England vs Pakistan 2020, Third Test: Toss Report

Not very long ago, resumption of cricket looked like a distant dream thanks to the ongoing pandemic. But England cricket showed the world the way forward and they are now just one Test away from concluding a successful Test season. Their final Test of the season gets underway today against Pakistan in Southampton.

England are leading the series after winning the first Test before the second Test ended in tame draw because of inclement weather. A draw would be enough for England to end their season with a series-win. If England manage to avoid a defeat in the third Test, they will leapfrog Australia to take the second spot in the ICC World Test Championship points table.

On the other hand, Pakistan, who dominated much of the first Test before failing to deliver the killing punch on the final day, are looking for a series-levelling win to keep up their strong recent record against England. Pakistan have not lost a Test series against England since 2010 and their last two series in England ended in draws.

Final Test of the English summer is loading ?️⏳

Are you ready? pic.twitter.com/MkV293euSd

— ICC (@ICC) August 21, 2020

The toss has been delayed due to rain.

Toss report:

England have won the toss and have opted to bat first against Pakistan in the third and final Test.

Playing elevens:

England:

Rory Burns, Dominic Sibley, Zak Crawley, Joe Root(c), Ollie Pope, Jos Buttler(w), Chris Woakes, Dominic Bess, Jofra Archer, Stuart Broad, James Anderson England

Pakistan:

Shan Masood, Abid Ali, Azhar Ali(c), Babar Azam, Asad Shafiq, Fawad Alam, Mohammad Rizwan(w), Yasir Shah, Mohammad Abbas, Shaheen Afridi, Naseem Shah