Toss England won the toss and chose to field first against Pakistan
On a slightly overcast day at Headingley, returning England captain Joe Root called correctly and put Pakistan in to bat.
Root attributed the decision to overhead conditions and "a bit of top moisture" in the pitch that England hope to exploit. There are no surprises in the team, with the hosts lining up with four specialist seam bowlers in Ollie Robinson, Gus Atkinson, Jofra Archer, and Josh Tongue. Dan Lawrence and Root himself provide part-time spin options.
Pakistan had stand-in captain Salman Agha at the toss after Babar Azam was ruled out with a finger injury picked up in the Caribbean and exacerbated when he was struck by Manny Lumsden at Beckenham.
He said Pakistan's plan was to bat first, and their team combination differs slightly from England's, and includes left-arm spinner Ali Usman.
Ubaid Shah, their fastest bowler, has not made the starting XI, with Mohammad Abbas accompanied by Mohammad Ali and Khurram Shahzad. Shan Masood returns to the top order after shaking off a hand injury of his own, as does Saud Shakeel following fitness struggles.
Pakistan have not won a Test series in England since 1996, and lost 13 of their last 18 Tests. England come into this Test with struggles of their own, having won just two of their last ten Tests.
England: 1 Ben Duckett, 2 Emilio Gay, 3 Jordan Cox, 4 Joe Root (capt), 5 Harry Brook, 6 Dan Lawrence, 7 Jamie Smith (wk), 8 Ollie Robinson, 9 Gus Atkinson, 10 Jofra Archer, 11 Josh Tongue.
Pakistan: 1 Azan Awais, 2 Imam-ul-Haq, 3 Shan Masood, 4 Abdullah Shafique, 5 Saud Shakeel, 6 Mohammad Rizwan (wk), 7 Salman Agha (capt), 8 Ali Usman, 9 Khurram Shahzad, 10 Mohammad Ali, 11 Mohammad Abbas.