England defeat Pakistan by an innings and 103 runs in Headingley Test

Headingley, Aug 21: Pakistan's batting woes deepened as they were bowled out for just 135 in their second innings to suffer an innings and 103 runs defeat against England in the opening Test of the series, with the hosts wrapping up a comprehensive victory inside three days.England dominate opening TestPakistan, having scored only 171 in their first innings, could not resist another fierce session from England's pace attack, and Jofra Archer, Josh Tongue and Ollie Robinson between them took nine wickets as England secured a dominant win and thus obtained important points in the ICC World Test Championship 2025–27 cycle.Robinson was primarily responsible for Pakistan's failure and closed the match with the impressive figures of 8/80, earning him the award of Player of the Match.When Pakistan started their second innings, they were facing a severe deficit since England had gained a 238-run lead in the first innings. The troubles of the visitors reappeared almost straight away when Archer took a wicket in his first over, getting Imam-ul-Haq.FIFA Hands Out Bans After Argentina-Spain World Cup Final Clash; Leandro Paredes Gets 10-Game SuspensionPakistan collapse under pressureShan Masood tried to launch a counter-attack with several boundaries, but England kept on applying pressure. Abdullah Shafique was then got out when he edged while defending, and Pakistan were in even greater difficulty before lunch.Following that period, the situation worsened as Tongue broke up Pakistan's middle order, Saud Shakeel being the first to fall, then the England seamer got both Masood and Salman Agha in the same over and left Pakistan facing defeat.Although Mohammad Rizwan put up a certain amount of resistance with 41 runs, Robinson still managed to make several breakthroughs at the other end, and Gus Atkinson finally ended Rizwan's innings before Archer completed it by getting the last batter out in the 38th over.England build commanding leadPreviously, Pakistan had been all out for 171 after they were asked to bat first, with Robinson securing 5/51 and Tongue taking 5/46.In reply, England were headed by four half-centuries from their middle order, Jordan Cox scoring 73, Joe Root 66, Harry Brook 91 and Dan Lawrence 51.The joint effort enabled England to establish a lead of 238 runs, even though Ali Usman took 5 wickets for 95 runs for Pakistan.Archer was also helpful with the bat during England's first innings, having helped increase the lead to more than 200 on the third morning before Pakistan ended the innings with the wicket of Jamie Smith, who scored 25.Also Watch:England rise in WTC standingsThe decisive win by England represents a solid beginning to Joe Root's second term as full-time Test captain, and it also improves England's position in the World Test Championship table.England's rank advanced as Pakistan have dropped below the West Indies and now find themselves at the bottom of the table with a points percentage of 19.05.The two teams will now play the second Test at Lord's, which will start on August 27.(Except for the headline, this article has not been edited by FPJ's editorial team and is auto-generated from an agency feed.)

England launched their post-Bazball era with an innings and 103-run thrashing of Pakistan in the first Test at Headingley on Friday. Pakistan, who had been 51-2 in their second innings, lost four wickets for 25 runs on the way to being dismissed for just 135. England pacemen Josh Tongue and Ollie Robinson, who took all 10 wickets between them in Pakistan’s meagre first-innings 171, once again did plenty of damage after express quick Jofra Archer removed both openers. The trio took three wickets apiece on Friday as England posted their seventh successive Test victory at Headingley — their longest sequence of wins at any home venue. Recalled seamer Robinson was named player of the match for his overall figures of 8-80, while Tongue finished with 8-89. Pakistan’s Salman Ali Agha watches his shot on the day three of the first Test match between England and Pakistan at Headingley cricket ground in Leeds, northern England on August 21, 2026. — AFP “It’s a great way to start,” said Robinson, who took a wicket with the very first ball of the match, at the presentation ceremony. “That’s my job, I suppose, setting the tone and to get a wicket off the first ball is a great feeling.” He added: “It was nipping both ways and I knew if I could control my length and my line I was in the game.” A comprehensive win with more than two days remaining at his Yorkshire home ground was an ideal way for Joe Root to begin his second stint as full-time England Test captain. Former skipper Ben Stokes retired from international duty after a series loss at home to New Zealand in June, shortly before Brendon McCullum was sacked as red-ball coach. ‘Outstanding’ This was just England’s third win in 11 Tests, albeit one achieved against a weak Pakistan side. “You look at the prep we had leading in, coming straight from The Hundred, the fact we’re in a slight transition stage, but I thought the way that we dealt with all of that, the clarity and the way the guys approached this week has been outstanding,” said Root. Pakistan stand-in captain Salman Ali Agha accepted his side had been well beaten, telling the BBC: “England have outplayed us.” Agha, leading the side in place of the injured Babar Azam, added: “In batting and bowling, we weren’t consistent enough.” England, 366-8 overnight, posted 409 for a huge first-innings lead of 238. Harry Brook (91), Jordan Cox (73), Root (66) and the recalled Dan Lawrence (51) all made fifties on Thursday. England’s Joe Root returns the ball in the field on day three of the first Test match between England and Pakistan at Headingley cricket ground in Leeds, northern England on August 21, 2026. — AFP Pakistan left-arm spinner Ali Usman’s 5-95 — his maiden five-wicket haul in Test cricket — was a rare highlight for the tourists. For the second time in the match, Pakistan were 0-1 on Friday when Archer dismissed Imam-ul-Haq for a duck as the left-hander, trying to evade a short delivery, gloved the ball to wicket-keeper Jamie Smith. Azan Awais, out for a golden duck in the first innings, had made nine when he clipped Archer straight to Root at the rarely used position of leg slip. It was something of a tactical coup for Root, like Brook playing in front of his home crowd, with Pakistan now 13-2. Abdullah Shafique’s 61 had been the standout display in Pakistan’s first innings. But he could only manage 15 before he edged a full-length ball from Robinson to Brook at second slip. Pakistan were 59-3 at lunch but they soon found themselves 76-6 following a triple strike from Tongue that included two wickets in an over. Shan Masood, a former Yorkshire batsman used to playing at Headingley, nicked Tongue to first slip for 29 and, four balls later, Pakistan were 76-6 when Agha was lbw to the fast bowler. Mohammad Rizwan briefly kept England at bay with 41 — the top score of the innings — at better than a run-a-ball before he was bowled by Gus Atkinson to leave Pakistan on the brink of defeat at 131-9. Pakistan’s Mohammad Rizwan is bowled out by England’s Gus Atkinson on day three of the first Test match between England and Pakistan at Headingley cricket ground in Leeds, northern England on August 21, 2026. — AFP The match — Pakistan’s ninth defeat in their last 10 Tests away from home — ended when Mohammad Abbas holed out off Archer. Pakistan must regroup quickly as the second Test at Lord’s starts on Thursday. “We’ll have two days off, then go to Lord’s and sit down and think about what mistakes we made and what we can think about in the next game,” said Agha. “We’ll come back stronger.”