Pakistan captain Babar Azam won the toss and elected to field first in the rain-delayed second Test against England at Lord’s on Thursday. Azam returns to captain the side after missing last week’s series opener at Headingley with a finger injury, an absence that coincided with a heavy innings and 103-run defeat for Pakistan.
Main Highlights
- Babar Azam wins toss, elects to bowl first at Lord’s
- Azam returns as captain, now declaring himself “100 percent” fit
- England go unchanged after their third win in 11 Tests
- Derbyshire Police investigating assault allegations involving England’s Brydon Carse
- England lead the three-match series 1-0
Pakistan win toss, bowl first against England in rain-delayed second Test #Pakistan #PakvsEng https://t.co/H1r7nTRo0j pic.twitter.com/XTrw8WM6lp
— Gulf Today (@gulftoday) August 27, 2026
Azam Explains the Decision to Bowl
“Pitch conditions were among the reasons Azam gave for his decision. “Because of the conditions we will bowl first,” said the 31-year-old. “There is grass on the pitch. He also addressed his fitness, which has dominated the build-up to the match. “I’m 100 percent fit now. So that’s why I’m here. “Good to go,” he said. Leading Pakistan at Lord’s had special meaning for him as captain.
Pakistan made one change to its team, bringing in Azam for stand-in captain Salman Ali Agha. Azam, who had been hit on the glove during a warm-up game, returned to batting in the nets over the last 48 hours after being struck on the glove, and had said a day before, at a pre-match press conference, that he was “90 percent fit”. That blow had aggravated a finger injury he originally picked up on Pakistan’s recent tour of the West Indies.
Root says the pitch looks different to last time
England captain Joe Root, fresh from a comprehensive victory in his second spell as full-time skipper, admitted he would probably have made the same call as Azam. “We also would have bowled first, but it’s a very different pitch to last time we played here,” said Root.
England made no changes to their team after their win at Headingley, their third win in their last eleven Tests. “That was a great performance,” Root recalled. “The pleasing thing was the all-round nature of it, how calm we were and the ability to recognize those moments,” he said. He said it wasn’t a perfect performance, but a good template to work from, and doing it again this week would be a fantastic result. A win at Lord’s would give England their first Test series win since beating New Zealand back in 2024.
England’s rocky road off the pitch
England’s build-up to this fixture hasn’t been without its bumps. Derbyshire Police late Wednesday confirmed they are investigating allegations of assault following an incident over the weekend involving fast bowler Brydon Carse, who was handcuffed outside a nightclub and later dropped from the squad. This was the latest in a series of off-field incidents that have plagued the team in recent months.
Azam’s Return to the XI
Azam returns after a tough outing for Pakistan at Headingley, where the tourists were bowled out for just 171 and 135 without him. Azam was upfront about that performance before the match. “I think we were below our mark in the first Test. But credit to England, the way they are playing,” he said. “After that we sat down and discussed our mistakes, and now we are looking forward to the match, believing in ourselves, and we will try to play good cricket.
Azam arrives in the Test on the back of good recent form. He scored 193 runs to be Pakistan’s highest run-scorer in a drawn two-Test series in the West Indies. He has been good in England too, scoring three half-centuries in six innings there and averaging 65.75.
The Two Lord’s Lineups
Pakistan’s squad: Azan Awais, Imam-ul-Haq, Shan Masood, Abdullah Shafique, Babar Azam (c), Saud Shakeel, Mohammad Rizwan (wicket-keeper), Ali Usman, Khurram Shahzad, Mohammad Ali and Mohammad Abbas.
England: Ben Duckett, Emilio Gay, Jordan Cox, Joe Root (captain), Harry Brook, Dan Lawrence, Jamie Smith (wicket-keeper), Gus Atkinson, Ollie Robinson, Jofra Archer, Josh Tongue.
