This match should not matter because the series has been decided. England won both Tests emphatically. The scoreline says 2-0 and nothing can change that now. But something about the third Test at Edgbaston feels like it matters enormously. For five new players about to make their Test debuts. For a coach walking into his first ever Test match. For a captain fighting off a fever ahead of the biggest game of his troubled summer. And for a Pakistan cricket organisation trying to figure out what it actually is right now.
Match Details Pakistan vs England 3rd Test
| Match | England vs Pakistan, 3rd Test |
| Venue | Edgbaston Cricket Ground, Birmingham |
| Date | September 9 to 13, 2026 |
| Start Time | 11:00 AM BST / 3:30 PM IST / 3:00 PM PKT |
| Series Status | England lead 2-0 |
| Test Number | Test No. 2635 |
How England Won the Series 2-0
The story of this series is one of total English dominance. Pakistan were dismissed for 171 and 135 at Headingley in the first Test. England won by an innings and 103 runs. Josh Tongue and Ollie Robinson took 16 of Pakistan’s 20 wickets between them. Pakistan’s batting never competed.
At Lord’s, Pakistan showed greater resistance. Saud Shakeel scored a courageous 97. Mohammad Abbas took five wickets in England’s second innings. But it was never enough. England won by 194 runs.
Robinson finished with eight wickets in the match. That is two innings defeats in two Tests. Pakistan did not reach 200 in any of their four innings across the series. That is the statistical summary of a historic collapse.
Pakistan’s Preparations for Edgbaston
Nothing about Pakistan’s preparation for this third Test is ordinary. Seven players were released mid-series. Imam and Rizwan was removed from 3rd Test and sent home. Five uncapped players joined the squad. A show-cause notice was sent to the selection committee. The chief selector resigned.
All of that happened in the 72 hours after the Lord’s defeat. No touring team in Test cricket history has undergone changes of this scale and speed in the middle of a live series. Pakistan arrive at Edgbaston as a fundamentally different squad from the one that lost at Headingley and Lord’s. Whether that difference produces better cricket or more confusion is the central question of this entire match.
Babar Azam’s Fitness Question
The most pressing individual concern heading into September 9 is Babar Azam’s health. Reports emerged on September 1 that Babar was confined to his hotel room in London with a high fever. No official confirmation of his withdrawal from the third Test squad had been issued as of September 2, and his availability remained unresolved.
Babar missed the first Test with a finger injury. He returned for Lord’s and batted with genuine quality despite the team’s collapse. Losing him for the dead rubber would complete an extraordinarily difficult tour for Pakistan’s most important player.
His record of performing through adversity and delivering when his team needs him most is explored in detail in our piece on Babar Azam’s captaincy records and seven biggest achievements. Whether he is fit enough to lead Edgbaston will be confirmed at the toss.
The Five Uncapped Players Facing Their Test Debut
Edgbaston could see multiple Test debuts in the same match. That is genuinely unprecedented for a touring side in a major series against England.
Arafat Minhas is a left-arm spin allrounder. Imran Junior is a left-arm fast bowler. Saad Baig is the wicketkeeper-batter replacing Rizwan. Mohammad Imran Randhawa is a right-arm pace allrounder. Razaullah is another pace option. None of them have played a Test match. All five are in the squad for Edgbaston.
Muhammad Ghazi Ghori described what it felt like preparing without any experience of what Test cricket actually demands at this level. He talked about how he got to know about the opportunity and went to the ground where Saud bhai and a few others were giving interviews.
He said he tried to collect information from experienced players, asked them what they needed to do and tried to get information from the seniors. That quote captures exactly what Pakistan are asking of these young players at Edgbaston.
Mike Hesson’s First Test Match as Pakistan’s Coach
Mike Hesson has coached international cricket before. He led New Zealand as head coach from 2012 to 2017, overseeing their rise to number one in the ICC Test rankings. He knows what Test cricket demands from a coaching team.
But his Pakistan white-ball coaching role and his new Test responsibilities are genuinely different challenges. He is walking into his first Pakistan Test with five uncapped players, a captain with a fever, a selection committee that barely exists, and a squad that has been reshaped in 72 hours. He has Ashley Noffke alongside him as bowling coach.
Whatever Hesson produces at Edgbaston will define how Pakistan cricket views him beyond his white-ball role. A competitive performance from Pakistan’s new-look squad would be the best possible start to his expanded coaching responsibilities.
England’s Squad: Settled and Confident
England have retained a largely settled group after leaving Brydon Carse and Matthew Fisher out of the third Test squad. Sonny Baker and Emilio Gay are notable inclusions.
Joe Root leads the side with the hunger of a captain who wants a whitewash. Robinson and Tongue have been the two outstanding bowlers of the series. Jofra Archer has been consistently threatening throughout.
