Pakistan tour of England 2026: Squads, schedule, and all you need to know

The three-match series marks England’s first foray into Test cricket after the appointment of Stephen Fleming as head coach as well as Joe Root’s return to full-time Test captaincy. Last week, the new England Test skipper scrapped the midnight curfew imposed by the England Cricket Board last month. 

Pakistan won the tour game against the PCC XI by seven wickets, chasing 264 on the last day of the fixture. Despite trailing by 67 in the first innings, the Pakistan bowlers set up a dazzling show, keeping the PCC XI to 198 in the second innings. Saud Shakeel then led a spirited chase, remaining unbeaten on 100 runs off 147 deliveries. 

All the three Tests commence at 11am local time. The series will commence in Headingley, with the two subsequent matches scheduled to be played in Lord’s and Edgbaston. The visitors are touring England for Test cricket after six years, having lost the three-match series 1-0 in 2020. 

Fixture

Date

Venue

Local time

1st Test

August 19-23

Headingley, Leeds

11am

2nd Test

August 27-31

Lord’s, London

11am

3rd Test

September 9-13

Edgbaston, Birmingham

11am

Joe Root (c), Jamie Smith (wk), Harry Brook, Jordan Cox, Ben Duckett, Emilio Gay, Dan Lawrence, Ollie Pope, Brydon Carse, Jofra Archer, Gus Atkinson, Sam Cook, Matthew Fisher, Ollie Robinson, Shoaib Bashir, Josh Tongue. 

Babar Azam (c), Mohammad Rizwan (wk), Ghazi Ghori (wk), Awais Zafar, Azan Awais, Imam-ul-Haq, Shan Masood, Abdullah Fazal, Aamer Jamel, Salman Ali Agha, Khurram Shahzad, Mohammad Abbas, Mohammad Ali, Sajid Khan, Ubaid Shah, Ali Usman

The left-handed Gay, who has opened the batting in his three Tests for England so far, will come into the series on the back of a pair in the warm-up fixture in Beckenham. He nicked a delivery to Rizwan in the second innings after being caught at second slip in the first. Gay, who was struck on the shoulder in a fixture in the One-Day Cup survived the scare and was picked for the warm-up fixture and is set to open in the first Test in Leeds. Meanwhile, Bashir picked up a four-wicket haul.

Pope, who was dropped nine months ago during the Ashes series, has made his way back to the squad for the first two Tests here. Jacob Bethell, who injured his right knee during the ODI series against India, is said to have made way for Pope. That being said, England have given bright indications that Cox will take the No.3 spot, while Lawrence will attempt to slip into Ben Stokes’ role at six. Hence, it will have to be seen if there is a place for Pope in the England XI. 

Pakistan are dealing with problems of their own. Babar was struck on his hand by speedster Maddy Lumsden on the second morning of the warm-up fixture, and did not take any further part in the game. However, he is expected to be fit for the first Test starting August 19. 

Masood, who suffered a left-index finger fracture in July while playing against the West Indies, has recovered and has resumed practice. That being said, Masood did not bat in either of the two innings of the warm-up fixture. 

Abbas, who was benched for the second Test against the West Indies after an impressive performance in the first, picked up three crucial wickets against the PCC XI and will be the bowler to watch out for in the Test series.

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