The Pakistan cricket fan's reaction is enough to tell the whole story about Saim Ayub. The Pakistan batter, who has been constantly supported by the team management, disappointed again in the ongoing ICC T20 World Cup 2026.

 Against Jofra Archer, the left-handed batter threw his bat impatiently and ended in a catch-out. Pakistan lost an early wicket in their crucial Super 8 match against England. To confront a strong England side, Saim Ayub came out to open the innings pairing with the in-form batter Sahibzada Farhan.

Pakistan team management had high hopes around Ayub, but the batter again gifted a bag full of disappointment to his nation. Credit goes to Jofra Archer, who had been constantly mixing with pace and variations to make the out-of-form batter unstable. Ayub could have handled the situation if he stayed for a while on the crease with patience. But the 23-year-old swung his bat across to drag the ball from the off stump to the leg side.

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England pacer Jofra Archer departed Saim Ayub early in ENG vs PAK Super 8, T20 World Cup 2028 match

Strong reactions from fans after Saim Ayub departs! 😳

Jofra Archer's constant variations proved to be too much for the Pakistani opener.

ICC Men’s #T20WorldCup | SUPER 8, #ENGvPAK ➡️ LIVE NOW 👉 https://t.co/BmGBktbFCX pic.twitter.com/ygjzWfqIDw

— Star Sports (@StarSportsIndia) February 24, 2026

Beaten by pace, the ball hit the lower end of the bat and went high into the air. Jacob Bethell runs forward at the deep square leg region to grab the ball safely. Saim Ayub departed for 7 off 7 only to worsen his T20I stats in a multi-nation tournament.

According to stats, after today's dismissal, he averages less than 10 in multi-national series. In the T20 World Cup 2026, he has not survived the powerplay in all 5 innings.

Saim Ayub’s batting in this tournament:

vs spin: 13 off 9 balls, one dismissal, SR: 144.4

vs pace: 57 off 42 balls, four dismissals, SR: 135.7

Recent matches of Saim Ayub in the 2026 T20 World Cup:

vs England: 7 runs

vs Namibia: 14 runs

vs India: 6 Runs

vs USA: 19 runs

vs Netherlands: 24 runs

A video has gone viral on social media platforms where two England players, Jofra Archer and Liam Dawson, were seen enjoying themselves at the Marine Drive in Mumbai without any security, which shows how safe the country is for the T20 World Cup 2026 despite the Bangladesh Cricket Board boycotting the tournament because they refused to play in this country. 

England played their game of the campaign against Nepal, where they claimed a close victory in the last ball of the clash at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai before losing to the West Indies at the same venue a few days later. Meanwhile, they spent time at the beach and enjoyed their off period.

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Bangladesh, before the start of the World Cup, made their point clear that they won’t be traveling to India due to some security issues of their players and fans, along with the media personnel, for which they requested the International Cricket Council to shift their games to Sri Lanka, which was never going to happen especially at the eleventh hour of the competition.

England players enjoy India without security in T20 WC 2026

Due to Bangladesh's boycott of the tournament, the Pakistan Cricket Board was not permitted to face India by their government, which was a nightmare situation for the ICC, which, after several weeks of hard work, changed the narrative and cleared the paths for the India-Pakistan meeting on February 15 at the R Premadasa Stadium in Colombo.

Watch the video here: 

🚨 Another crying moment for Pakistani and Bangladeshi fans🚨

Jofra Archer and Liam Dawson are enjoying themselves at Marine Drive in Mumbai without any security. This shows how safe India is for everyone 👏🏻

But just a few days ago, BCB and PCB were raising concerns about… pic.twitter.com/VDXhcALiMe

— Sonu (@Cricket_live247) February 15, 2026

The ICC did not impose any punishment on the Bangladesh Cricket Board for their boycott of the tournament at the last moment, which was a massive layover from the world governing body, which had given words of allowing the hosting rights to the country for the next Under-19 World Cup.

Bangladesh is also trying its best to smooth its relationship with the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), which is expected to play an away ODI and T20 series in the neighboring country in August this year.

Heading into the clash between England and Scotland from the ICC T20 World Cup 2026 at Eden Gardens in Kolkata, the eyeballs were on the premier pacer of the England side, Jofra Archer, who was smashed for 42 and 48 balls respectively in the previous two clashes against Nepal and West Indies at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai. 

