England vs Pakistan, 1st Test
After victory against West Indies, England move straight on to their first test of their three-game series with Pakistan. The match, part of the ICC World Test Championship, takes place at Old Trafford, Cricket Ground, Manchester, from August 5 to August 9, and the live action starts at 11:00 each day.
Stuart Broad’s superb bowling helped England come from behind and beat West Indies last time out, after Ben Stokes had earlier moved top of the ICC test all-rounder rankings with some superb performances with the bat especially. England’s 2-1 win means they sit third in the ICC World Test Championship after a drawn series with Australia and wins against South Africa and the West Indies.
Pakistan, on the other hand, won their last test against Bangladesh by an innings, with Babar Azam and Shan Masood hitting centuries, and have beaten Sri Lanka at home too, but they lost their previous away series 2-0 to Australia to leave them in mid-table.
England vs Pakistan (1st Test) Live streaming
TV channels: Sky Sports Cricket, Sports Max, Flow Sports, ESPN, Sony ESPN, Sony TEN 1, PTV Sports, Ten Sports, Fox Sports, SuperSport, Willow TV, ATN Cricket Plus, Astro Cricket HD, OSN Sports Cricket Gazi TV, Star Cricket
Live streaming: Sky Go, Now TV, SonyLiv, SuperSport Live, Willow TV online
Toss Prediction
England batted first in all three tests against West Indies but only once by choice. An overcast start to this game could tempt them to field first this time.
Weather Report
The first day will be overcast with a small chance of showers and a delayed start but conditions should improve as the test goes on.
Pitch Condition
The Old Trafford pitch favours batting, with a good fast track the norm in Manchester.
Read on for team previews, betting tips, latest odds and match prediction for England vs Pakistan, 1st Test.
England Team News & Playing 11
ENG Team News
England have an unchanged squad for this first test, and Ben Stokes bowled in the nets in the build-up to this match too to hand them a further boost. The big question then is which of the bowlers to use. They went with no spinner in the most recent test and Stuart Broad and Chris Woakes’ bowling should secure their places for this one. If they go four seamers again, despite Stokes’ return, it could be an unchanged quartet with James Anderson and Jofra Archer also involved.
ENG Key Players
- Ben Stokes: Now the top all-rounder in test cricket according to the ICC World Rankings and the third-best batsman in the world, he was in excellent form against the West Indies.
- Stuart Broad: Moved past 500 wickets in test cricket last time out as he took 6-31 and 4-36 to turn the test England’s way.
- James Anderson: The next England bowler with a huge landmark in sight, as he chases the 11 extra wickets he needs for 600 in test cricket.
ENG Team Form
England came from behind to beat the West Indies last time out. Ben Stokes was in excellent form and Stuart Broad bowled superbly to swing the second test England’s way, with the all-rounder’s 176* and 78* key to the win, along with Broad’s six wickets.
Broad then took 6-31 and 4-36, while Chris Woakes claimed 5-50 in the final innings of the final test as England hit stormed to a 269-run win to seal a 2-1 series victory in the most recent test.
England Predicted Playing 11
Rory Burns, Dom Sibley, Joe Root (c), Ben Stokes, Ollie Pope, Jos Buttler (wk), Chris Woakes, Dom Bess, Stuart Broad, James Anderson, Jofra Archer
Pakistan Team News & Playing 11
PAK Team News
There will be at least one change for Pakistan from their win against Bangladesh in February, with Haris Sohail not part of the touring squad. Fawad Alam’s batting in the most recent warm-up spot could him the place instead. Sohail Khan’s five-wicket hails in each of the last two warm-up matches could mean he gets the nod as the frontline spinner, meanwhile.
PAK Key Players
- Babar Azam: Top-scored with 143 – his highest test score – in Pakistan’s most recent test win and the vice-captain averages 45.12 from his 48 test innings so far.
- Naseem Shah: The 17-year-old paceman has made a flying start to his test career, with the rapid bowler taking 13 wickets in six innings.
- Shaheen Afridi: Now 20, but very much still a hugely exciting bowling talent in this Pakistan side, with 30 wickets from eight test matches so far.
