England confirm 2006 schedule

The England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) announced on Monday that it will host Test and one-day series against Sri Lanka and Pakistan next year.

In a change to the present three-nation NatWest Series and additional three-game NatWest Challenge, England will play two separate five-match limited-overs series against Pakistan and Sri Lanka.

This season, England played their first Twenty20 match, a 100-run win against Australia at The Rose Bowl earlier this month. Next year, both The Rose Bowl and Trent Bridge will stage a Twenty20 match each. England will play three Tests against Sri Lanka early in the season before facing Pakistan in a four-match series.

Although Thursday is the traditional start day for Test matches in England, two of next year's games, one each against Pakistan and Sri Lanka, will begin on a Friday. The ECB said this was to ensure players had a minimum three-day break between games, in accordance with ICC regulations.

Next season will be the start of a particularly congested fixture schedule for England. After their home series they go to India for the Champions Trophy and then on to Australia for an Ashes campaign before heading out to the Caribbean for the 2007 World Cup.

May 11-15: 1st Test, Lord's
May 25-29: 2nd Test, Edgbaston
Jun 02-06: 3rd Test, Trent Bridge

Twenty20
Jun 15: The Rose Bowl

One-Day Internationals
Jun 17: 1st ODI, Lord's
Jun 20: 2nd ODI, The Oval
Jun 24: 3rd ODI, Chester-le-Street
Jun 28: 4th ODI, Old Trafford
Jul 01: 5th ODI, Headingley

Jul 13-17: 1st Test, Lord's
Jul 27-31: 2nd Test, Old Trafford
Aug 4-8: 3rd Test, Headingley
Aug 17-21: 4th Test, The Oval

Twenty20
Aug 28: Bristol

One-Day Internationals
Aug 30: 1st ODI, Cardiff (Floodlit)
Sep 2: 2nd ODI, Lord's
Sep 5: 3rd ODI, Rose Bowl (Floodlit)
Sep 8: 4th ODI, Trent Bridge
Sep 10: 5th ODI, Edgbaston