England enter post-Bazball era against forever-in-turmoil Pakistan
Joe Root will start his second innings as captain while Pakistan will be without Babar Azam
19/08 - 06:00 AM EDT
1st Test, Pakistan tour of England at Leeds, Aug 19-23 2026
19/08 - 06:00 AM EDT
1st Test, Pakistan tour of England at Leeds, Aug 19-23 2026
Match Centre Ground time: 02:26
Squad
| PLAYER | ROLE |
|---|---|
| Joe Root | Top-order batter |
| Jofra Archer | Bowler |
| Gus Atkinson | Bowler |
| Harry Brook | Middle-order batter |
| Brydon Carse | Bowling allrounder |
| Sam Cook | Bowler |
| Jordan Cox † | Wicketkeeper batter |
| Ben Duckett † | Wicketkeeper batter |
| Matthew Fisher | Bowler |
| Emilio Gay | Opening batter |
| Dan Lawrence | Middle-order batter |
| Ollie Pope | Middle-order batter |
| Ollie Robinson | Bowler |
| Shoaib Bashir | Bowler |
| Jamie Smith † | Wicketkeeper batter |
| Josh Tongue | Bowler |
Match Details
Match number
Season
Hours of play (local time)
11.00 start, Lunch 13.00-13.40, Tea 15.40-16.00, Close 18.00
Match days
19,20,21,22,23 August 2026 (5-day match)
Players To Watch - Batsmen
![Joe Root]( "Joe Root")
Joe RootENG- 10MAT
- 855RUNS
- 47.50AVG
- 60.08SR
![Harry Brook]( "Harry Brook")
Harry BrookENG- 10MAT
- 742RUNS
- 41.22AVG
- 86.07SR
![Shan Masood]( "Shan Masood")
Shan MasoodPAK- 9MAT
- 657RUNS
- 36.50AVG
- 54.79SR
![Mohammad Rizwan]( "Mohammad Rizwan")
Mohammad RizwanPAK- 10MAT
- 612RUNS
- 32.21AVG
- 52.57SR
Head To Head
| LAST FIVE MATCHES | DATE | SERIES/TOURNAMENT | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ENGENG |  | 267 & 112 | lost to | 344 & 37/1 |  | PAKPAK | 24/10/24 | England tour of Pakistan 2024/25 |
| ENGENG | | 291 & 144 | lost to | 366 & 221 | | PAKPAK | 15/10/24 | England tour of Pakistan 2024/25 |
| ENGENG | | 823/7d | beat | 556 & 220 | | PAKPAK | 07/10/24 | England tour of Pakistan 2024/25 |
| ENGENG | | 354 & 170/2 | beat | 304 & 216 | | PAKPAK | 17/12/22 | England tour of Pakistan 2022/23 |
| ENGENG | | 281 & 275 | beat | 202 & 328 | | PAKPAK | 09/12/22 | England tour of Pakistan 2022/23 |
Match Coverage
All Match NewsSwitch Hit: Root reboot
England head north for their attempt to start over post-Bazball. Alan Gardner, Vish Ehantharajah and Danyal Rasool get together at Headingley to discuss the first Test against Pakistan
England enter post-Bazball era against forever-in-turmoil Pakistan
Joe Root will start his second innings as captain while Pakistan will be without Babar Azam
Root returns to England's hot seat with the need for a blank canvas
After the wild ride of the past four years, returning captain hopes to restore order to Test set-up
Babar ruled out of first Test against England; Salman Agha to lead
He has been unable to shake off an injury to his right hand after being struck during warm-up game
Cox relishes clarity as he seeks to make No.3 his own
After a series of untimely injuries, it's Bethell's mishap that has handed Essex batter his best chance
