England vs Pakistan first Test: All you need to know

Team news, odds, weather forecast and TV details ahead of the first Test of summer at Lord's

After a long, hard winter the promise of a new dawn lingers in the air as the first Test of the summer, in front of a packed crowd at Lord’s is upon us.

Joe Root’s England will be looking to strike a decisive blow at the Home of Cricket in the first of a two match Test series against Pakistan.

The Cricketer looks at all the vital pieces of information you need to know ahead of the game.

What’s the occasion?

Why, the first Test of the English summer of course! Pakistan, the ever mercurial threat, are the visitors in the first of a two match series.

Where is the venue for this match?

Lord’s, naturally, the traditional location of the curtain-raiser for the home international summer.

^{Joe Root moves up to No.3 in the batting order}

How do we rate England’s chances?

Pretty highly, actually. England have a great record in early summer Tests, aside from an outlying defeat to Sri Lanka in 2013, where pitches generally offer more assistance to the home side’s diet of medium-fast swing bowlers. Pakistan, also, typically struggled against the moving ball and, without their batting stalwarts Misbha-ul-Haq and Younis Khan to shoulder the burden anymore, their batting may find it incredibly tough against James Anderson and co.

Who are England likely to play?

Jos Buttler is back in whites for the home side and he will bat at 7 with the middle-order moving up one spot. Captain Joe Root is back at 3, his supposedly unflavoured position, with Dawid Malan at 4 and Jonny Bairstow batting at 5 alongside retaining the gloves. Dom Bess will make his debut as the spin option while Chris Woakes and Mark Wood will battle over the third seamer spot. 

What about Pakistan? 

Leader of the attack Mohammad Amir has shaken off a knee injury to be fit enough for Lord’s. The visitor’s only selection conundrum seems to be the decision between paceman Rahat Ali and Hasan Ali, one of which will be dropped from the 12-man squad. Mickey Arthur will have been working on their all-round ability in the field and fitness levels.

^{Mohammad Amir is fit for Pakistan}

When is first ball?

The two sides get underway at 11am tomorrow morning.

How can we follow this glorious affair?

Sky Sports Cricket (Sky 404, Virgin 514) have all the coverage of the moving image variety, as with the rest of the English international summer, and their coverage gets underway from 10am.

What about if I don’t have a TV handy nearby?

Old reliable Test Match Special is there, Talksport cannot get their hands on the home stuff just yet,  with radio coverage, on Five Live Sports Extra. That’s 12B on DAB digital radio, channel 706 on Freeview, 0144 on Sky and 908 on Virgin Media.

The Cricketer will have daily round-ups, in-play updates on social media and plenty to keep you entertained throughout the Test.

^{Dom Bess will make his Test debut at Lord's}

What’s the weather looking like?

There’s a chance of rain over the first two days but this should not be too disruptive while the sun is then projected to come out properly during the third, fourth and fifth days. 

The temperature hovers around the early 20s over the first few days before rising to 25 on Saturday and Monday.

Thank you kindly.

As ever, the pleasure is all on us.