And just like it’s hard to keep a good player out of the game for a long time, it was hard to see Jofra Archer not getting any award in the World Cup. After being smashed for two boundaries in the eight balls of the spell, the right-arm pacer got the first wicket of the afternoon with the dismissal of George Munsey for four runs.

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It was a top edge from the batter as he tried to go for the pull but mistimed it into the sky before Tom Baton grabbed a fine catch to send the batter back into the pavilion. Two balls later, Archer dismissed Brendon McMullen for a two-ball duck to complete his 50 wickets in the shortest format.

Jofra Archer celebrates 50 wickets in ENG vs SCO T20 WC 2026 

It was another ball that was banged into the halfway of the track as McMullen was in no position for the shot, as his one-legged pull short didn’t get the full elevation and died into the hands of the deep square leg region to see Jofra Archer celebrating his 50 wickets of the shortest format in 39 innings at an economy rate of 8.22.

Watch the video here: 

Jofra Archer is breathing fire! 🔥
Two in the over and he brings up 50 T20I wickets in style! 🎯👏

ICC Men’s #T20WorldCup | #ENGvSCO | LIVE NOW 👉 https://t.co/zk9ylxUlDq pic.twitter.com/MdKl5vedUc

— Star Sports (@StarSportsIndia) February 14, 2026

Michael Jone was excellent with the bat in the innings, thanks to his 33 runs in 20 balls with the help of five boundaries and one six at a strike rate of 165. Meanwhile, their captain, Richie Berrington, claimed 49 runs in 32 balls with the help of five fours and two sixes at a strike rate of 153.12.

Adil Rashid, who was taken down for several runs in the first two overs of the innings around the park, ended with a fine spell of 3/36 in four overs. Liam Dawson ended with 2/34, while Archer returned with figures of 2/24.

Brief Scores: Scotland 152 (Richie Berrington 49, Adil Rashid 3/36, Jofra Archer 2/24) vs England. 

Heading into the fourth Ashes 2025/26 Test at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG), starting on the Boxing Day Test, England have suffered a massive setback as their premier pacer, Jofra Archer, has been ruled out of the final Tests with a side strain. He took six wickets in Australia’s 82-run win in Adelaide.

Jofra Archer will be replaced by Gus Atkinson for the MCG contest, with Jacob Bethell coming in for Ollie Pope at number three in England’s other change. Archer made his red-ball comeback in July after more than four years away from the format due to elbow and back injuries. Besides his nine wickets, he has also contributed vital lower-order runs.

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Archer was sent for a scan on December 23 after a limited workload in the second innings of the Adelaide Test. He will return to the UK and will get assessed next week. At this stage, he seems to be available for the T20 World Cup 2026 in India and Sri Lanka.

England make two changes for 4th Ashes 2025/26 Test

Atkinson returns to the side after missing the Adelaide Test and is now set to share the new ball with Brydon Carse as Shoaib Bashir continues to warm the benches despite Stokes calling him the number one spinner of the national side. Will Jacks keeps his place at number eight as a spin-bowling all-rounder, with Josh Tongue retaining his place after five wickets in Adelaide.

Pope, who is yet to score a fifty against Australia across 16 innings, has been dropped, having managed only 125 runs in six innings at an average of 20.83 in this series. Jacob Bethell will feature in his fifth Test on Boxing Day.

Ben Duckett, meanwhile, retained his place despite his failure to reach 30 in the first innings of the Ashes series. ECB has already started an investigation into his drunk video that has gone viral on social media platforms.

England’s playing XI for 4th Ashes 2025/26 Test

Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Jacob Bethell, Joe Root, Harry Brook, Ben Stokes (captain), Jamie Smith (wk.), Will Jacks, Gus Atkinson, Brydon Carse, Josh Tongue

As the visitors England have already lost the Ashes 2025-26, where the hosts Australia are leading the five-match series by 3-0 with two to go, England made two changes in the playing XI for the upcoming fourth Test, the Boxing Day Test  at Melbourne. 

England have completely failed in the Ashes 2025-26, while they had the expectation to produce one of their best performances on Australian soil. After losing the first two Tests by eight wickets each, they suffered an 82-run defeat in their last Test. Although they had some momentum on this tour, their indisciplined performances affected them hugely. 

It is time for some redemption despite already losing the series. While a 4-0 or 5-0 series status will make them really poor, England are desperate to find a better status by producing some quality performances in the last two Tests on the tour. 

