Pakistan won the toss and chose to bat first against England in the first test at Old Trafford on Wednesday.
England picked the same side which won the third test and series against the West Indies by 269 runs last week at Old Trafford.
That means allrounder Ben Stokes was not fully recovered from a quadricep injury and was picked again as a specialist batsman. Four seamers are playing.
Pakistan's captain Azhar Ali, left, shakes hands with England's captain Joe Root after winning the toss on the first day of the first cricket Test match between England and Pakistan at Old Trafford in Manchester, England, Wednesday, Aug. 5, 2020. (Dan MullanPool via AP)
"Ben is not quite 100% fit and it's too big a risk, but his runs have been invaluable,” captain Joe Root said at the toss.
For Pakistan's first test since February, it has gone with three seamers and two legspinners in Yasir Shah and allrounder Shadab Khan.
“If you come to England you want to bowl fuller and make the batsmen play,” captain Azhar Ali said. "We have bowlers who can hit the seam.”
Members of Pakistan team stand in a huddle ahead of the first day of the first cricket Test match between England and Pakistan at Old Trafford in Manchester, England, Wednesday, Aug. 5, 2020. (Dan MullanPool via AP)
Pakistan has drawn its last two series in England in 2016 and 2018. It seeks a first series win in England since 1996.
The second and third tests are in Southampton.
Lineups:
England: Dom Sibley, Rory Burns, Joe Root (captain), Ben Stokes, Ollie Pope, Jos Buttler, Chris Woakes, Dom Bess, Stuart Broad, Jofra Archer, James Anderson.
Pakistan: Shan Masood, Abid Ali, Azhar Ali (captain), Babar Azam, Asad Shafiq, Shadab Khan, Mohammad Rizwan, Yasir Shah, Shaheen Afridi, Mohammad Abbas, Naseem Shah.
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