Pakistan bowl against England in rain-delayed second Test

Pakistan bowl against England in rain-delayed second Test. AFP Published August 27, 2026 Updated August 27, 2026 04: 53pm.

Key points

• Victory at Lord's would offer England their first Test series win since beating New Zealand in 2024.
• Pakistan captain Babar Azam won the toss and elected to field in the rain-delayed second Test against England at Lord's on Thursday.
• Azam was absent as Pakistan suffered an innings and 103-run thrashing in last week's series opener at Headingley after aggravating a finger injury.
• England, 1-0 up in a three-match contest, were unchanged after just their third win in 11 Tests.
• Azam was the only change to the Pakistan side, returning in place of stand-in skipper Salman Ali Agha.

We will bowl first because of the conditions, the 31-year-old batsman remarked. The pitch has grass on it.

"Now, I am 100 per cent (fit). That's why I am here. Good to go. Always an honour for us to play at Lord's, especially for me as a captain."

England captain Joe Root, fresh from a convincing win in the first match of his second spell as full-time skipper, remarked, "We would've bowled first too, but saying that it looks a very different pitch to the last time we played here."

"The all-round nature was most pleasing (at Headingley), the way we were so calm and the ability we had to recognise those moments, " remarked Root.

"It wasn't absolutely perfect but it was a great blueprint and more of the same this week would be outstanding."

England are dealing with the latest of a number of off-field incidents that have plagued the team in recent months.

After an incident that saw England fast bowler Brydon Carse handcuffed outside a nightclub over the weekend and subsequently dropped from the squad, derbyshire Police remarked late on Wednesday they were looking into "allegations of assault".

Meanwhile, the Pakistani lineup features Azan Awais, Imam-ul-Haq, Shan Masood, Abdullah Shafique, Babar Azam (capt), Saud Shakeel, Mohammad Rizwan (wkt), Ali Usman, Khurram Shahzad, Mohammad Ali and Mohammad Abbas.

England's team consists of Ben Duckett, Emilio Gay, Jordan Cox, Joe Root (capt), Harry Brook, Dan Lawrence, Jamie Smith (wkt), Gus Atkinson, Ollie Robinson, Jofra Archer and Josh Tongue.

Taken together, the developments around pakistan bowl against England in rain point to a situation that is still moving, and the coming days should bring more clarity.