England vs Pakistan 1st Test Preview & Tips - Pakistan to slump to Test defeat despite runs for Babar

By Site Editor

17 Aug 2026

Site Editor 17 Aug 2026

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England and Pakistan will battle across a three-match Test series
Pakistan have lost seven of their last 10 Tests
Preview, stats & head to head

Babar Azam of Pakistan (Getty Images)

England vs Pakistan 1st Test Preview & Tips
Head To Head
England Form
Pakistan Form

England vs Pakistan 1st Test Preview & Tips

England are looking to hit the ground running in Joe Root's second era as Test captain as they host Pakistan in a three-match Test series.

Pakistan beat the West Indies by eight wickets in their last outing as they finally brought an end to a four-game losing run.

Babar Azam is averaging 77.00 in Tests in 2026
England have won four of their last six Tests against Pakistan (L2)

Head To Head

England have won six of their last 10 Tests against Pakistan, with the latter winning twice and two games ending as draws.

England Form

England arrive for their Test series against Pakistan on the back of a 2-1 series loss to New Zealand that saw them out done with bat and ball. Despite winning the first Test by 115 runs, they slumped to defeats by 253 runs and 160 runs in a streak that saw captain Ben Stokes and coach Brendon McCullum replaced.

Now, England will look to move forward with their greatest ever run scorer at the helm once again. Both Root and England will hope that he can juggle plundering runs and captaining the team, although this did prove an issue for him in his initial stint as captain.

The conditions in England will suit their excellent pace attack, with Jofra Archer, Josh Tongue, Gus Atkinson and Ollie Robinson all jostling for position. With four excellent seam bowlers and no all-rounder in Ben Stokes, it will be interesting to see how England choose to line-up at Headingley.

While Pakistan will arrive feeling they have a chance to get one over on an opponent in transition, I predict that England's lightning quick bowling attack will prove the difference.

Pakistan Form

Pakistan's form in the Test game has been a huge worry, with the side struggling for any kind of consistency.

The tourists have not won consecutive Tests since they beat England back in October 2024. Since those wins, Pakistan have won just three of their subsequent 10 outings. Their creaking batting unit has all too often proved their undoing, which makes Babar Azam's place in the team even more important.

Babar is averaging 77.00 in Tests in 2026, which is well above his overall average of 43.68. Scores of 68, 47, 23, 58 not out, 88 and 24 not out show that Babar has been getting consistent starts, but his lack of 100's is a concern. England will know that one wicket could start a collapse, but if Babar can hold down one end, then it will at least stem some of the momentum.

I back Babar to top score for his side, but I do not predict that he will breach the 100-run mark. Babar only has nine centuries across 118 innings, with a single century coming against England in 14 innings. I predict that his woes when it comes to breaching the three-figure mark will go on.

Verdict

England v Pakistan 1st Test

I am backing England to hand Pakistan a defeat in the first Test despite Babar showing more promise with the bat.

England

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