The pitch at Edgbaston typically offers pace bowlers something early before settling into a batting-friendly surface. England’s attack should be devastating for Pakistan’s inexperienced batting lineup in the first two sessions.
England Probable XI: Ben Duckett, Emilio Gay, Jordan Cox, Joe Root (c), Harry Brook, Dan Lawrence, Jamie Smith (wk), Gus Atkinson, Jofra Archer, Ollie Robinson, Josh Tongue.
Pakistan Probable XI: Shan Masood, Azan Awais, Babar Azam (c) subject to fitness, Abdullah Shafique, Saud Shakeel, Saim Ayub, Saad Baig (wk), Sajid Khan, Arafat Minhas, Imran Junior, Mohammad Abbas.
Edgbaston Pitch Report For 3rd Test
Edgbaston’s surface in September behaves differently from the same ground in July or August. The pitch tends to be slower and lower as the season progresses. Reverse swing becomes a factor later in matches when the ball gets older. England’s seamers are less likely to find the same extravagant movement they generated at Headingley and Lord’s in August.
That is actually a reason for cautious Pakistan optimism. A slower Edgbaston surface might allow their batters more time to play the ball late. It might reduce the dominance of Robinson and Tongue specifically. If Pakistan can post 250 in the first innings at Edgbaston, this match becomes interesting regardless of how the series stands.
Weather Forecast for All 5 Days
The weather forecast for Edgbaston across the five days shows mostly positive conditions for a full match.
| Day | Date | Rain Chance | High |
|---|---|---|---|
| Day 1 | September 9 | 15% | 16°C |
| Day 2 | September 10 | 10% | 18°C |
| Day 3 | September 11 | 15% | 18°C |
| Day 4 | September 12 | 15% | 19°C |
| Day 5 | September 13 | 15% | 21°C |
No day shows more than 15% chance of rain. All five days look playable. A full match is realistically achievable. That is good news for England who want a clean whitewash result. It is less convenient for Pakistan who might have benefited from rain taking a day or two to reduce England’s opportunity.
What This Match Means Beyond the Series
The series result is settled. England have won 2-0. Nothing changes that. But the third Test carries genuine significance for several parties.
For England, a 3-0 whitewash over Pakistan is a statement about their quality under Joe Root’s captaincy and Marcus Trescothick’s interim coaching. They want that scoreline before Stephen Fleming takes over.
For Pakistan, every individual performance in this match carries selection implications for the home series against Sri Lanka and England that begins in October. The uncapped players who impress at Edgbaston go to Rawalpindi with confidence. The ones who struggle face immediate questions.
For the WTC standings, Pakistan need points desperately. England are already well placed. Twelve points from a Pakistan win would actually change Pakistan’s position in the WTC standings from last place. The full picture of how both sides’ WTC standing would be affected by the result is explored in our piece on the ICC World Test Championship 2025-2027 format and how it works.
The Saud Shakeel Question
One individual story deserves specific attention ahead of this match. Saud Shakeel has been the only Pakistan batter to genuinely compete against England’s bowling across this series. His 97 at Lord’s was the finest innings of Pakistan’s tour.
He is being asked to remake himself. A report described how Saud Shakeel is shrinking to make room for himself amid the constant change, which is a painful reality for a player ranked inside the top 15 Test batters in the world.
He deserves better than being asked to reinvent himself within a squad in complete structural turmoil. Whether he can produce another fighting innings at Edgbaston while everything around him shifts is one of the genuine cricket questions this dead rubber asks.
Win Prediction For Pakistan vs England
England are overwhelming favourites. Pakistan’s inexperienced squad, potential captain fitness concerns, and the form of Robinson and Tongue all point in one direction. The slower Edgbaston surface is Pakistan’s only tactical advantage.
There is a small but real possibility of a Pakistan response. Saim Ayub’s return gives their batting genuine left-hand variety. Abbas continues to bowl beautifully. And teams facing their Test debuts play with a freedom that experienced professionals sometimes lose. Pakistan winning this match would be one of the great dead-rubber upsets in Test history.
England win probability: 70%
Pakistan win probability: 15%
Draw probability: 15%
Conclusion
This is a dead rubber with something to say. Five cricketers are about to walk out at Edgbaston for the first time in a Test match. A coach is managing his first Test in a new role. A captain is fighting a fever to take his place in the XI. Pakistan’s cricket organisation is trying to make sense of itself in real time. England want three from three. And Saud Shakeel wants to bat for six hours and remind everyone what this Pakistan side is actually capable of. September 9 at Edgbaston is not the biggest Test match ever played. But it might be one of the most fascinating.
