England open Root's second captaincy stint with dominant Headingley win
England thrashed Pakistan in the first Test at Headingley in Joe Root's first match back as captain, with the game highlighting a rebuilt pace attack and standout individual performances.
England produced a commanding performance at Headingley, cruising to victory over Pakistan in what marked Joe Root's first Test back in charge as captain. While Pakistan's poor form contributed heavily to the result, the match still offered useful signals about England's rebuilding process.
A new-look pace attack
Following Ben Stokes' retirement and the departures of veterans Stuart Broad, James Anderson, Chris Woakes and, likely, Mark Wood, England have lost close to 1,900 Test wickets worth of experience. The first post-Stokes side featured four frontline seamers — Jofra Archer, Ollie Robinson, Josh Tongue and Gus Atkinson — supported by Dan Lawrence's part-time spin. Robinson and Tongue each claimed eight wickets, while Lawrence bowled just one over across the match. With no consistently Test-class spinner currently available, England appear likely to keep relying on seam bowling, aside from an upcoming tour of Bangladesh in February.
Cox and Smith deliver
Standing in for the injured Jacob Bethell at number three, Essex batter Jordan Cox scored 73, showing composure against a Pakistan attack that lacked real pace threat. Wicketkeeper Jamie Smith has shown clear improvement behind the stumps this summer after working with former England women's keeper Sarah Taylor, though his Test batting average has slipped below 40.
Coach absent, Pakistan struggling
England's new Test coach, Stephen Fleming, has yet to arrive in the UK and is not expected until September, though Root said the coach had been in daily phone contact during the match. Pakistan, missing captain Babar Azam through injury, struggled across batting, bowling and fielding. The teams next meet at Lord's.
