal came against the run of play, and Newcastle continued to dominate, eventually equalising through Alexander Isak.
Forest, who have been so solid at the back this season, went chasing victory and were instead caught out as both Joelinton and Harvey Barnes scored on the break.
Those counter-attacks have been a large part of Forest's own attacking identity previously, and Nuno was full of praise for how ruthlessly Newcastle executed that tactic.
"I cannot say that was a bad performance, that is totally out of the question," the Forest boss told BBC Sport.
"We played against a very good team that was able to control us and then hurt us in the way we've been doing. It is a lesson for us to learn.
"I just have to recognise that today we played a good team, who were better than us in many, many moments.
"There's nothing to say about the [Forest] players. The character and belief was there."
Newcastle were a little unfortunate to trail at half-time, having had seven shots to Forest's three and 60% of the possession.
Yet Eddie Howe, the Newcastle coach, still saw plenty of room for improvement, which his side delivered on after the restart.
"It was difficult, but we knew it would be," he said. "They are a difficult team to play against because they don't concede many chances and you're left fearing the worst when you go behind.
"We had work to do at half-time, but credit to the players because the second half was up there with our best performances this season.
"Everything we didn't do in the first half, we did at the start of the second half. We were intense and direct with our attacking. We asked more questions and could have scored.
"I'm really pleased with the second half."
Newcastle have won three in a row in all competitions for the first time in over a year, helped by a return to form for their attacking stars.
Isak had netted only once this season before scoring in the past four successive matches, while Barnes again showed his quality from the bench. Six of his nine Newcastle goals have come as a substitute.
Howe added: "We need our attacking players to contribute goals, and Alex has done that in the past few weeks with massive moments, then Joelinton and Harvey Barnes pop up with moments, too.
"We know we have players who can make that difference, and I'm really pleased with that side of our game.
"Harvey Barnes did what he does. He's an outstanding player. Trying to find room for him in the team is something that I am conscious of.
"I'm really pleased he got that goal – I thought it was a fantastic finish."
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