The series is gone. The third Test at Edgbaston, on paper, is a dead rubber. It doesn’t feel like one.
England stroll into Birmingham 2–0 up, having thrashed Pakistan by an innings and 103 runs at Headingley and by 194 runs at Lord’s. Joe Root’s side can tinker, rotate, and look ahead to a heavy winter. Pakistan arrive having set fire to the old order.
Seven players have been sent home. Two coaches have been removed mid-series. Five uncapped players have been drafted into the wider squad. Babar Azam is back as captain and, most strikingly, is set to open the batting in a top order that barely resembles the one that started the tour.
This is a dead rubber with consequences.
England: control, continuity and one high-profile omission
England’s changes are selective, not sweeping. The major headline is off the field: Brydon Carse has been left out of Root’s squad after the incident outside a Derby nightclub during the second Test. His absence opens a seam-bowling slot, but there is no appetite to disrupt a core that has bullied Pakistan in home conditions.
Ollie Robinson is undroppable on current form. His match figures of 8 for 80 at Lord’s lifted him beyond Jasprit Bumrah to the best Test bowling average of any bowler with at least 20 Tests since the First World War. That is not a number a selector ignores. He leads a pace group that has hunted in packs and given Pakistan’s batters nowhere to hide.
Jofra Archer, steadily building back into long-format rhythm, and Gus Atkinson, sharp and disciplined, complete a seam trio with pace, bounce and control. Shoaib Bashir offers the spin option, his height and overspin handy if Edgbaston wears as the game goes on.
Up top, England are expected to stick with the batting order that has already done the damage. Ben Duckett’s tempo, Emilio Gay’s promise and Jordan Cox’s range give Root a flexible top three. Root himself, as captain and batting fulcrum, anchors the middle order, with Harry Brook and Dan Lawrence around him to keep the scoring rate aggressive.
Jamie Smith, increasingly assured with the gloves and capable of changing a session with the bat, continues as wicketkeeper.
England predicted XI for the 3rd Test at Edgbaston
- Ben Duckett
- Emilio Gay
- Jordan Cox
- Joe Root (c)
- Harry Brook
- Dan Lawrence
- Jamie Smith (wk)
- Gus Atkinson
- Ollie Robinson
- Jofra Archer
- Shoaib Bashir
England’s message is clear: the series may be decided, but standards will not dip.
Pakistan: overhaul, opportunity and a hint of chaos
If England are fine-tuning, Pakistan are rebuilding in real time.
The list of departures is brutal: Mohammad Rizwan, Imam-ul-Haq, Salman Ali Agha, Ali Usman, Aamir Jamal, Muhammad Awais Zafar and Khurram Shahzad all released from the squad. Head coach Sarfaraz Ahmed and bowling coach Umar Gul have also been removed from their roles.
Into the vacuum steps Mike Hesson, installed as interim head coach, working alongside former Australia seamer Ashley Noffke. Hesson has not bothered with subtlety. He has spelt out exactly what he believes Pakistan have lacked.
Pakistan cricket, he argued, should stand for pace, unusual actions, and mystery spin. This tour has offered too little of that identity. His response has been to chase variety with an almost ruthless clarity.
Babar Azam’s return as captain is the stabilising move amid the churn, but even he is being redeployed. Set to open, he fronts a new-look top order alongside Saim Ayub and Abdullah Shafique, with only eight and two Test caps respectively between the incoming top-order options mentioned in the reshuffle.
The real intrigue lies with the uncapped names.
Wicketkeeper-batter Saad Baig arrives on the back of a standout domestic season, having been named Player of the Tournament in the 2025–26 Quaid-e-Azam Trophy. He brings runs, confidence and the kind of dual skill set that can reshape a balance of a side. Left-arm spin-bowling all-rounder Arafat Minhas offers exactly the sort of variety Hesson has demanded, capable of lengthening the batting while giving Pakistan a different angle of attack.
Left-arm seamer Ubaid Shah and off-spinner Sajid Khan deepen that variety further, giving Pakistan options to attack England in ways they simply have not in the first two Tests.
Pakistan predicted XI for the 3rd Test at Edgbaston
- Azan Awais
- Abdullah Shafique
- Saim Ayub
- Babar Azam (c)
- Saud Shakeel
- Saad Baig (wk)
- Mohammad Imran Randhawa
- Arafat Minhas
- Mohammad Ali
- Mohammad Abbas
- Ubaid Shah
On paper, it is a side that screams “future” more than “now”.
Right time for youth – but at what cost?
A dead rubber is exactly the stage to find out who belongs at this level. There is logic in exposing Saad Baig or Arafat Minhas to an England attack in English conditions when the series is already gone. There is limited downside to blooding up to five uncapped players in a match Pakistan are unlikely to win, and plenty of information to be gained.
Hesson’s diagnosis of the problem – lack of balance and lack of variety – is hard to argue with. Pakistan have looked one-dimensional, short of the pace, craft and surprise that once made their touring sides so dangerous.
The concern sits above the dressing room. Seven players discarded in a single announcement, two coaches removed mid-series, and a captaincy carousel that left Salman Ali Agha leading in one Test and out of the squad entirely in the next speaks of a board reacting to noise rather than following a long-term plan.
Edgbaston will offer a glimpse of what Pakistan might become. The question is whether this is the start of a coherent new era, or just another dramatic reshuffle waiting to be undone by the next bad headline.
