Root Returns as England Face Pakistan in a Test Rivalry Without a Trophy
Joe Root walks back out as England Test captain at Headingley on Wednesday, leading a side that has lost its way against a Pakistan team searching for its own.
The first of three Tests between England and Pakistan begins on 19 August 2026 at Headingley, Leeds, with play starting at 11am. The series — branded the Rothesay Test series after its sponsor — moves to Lord's for the second Test on 27 August and concludes at Edgbaston, Birmingham, from 9 to 13 September. All three matches count toward the ICC World Test Championship 2025–27 cycle, the two-year league table that determines who reaches the global Test final. ECB
Root's return as captain is the headline for an England side in transition. Ben Stokes has left the setup, and Brendon McCullum has lost half of his coaching remit around the same period. England were beaten by New Zealand in June 2026 and have slipped to seventh in the nine-team World Test Championship table — they also surrendered the Crowe-Thorpe trophy to the Kiwis that summer, with a defence of the Basil D'Oliveira trophy looming in South Africa over the 2026–27 winter. The Guardian
Pakistan arrive in no better shape. One place off the foot of the World Test Championship table after finishing last in the previous cycle, they have lost 13 of their last 18 Tests. That run included a record eight consecutive away defeats, finally halted by a 1-1 series draw in the Caribbean earlier in August 2026. The churn behind the scenes has been relentless: 11 head coaches and team directors across men's formats in the five years leading into 2026. The Guardian
Babar Azam was reappointed Test captain despite going 36 innings without a century. He will not lead the side out at Headingley, though — a hand injury rules him out of the series opener, with Salman Ali Agha stepping in as captain. ICC
For all the turbulence on both sides, there is a quieter curiosity to this contest. England and Pakistan have played Test cricket against each other since 1952, yet no trophy exists for the rivalry. Other England series have their silverware — the Crowe-Thorpe with New Zealand, the Basil D'Oliveira with South Africa. Australia and Pakistan contested the Benaud-Qadir trophy from 2022. England and Pakistan have history, fixtures, and decades of memorable cricket. What they do not have is a cup to lift at the end of it. The Guardian
England named a 16-player squad for the opening two Tests, a group large enough to signal selection debates across conditions that will shift from Headingley's seam-friendly early summer surface to Lord's and then Edgbaston in September. Pakistan's tour began with a warm-up fixture at Beckenham from 13 to 15 August before the serious business began. ECB
Two teams, two captains under pressure, and a series with World Test Championship points on the line. For Root, it is a chance to steady a listing ship. For Pakistan, it is another attempt to arrest a long decline. The first ball at Headingley will tell us who is ready to start.
