Pakistan vs England, 3rd Test at Edgbaston, Birminghan - Preview

Pakistan are eager for a comeback in the third Test against England at Edgbaston starting on Wednesday.

England levelled the four-match series at 1-1 with a crushing 330-run win in the second Test at Old Trafford - a margin of victory that was testimony to the tourists' batting woes.

It was all a far cry from Pakistan's 75-run win in the first Test at Lord's, which featured an inspiring century from captain Misbah-ul-Haq.

Did you know

Wednesday's match will be England's 500th home Test.

Team news

England have recalled fast bowler Steven Finn. He is set to replace the injured Ben Stokes.

For Pakistan, struggling opener Shan Masood appears set to miss out, with the team either including novice specialist opener Sami Aslam, a 20-year-old who has played just two Tests, at the top of the order or promoting number three Azhar Ali.

Playing XIs:

England: Alastair Cook (capt), Alex Hales, Joe Root, James Vince, Gary Ballance, Jonny Bairstow (wkt), Moeen Ali, Chris Woakes, Stuart Broad, Steven Finn, James Anderson.

Pakistan (likely): Mohammad Hafeez, Sami Aslam, Azhar Ali, Younis Khan, Misbah-ul-Haq (capt), Asad Shafiq, Sarfraz Ahmed (wkt), Wahab Riaz, Mohammad Amir, Yasir Shah, Rahat Ali

Who said what

"(It was) really positive the way we came out of that Old Trafford Test, unfortunate that we lost Ben Stokes in that game to injury but, all in all, just a really strong team performance" - James Anderson

"Those (Alastair Cook and Joe Root) are the two pillars of their batting. If we can get them early it will damage the opposition, because other (members of the England) batting line-up are struggling at the moment" - Misbah-ul-Haq