PAK Team Form
Pakistan won their most recent test very convincingly, as Shan Masood and Babar Azam hit centuries and Naseem Shah, Yasir Shah and Shaheen Afridi all made big contributions with the ball in an innings victory against Bangladesh. They have now won two, drew one and lost two of their five matches in the ICC World Test Championship.
Pakistan Predicted Playing 11
Shan Masood, Abid Ali, Azhar Ali (c), Babar Azam, Asad Shafiq, Fawad Alam, Mohammad Rizwan (wk), Sohail Khan, Shaheen Afridi, Mohammad Abbas, Naseem Shah
England vs Pakistan Head to Head
England have won 25 of their 83 previous test matches against Pakistan, most recently coming from behind to draw their series in 2018. Pakistan won the first test by nine wickets, but England hit back as Stuart Broad took 3-38 and 3-28 to lead the bowling effort and dismiss Pakistan for 174 and 134 in England’s innings win in the second test.
England vs Pakistan Betting Odds
England are favourites to start this test series with a win.
ENG Bet365 Odds
- ENG to win the match: England are 1.40 favourites to beat Pakistan in the first test of this three-game series.
- England top team batsman: Captain Joe Root is 3.75 to be England’s top team batsman in the first innings with Bet365, while Ben Stokes is 4.33. Openers Rory Burns and Dom Sibley are 4.50 and 5.50 respectively and Ollie Pope is 7.00 after top-scoring in the first innings of the third test against West Indies.
- England top team bowler: Stuart Broad was in fine bowling form in the last test and he is 3.75 to be England’s top team bowler in the first test of this match, as is James Anderson. Jofra Archer can be backed at 4.00, while Chris Woakes is 5.00 after his five-wicket haul last time out.
PAK Bet365 Odds
- PAK to win the match: Pakistan are 5.50 outsiders to beat England in the first test at Old Trafford
- PAK top team batsman: Babar Azam is 3.75 to be Pakistan’s top team batsman in the first innings, while Azhar Ali is 4.00 and Shan Masood – after his century in their most recent test – is 5.00. Abid Ali can be backed at 5.50.
- PAK top team bowler: Experienced Mohammad Abbas is 3.40 to be Pakistan’s top team bowler in the first innings with Bet365, while rising stars Shaheen Afridi and Naseem Shah are 4.00 and 4.33 respectively. Sohail Khan is 4.33, while Yasir Shah is 4.50 as the two compete for a spinning place.
ENG Betway Odds
- ENG to win the match: England are 1.40 favourites with Betway to win this first test against Pakistan too.
- ENG top batsman: Captain Joe Root is 4.33 to be England’s top team batsman in the first innings with Betway, who are offering 4.50 on star man Ben Stokes. Rory Burns is 5.50 and Dom Sibley is 6.00, while Ollie Pope is 6.00 with Betway.
- ENG top bowler: James Anderson is 3.25 to be England’s top first innings bowler with Betway and in-form Stuart Broad can be backed at 3.60. Chris Woakes and Jofra Archer are both 3.75 with Betway.
PAK Betway Odds
- PAK to win the match: Betway are offering 5.00 on Pakistan to win the first test at Old Trafford.
- PAK top batsman: Babar Azam is 3.75 favourite with Betway to be Pakistan’s top first innings batsman, while Azhar Ali and Fawad Alam are both 4.75. Abid Ali can be backed at 5.00 and Shan Masood is 6.50 despite his century in his most recent test innings.
- PAK top bowler: Mohammad Abbas is 3.00 favourite with Betway to be Pakistan’s top team bowler, while Naseem Shah and Shaheen Afridi – the two rising stars of the Pakistan pace attack – are each 3.60. Yasir Shah is 4.00 with Betway.
🏆 England vs Pakistan Prediction
England have had to come from behind to win their last two series, but this is a chance to lead from the front with some momentum behind them.
Aug 05 - Aug 09, 2020
15:30 IST / 10:00 GMT
Old Trafford - Manchester, England
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