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28m agoEngland win the toss and choose to bowl first
The anthems have wrapped up. Time for Ollie Robinson to wobble the ball down. Saim Ayub is on strike.
Winning this match would be maximum Pakistan ridiculousness. And who knows? England have a long history of ridiculousness too.
Saim Ayub has flown in from the Caribbean Premier League … to take on a new-ball duo of Ollie Robinson and Jofra Archer. Ayub hasn’t played a first-class match since last October, hasn’t played a Test since January 2025. He’ll probably have to play a role with the ball, too, as Pakistan’s only spin option. Good luck to him.
Pakistan have three debutants and make four changes to the XI that played at Lord’s. Saim Ayub slots in at the top of the order and there are caps for Ghazi Ghori, Razaullah and Mohammad Imran.
England: Emilio Gay, Ben Duckett, Jordan Cox, Joe Root (c), Harry Brook, Dan Lawrence, Jamie Smith (wk), Gus Atkinson, Jofra Archer, Ollie Robinson, Josh Tongue
Pakistan: Azan Awais, Saim Ayub, Abdullah Shafique, Shan Masood, Babar Azam (c), Saud Shakeel, Ghazi Ghori (wk), Mohammad Imran, Razaullah, Mohammad Ali, Mohammad Abbas
Joe Root says he likes the overheads. England aren’t messing about – they’re unchanged.
The County Championship roars on. Tanya’s keeping tabs from Old Trafford.
There are some chilly white-ball games still to come this month and with it the sight of Kevin Pietersen back in England training kit for the first time in 12 years. KP is down with the kids these days, 6/7 memes and the like, and starts a new life as the “specialist mentor” to Harry Brook’s young thrusters.
But the final Test of the summer that starts at Edgbaston on Wednesday does feel like an end of sorts, or at least one last push before a breather for the side that has undergone the more significant recalibration. And that is before we get on to Pakistan and a tour that has descended into a bonfire of players and a phone-snatching investigation into “discipline and conduct”.
Here’s something I wrote on Pakistan. It’s been a tough watch.
Hello, hello, hello and welcome to the last Test of the English summer. It’s been a wild one: beginning with Ben Stokes and Brendon McCullum, ending with Joe Root and Marcus Trescothick. Stephen Fleming’s on the way. There’s been late-night drama, a series defeat to New Zealand, and a comfortable triumph against Pakistan. But the hosts aren’t the story today. No, it’s all Pakistan, with their board’s frankly ridiculous decision to discard seven players and two coaches after the second Test at Lord’s. A remarkable toss awaits as Babar Azam is asked about any changes to his XI. This bizarre dead rubber gets going at 11am BST.