The Melbourne Cricket Ground in Melbourne is ready for the 2025 Boxing Day Test. While the match will begin on December 26, Boxing Day, the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) has announced the squad for the upcoming Melbourne Test on December 24.

England's change for Melbourne Test: Gus Atkinson replaced injured Jofra Archer

There are two changes for England for the upcoming Boxing Day Test, including one forced change. While Jofra Archer has been ruled out from remainder of the tour due to a left side strain, Gus Atkinson is set to replace Archer. Atkinson was dropped from the third Test at Adelaide due to mostly ineffective performances in the first two Tests of this tour. While he remained wicketless in the series opener at Perth, he got three wickets in the day/night pink-ball Test at Brisbane. 

See Also: ECB to investigate England team’s Noosa break ahead of 4th Ashes 2025/26 Test

England's change for Melbourne Test: Jacob Bethell replaced out of form Ollie Pope

Meanwhile, the 22-year-old Jacob Bethell is set to replace the no.3 batter Ollie Pope. In this tour, Pope's scores were 46, 33, 0, 26, 3, and 17 runs, respectively. 

The batting all-rounder Jacob Bethell has played four Tests, where he has scored 271 runs with an average of 38.71, including three half-centuries, and also picked up three wickets. During India's tour of England in 2025, Bethell featured in the last Test, which was his only Test this year before the forthcoming Boxing Day Test. 

England's playing XI for the Boxing Day Test in the Ashes 2025-26

Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Jacob Bethell, Joe Root, Harry Brook, Ben Stokes (Captain), Jamie Smith (wk), Will Jacks, Gus Atkinson, Brydon Carse, Josh Tongue. 

Before the start of the Ashes 2025/26, there were lots of speculations on how Steve Smith would face the premier England pacer, Jofra Archer, in the five-match series. The Australian captain revealed that even though he got hit by the short ball of the Barbados pacer during the 2019 Ashes, the latter wasn’t able to dismiss the New South Wales batter.

The fire burnt on the ninth over of the fourth innings between the batter and the bowler. The first ball was on a short length delivery as Steve Smith went on the back foot and pulled it meatily through the mid-wicket region as it raced away for a fine boundary. Two balls later, Smith was rushed for pace as the top edge went over the keeper for a four.

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The fourth ball from the batter was whipped over the fine-leg fence over the fielder’s head for a massive six. He was quick on the pace and perhaps premeditated the length of the delivery. “You bowl first only when it’s over, champion,” said Smith to Archer as he strides to the batter on his follow-through.

Watch: Steve Smith’s heated altercation in batting against Jofra Archer 

In the first innings, England posted 334 runs on the board, thanks to the fine unbeaten century of Joe Root, while Zak Crawley clubbed 76 runs. Mitchell Starc notched up figures of 6/75 in 20 overs. In reply, the hosts took a massive lead of 170+ runs with the help of five half-centuries from their line-up.

Watch the video here:

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“It stays on the field (smiles). Nah, good banter. He's a good competitor; he comes harder, so it was good fun. Yeah, it was good (Test match). I thought the boys played exceptionally well. Our first innings batting, the tail I thought was unbelievable, they were able to extend. I think the bottom four batted for 53 overs or something like that, so it allowed us to get into the dark last night.” Smith said in the post-match presentation.

Most of England's batters got starts in the third innings, but apart from Stokes’ 50, no one was able to take it to that spot as they set a small target of 65 runs, as the home side completed the chase by eight wickets to take a 2-0 lead.

Australia bowled only 74 overs on the opening day of the second day-night Ashes 2025/26 Test at the Gabba in Brisbane. They needed to dismiss the England side under 80 overs to dodge the over-rate penalty. Jofra Archer and Joe Root’s record partnership for the tenth wicket seemed to take the game away from the home side. 

Jofra Archer looked in fabulous yet aggressive mode with the bat in hand. He leaned forward for a sweet drive through the covers for a boundary against Mitchell Starc. It was a great shot played with a brilliant high-elbow that went much squarer than the cover. Australia looked a bit stunned. They needed something special, and Marnus Labuschagne provided them with the same.

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Archer pulled the short ball from Brendan Doggett into the deep backward square leg, where Labuschagne went with two hands and managed to pluck it just inches off the ground with his right hand to dismiss the right-handed batter for 38 runs as the visitors were dismissed for 334 runs in the first innings.

