England v Pakistan at Edgbaston: Test Match preview

England return to Edgbaston Stadium on Wednesday 9 September as they take on Pakistan in the Third Rothesay Test Match, looking to secure a clean sweep in the series.

2026-09-08T15:30+01:00

The hosts were convincing victors in the opening two Tests, winning by an innings and 103 runs in the First Test at Headingley, before winning by 194 runs at Lord’s to take an unassailable two-nil lead in the three-Test series.

Tickets for the Test are still available, with limited availability. Buy yours now. If you already have tickets for the Pakistan Test, this is one of the ways to ensure priority access to tickets for next year's highly anticipated Ashes Test at Edgbaston.

Here are a few things to keep an eye on during the Edgbaston Test as Pakistan look to bounce back…

Ball dominates bat

The ball has dominated bat so far this series, with England’s Ollie Robinson in red-hot form. The right arm seamer is the leading wicket taker in the series with 16 scalps at a staggering average of just 7.18.

While Pakistan have struggled for momentum, the experience of Mohammad Abbas has seen him take ten wickets at an average of 20.80, with his nine-wicket haul in the Lord’s Test seeing him surpass 900 career First Class wickets.

Last meeting at Edgbaston

The two great cricketing nations last met in a Test at Edgbaston ten years ago in 2016 with England just edging a back-and-forth encounter.

Pakistan actually led by 10 runs after the first innings, but after England racked up 445 for six declared in their second innings, they left Pakistan needing 343 for victory. Despite 70 from Sami Aslam at the top of the order, two wickets apiece for James Anderson, Stuart Broad, Chris Woakes, Steven Finn and Moeen Ali saw England to a 141-run win.

Team changes

Last week, England named an unchanged 15-player squad for the Edgbaston Test, while Pakistan have made wholesale changes as they search for improvements following a testing tour so far.

The PCB released seven players from the Test squad, with seven replacements coming in, including five uncapped players at Test level.

Players released from the squad include the experienced Mohammad Rizwan and Imam-ul-Haq alongside Salman Ali Agha, Ali Usman, Aamir Jamal, Muhammad Awais Zafar and Khurram Shahzad.

The two previously capped players at Test level that have been recalled to the squad are top-order batters Saim Ayub and Abdullah Fazal, and they will be joined at Edgbaston by uncapped quintet Arafat Minhas, Mohammad Imran Jnr, Saad Baig, Mohammad Imran and Razaullah.

There have also been two changes to their coaching staff as former captain Sarfaraz Ahmed and bowling coach Umar Gul have stepped away, with white-ball head coach Mike Hesson and bowling coach Ashley Noffke taking charge.

It’s set to be an intriguing Test, with both playing XIs to be announced at the toss prior to the first ball being bowled at 11:00am.

Foundation Day

Day one of the final Test will highlight the brilliant and important work the Warwickshire Cricket Foundation team carry out in the city of Birmingham and the county of Warwickshire as a whole.

Thousands of cricket supporters will be attending Edgbaston for the first day of the fixture and the club have chosen the opener as a day on which to celebrate the Foundation and to raise awareness of the wide-ranging work the team does across the region.

Warwickshire Cricket Foundation will oversee a range of activities at the stadium on the day, too. Children from local schools will be selected to walk out with both sets of players as mascots for the national anthems ahead of the start of play, as well as to form a pitch-side guard of honour.

There will also be a raffle taking place within the stadium, with all proceeds going towards the Foundation's varied work. Prizes which are there to be won include tickets for next year's Ashes Test at Edgbaston and signed England merchandise.