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England vs Pakistan 1st Test: England enter the opening Test under returning captain Joe Rootwho begins his second stint as full-time Test skipper. Marcus Trescothick will serve as interim head coach before Stephen Fleming takes over later this year. Pakistan, meanwhile, have also undergone a leadership change, with Salman Ali Agha set to captain the side at Leeds in the absence of Babar Azam, who is recovering from a hand injury.
England will be keen to start the post-Stokes era with a victory after a difficult run of results. Their last multi-Test series win came against New Zealand in late 2024, while they subsequently drew 2-2 with India, suffered a 4-1 Ashes defeat in Australia and lost 2-1 to New Zealand at home.
Pakistan also arrived with plenty to prove after a difficult period under Shan Masood. They have struggled in away Tests but recently ended an eight-match winless run on the road by defeating West Indies in the second Test of their series. The visitors will now look to produce another strong performance in England.
England vs Pakistan 1st Test Match Details
Tournament: Pakistan Tour of England 2026
Match: England vs Pakistan, 1st Test
Date: Wednesday, August 19 to Sunday, August 23, 2026
Time: 11:00 AM Local Time | 10:00 AM GMT | 3:30 PM IST
Venue: Headingley Cricket Ground, Leeds
England vs Pakistan Test Head-to-Head Record
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Total Tests Played: 92
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England Won: 30
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Pakistan Won: 23
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Drawn: 39
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Tied: 0
Probable Playing XIs
England: Ben Duckett, Emilio Gay, Jordan Cox, Joe Root (c), Harry Brook, Dan Lawrence, Jamie Smith (wk), Ollie Robinson/Gus Atkinson, Jofra Archer, Brydon Carse, Josh Tongue.
Pakistan: Azan Awais, Imam-ul-Haq, Abdullah Shafique, Salman Agha (c), Saud Shakeel, Awais Zafar, Mohammad Rizwan (wk), Ali Usman, Khurram Shahzad, Mohammad Abbas, Mohammad Ali.
Both Teams Squad
England Squad: Ben Duckett, Emilio Gay, Jordan Cox, Joe Root(c), Harry Brook, Dan Lawrence, Jamie Smith(w), Gus Atkinson, Brydon Carse, Jofra Archer, Shoaib Bashir, Ollie Pope, Josh Tongue, Sam Cook, Ollie Robinson, Matthew Fisher
Pakistan Squad: Azan Awais, Imam-ul-Haq, Abdullah Shafique, Shan Masood, Salman Agha(c), Mohammad Rizwan(w), Aamer Jamal, Sajid Khan, Ubaid Shah, Mohammad Abbas, Mohammad Ali, Khurram Shahzad, Ghazi Ghori, Saud Shakeel, Abdullah Fazal, Awais Zafar, Ali Usman
England vs Pakistan 1st Test Live Streaming: How To Watch The Match?
India
TV Broadcast: Sony Sports Network
Live Streaming: SonyLIV
United Kingdom
TV Broadcast: Sky Sports Cricket, Sky Sports Main Event
Live Streaming: Sky Go, NOW
Free Highlights: BBC Two, BBC iPlayer
Pakistan
TV Broadcast: PTV Sports, Ten Sports
Live Streaming: Tapmad, Festival, Myco
USA
TV Broadcast: Willow TV
Live Streaming: Willow by Cricbuzz
England vs Pakistan 1st Test: Key Facts
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England’s last multi-Test series win: New Zealand, November-December 2024
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Pakistan’s recent away Test breakthrough: Won the second Test against West Indies to end an eight-match winless run away from home
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England’s WTC position: Seventh
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Pakistan’s WTC position: Eighth
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Pakistan’s last Test series win in England: 1996
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England’s scoring rate under Ben Stokes: 4.4 runs per over across 44 Tests
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England’s recent Test era: The Headingley Test begins the post-Stokes and post-McCullum transition