BIRMINGHAM, England: England, which has already sealed victory in the series, won the toss and elected to bowl first ahead of the third and final cricket test against a new-look Pakistan team at Edgbaston on Wednesday.
Captain Joe Root, who has been below his best with the bat in the series, announced an unchanged England team.
Pakistan, which caused a major surprise by sending seven players home after the second-test defeat at Lord's, plus the head coach and the bowling coach, made four changes to its side.
Wicketkeeper Ghazi Ghori, bowlers Imran Randhawa and Razaullah Khan will be making their test debuts while opening batter Saim Ayub returns to the team.
Pakistan captain Babar Azam denied it had been a tough period. “It hasn’t been difficult for me." he said. "We’ve got a few changes but it is a good opportunity for the new boys.
“The outside noise is not in our control. We are just trying to prepare for this game and look after ourselves in this group. (New head coach) Mike Hesson has helped a lot. He is experienced and has a lot of knowledge."
England went 2-0 up in the series after beating Pakistan by 194 runs at Lord's.
Lineups:
England: Ben Duckett, Emilio Gay, Jordan Cox, Joe Root (captain), Harry Brook, Dan Lawrence, Jamie Smith, Ollie Robinson, Gus Atkinson, Jofra Archer, Josh Tongue.
Pakistan: Azan Awais, Saim Ayub, Abdullah Shafique, Shan Masood, Babar Azam (captain), Saud Shakeel, Ghazi Ghori, Imran Randhawa, Razaullah Khan, Mohammad Ali, Muhammad Abbas.