Joe Root marks England Test captaincy comeback with crushing win over Pakistan

England steamrollered Pakistan inside three days as Joe Root celebrated his Test captaincy comeback with victory by an innings and 103 runs on his home ground of Headingley.

With the ‘Bazball’ era now consigned to the history books, and former skipper Ben Stokes plying his trade for Durham 80 miles away in a Division Two clash against Derbyshire, England’s fresh start began with a flourish in this first Test.

Having bowled the the tourists out for 171 on Wednesday they blew them away with even greater ease 48 hours later, Pakistan surrendering for 135 in less than 38 overs.

The calibre of the opposition left a lot to be desired – weighed down by a flimsy batting unit, a pedestrian attack and a worryingly disinterested fielding performance – but England’s recent record means they can take nothing for granted.

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Luxurious lead

This was just their third Test match victory in 11 attempts and they last won a series in December 2024.

On the available evidence, it would be a huge shock if that streak does not end at Lord’s or Edgbaston in the coming weeks.

England started the day by squeezing 43 runs from their last two wickets, finishing 409 all out to earn their seamers a luxurious lead of 238.

That was more than enough as they took it in turns to hammer nails into the Pakistan coffin.

Jofra Archer, who had earlier hit the only six of the match as he warmed up with an unbeaten 25 from number 10, got things going when he took out both openers with the new ball.

Flurry of wickets

Josh Tongue took over after lunch with a flurry of three wickets in six deliveries to gut the middle order, Ollie Robinson took his match haul to eight as he kept the momentum moving and Gus Atkinson finally opened his account by taking out experienced Mohammad Rizwan for 41.

Archer, wicketless in the first innings as he struggled for length, ended things with the tea break still half-an-hour away, completing a one-sided success for the home side.

Earlier he had needed just five deliveries to get the better of Imam-ul-Haq, attacking the left-hander from round the wicket and cramping him for room as the ball moved back in.

Imam tried to sway out of the way but could not remove his hands in time, gloving through to Jamie Smith.

With scoreboard pressure weighing heavily on the tourists, Archer grabbed another in his second over.

Root took a share of the credit this time, installing himself at leg slip and gratefully collecting the catch as Azan Awais worked around his front pad to spring the trap.

Tactic

Pakistan were now looking to Shan Masood and Abdullah Shafique – their two most technically adept batters – but their attempts at rebuilding lasted just under 10 overs.

Robinson, who tore through the top order on day one, got back into the action in his second spell as he challenged Shafique’s defence with Smith standing up to the stumps.

The same tactic has caused England regular headaches over the last year but this time it worked in their favour, Shafique pressing in the channel outside off and edging low to Harry Brook at second slip.

Tongue had to wait until the start of the afternoon session to get his hands on the ball, eventually introduced in the 21st over.

But Root’s instincts paid off, with the Nottinghamshire quick making an instant impact.

Easy work

By the end of his first over Saud Shakeel was on his way, flicking carelessly to backward square, and by the start of his second Masood was following close behind after nicking to slip.

Salman Ali Agha made it a quick triple strike when he was struck in front of leg stump, Tongue’s burst of activity ending the game as a contest.

Robinson made easy work of Ali Usman and Khurram Shahzad, registering career-best match figures for the second match in a row following his seven-wicket haul at Lord’s earlier in the summer.

Rizwan had batted carefully in his attempts to guide the tail but gave up the fight with a wild swipe against Atkinson before Archer had Mohammad Abbas held at gully.

The limelight belonged to the quicks but the Yorkshire crowd was quick to roar its support for Root, who could hardly have hoped for a better start to his second act.

READ MORE: Harry Brook misses out on century as England seize control at Headingley against Pakistan