ENG vs PAK: England start afresh post Bazball era at Headingley as Joe Root opts to bowl in 1st Test; check playing XIs

Joe Root opted to bowl first after winning the toss against Pakistan in the first Test at Headingley in Leeds as England started afresh post the Bazball era. The England Test team went through a major change after former captain Ben Stokes announced his retirement in the middle of the home series against New Zealand, followed by Brendon McCullum stepping down as the head coach of the side in red-ball cricket.

Root is back for a second stint as captain, Marcus Trescothick is interim head coach before Stephen Fleming starts full-time in the role in December. England have included Jordan Cox, who will bat at No. 3 in place of the injured Jacob Bethell. Ollie Robinson got the nod to join a pace attack also containing Jofra Archer, Josh Tongue and Gus Atkinson.

Pakistan haven't won a Test series in England since 1996. Since 2001, Pakistan played three Test series on English soil, with the hosts winning three while the rest ended in draws. The last time Pakistan won a Test match in England was in 2018. For England, the hosts have won their last six Tests at Headingley, which included a win over Pakistan in 2018.

Meanwhile, Pakistan are without their regular captain Babar Azam, who was ruled out of the first Test on the eve of the game. Babar was struck on the middle finger of his right hand while batting against the West Indies this month, and hit again in a warmup game last week in Beckenham.

"Pakistan captain Babar Azam is unavailable for the first test match," Pakistan coach Sarfaraz Ahmed said on Tuesday. “Salman Agha will be the captain for the first Test.” Ahmed said the finger was not broken and he hoped Babar could play in the second Test at Lord's starting on Aug. 27.

“Yeah, it was a last minute yesterday I found out I’m captaining, Babar was not available, which is very unfortunate. But yeah, we have been playing a lot of red ball cricket. We had a camp before West Indies series a month at home. So, I think we are well prepared here,” Agha said during the toss.

England vs Pakistan 1st Test Playing XIs

Pakistan: Azan Awais, Imam-ul-Haq, Shan Masood, Abdullah Shafique, Saud Shakeel, Mohammad Rizwan(w), Salman Agha(c), Ali Usman, Khurram Shahzad, Mohammad Ali, Mohammad Abbas

England: Ben Duckett, Emilio Gay, Jordan Cox, Joe Root(c), Harry Brook, Dan Lawrence, Jamie Smith(w), Ollie Robinson, Gus Atkinson, Jofra Archer, Josh Tongue

Where to watch England vs Pakistan Tests in India?

In India, Sony Sports Network is the broadcasting partner for the England vs Pakistan Test series. The England vs Pakistan Test matches will be telecast live on Sony Sports channels. Live streaming of England vs Pakistan Test matches will be available on Sony LIV app and website.