Watch: Marnus Labuschagne shows great fielding to dismiss Jofra Archer during Ashes 2025/26 Test

England’s 334 runs became the second-highest score against Australia in the history of the day-night Test, just behind the 450 by Pakistan at the same ground in 2016. Joe Root remained unbeaten on 138 runs, having celebrated his maiden Test century down under. It also became the highest individual score by any batter against the Aussies in a day-night Test.

ONE OF THE ALL-TIME SCREAMERS FROM MARNUS LABUSCHAGNE!#Ashes | #PlayoftheDay | @nrmainsurance pic.twitter.com/nF2AkvCDtZ

— cricket.com.au (@cricketcomau) December 5, 2025

Australia went off to a flying start with 77 runs in just 13 overs. Travis Head nailed a fine knock of 33 runs in 43 balls at a strike rate of 76.74 with the help of three boundaries and one six, while Jake Weatherhald creamed 40 runs unbeaten in 36 balls at a strike rate of 111.11.

England were finally able to draw the first blood when Brydon Carse dismissed Head, who again went for a big shot, with Gus Atkinson grabbing a fine catch before the 22-yard line. That was a golden chance for the visitors to get back into the contest. They had a lead of only 257 runs by then.

England’s fast bowling group is excited to play in Australian conditions. Jofra Archer is in a “happy place" and full of confidence, while Mark Wood is “full of energy." Brydon Carse, one of the six pace bowlers in the touring squad fighting for a place in the XI for the first Test in Perth on Friday, shared his thoughts. The other bowlers are Gus Atkinson, Matthew Potts, and Josh Tongue.

“Look, it’s exciting," South African-born Carse said after England’s only warm-up match against the England Lions ended on Saturday. “We have a group of six bowlers who are ready for any plan we choose, and we are enjoying these conditions."

“I think we have a group of six bowlers who, no matter what plan we choose, will enjoy these conditions." He added.

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Archer Confident; Wood Full of Energy

England has not yet decided whether to use a full pace attack at Perth Stadium, known for its fast and bouncy pitch, or include a spinner. In the three-day warm-up match, specialist spinner Shoaib Bashir played for the Lions, while part-time spinner Joe Root bowled 14.5 overs to reduce the load on the main fast bowlers.

Jofra Archer, who has dealt with four years of fitness problems, is likely to be picked after finishing the warm-up without any issues. Mark Wood, who felt some hamstring stiffness on day one, has been cleared and has no major injury.

Carse said Archer is confident before the series and is feeling good both physically and mentally. He praised Archer’s X-factor, which he has shown around the world, making his place in the lineup very exciting.

“He’s really confident going into the series. I think he’s in a happy place with his body and his cricket," Carse said about Archer.

“It’s great to have him fully fit and with the group. He has that X-factor, and he has shown it worldwide. It’s very exciting to have him in our bowling lineup."

Carse also said that Mark Wood is “full of energy" and ready to go after being cleared of any serious issue.

After Pakistan’s tri-series victory against Afghanistan, their stars have risen in the ICC T20 rankings. Their left-arm spinner, Sufiyan Muqeem, has risen seven places to 15th overall on the back of his two wickets in the final at Sharjah, while Shaheen Afridi jumps four spots to 22nd. Abrar Ahmed has improved 39 spots to equal 28th after his six wickets in two games at the event.

The left-handed aggressive opening batter of the Green Brigade, Fakhar Zaman, has been the biggest winner as they climbed nine spots to 68th, thanks to his 155 runs in the series as Sri Lanka’s top-order batter, Kusal Perera, has gained three places to move to the ninth spot after his unbeaten fifty against Zimbabwe in Harare.

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Zimbabwe’s T20I captain and veteran all-rounder, Sikandar Raza, has gained three spots to fourth overall in the list of T20I all-rounder for his special show against Sri Lanka. He recently became the number one-ranked all-rounder in the 50-over format.

Jofra Archer closes in on the number one ODI bowlers’ spot in latest ICC rankings

The premier fast bowler of the Three Lions, Jofra Archer, collected eight wickets in the recent three-match series against South Africa that included a wonderful spell of 4/18 in the third and final game at the Rose Bowl in Southampton. He has been rewarded 16 spots in the rankings to move up 16 places to the third spot, only behind two spinners, Keshav Maharaj and Maheesh Theekshana.

Archer’s teammate, spinner Adil Rashid, has improved seven spots to eighth on the same list for ODI bowlers. The three batters of the England side, Joe Root, Jos Buttler, and Jacob Bethell, also went up in the list of ICC ODI batters’ rankings.