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England Retains Tongue and Duckett for Final Test Against Pakistan

England cricket players celebrating a wicket on field
Cricket

England have resisted any temptation to tinker. With the series already wrapped up, the selectors have gone again with the same 15-man squad for the third and final Rothesay Test against Pakistan at Edgbaston – and that means continued faith in Josh Tongue and Ben Duckett.

The job now is simple: finish the summer with a clean sweep.

England’s emphatic wins at Headingley and Lord’s have already secured the series, but the Edgbaston Test, starting Wednesday 9 September, doubles as the final act of the 2026 home programme. There is nothing dead-rubber about it.

Tongue’s surge

No one has forced their way into the conversation quite like Tongue. The seamer has muscled his way to the front of England’s bowling narrative with 13 wickets at a staggering average of 12.46, his best figures the 5-46 he ripped through in Leeds.

Those numbers are not padding. They tell the story of a bowler hitting his length hard, again and again, as part of an attack that has strangled Pakistan’s batting. Edgbaston, with its swing-friendly reputation and baying Hollies Stand, offers him another stage and another chance to turn a breakthrough summer into something more permanent.

Duckett–Gay opening axis stays

At the top of the order, Duckett’s partnership with Emilio Gay remains intact. England are giving that combination more time in the middle, a sign they see something stable in the left-handed pair.

Duckett’s presence has long been associated with tempo and intent; Gay, still establishing himself, brings a quieter assurance. Together they will front up once more against a Pakistan attack that has so far found little joy in English conditions.

Root’s group unchanged

Joe Root again leads a squad that has already done the heavy lifting in this series and now chases a statement finish:

  • Joe Root (Yorkshire, captain)
  • Jofra Archer (Sussex)
  • Gus Atkinson (Surrey)
  • Sonny Baker (Hampshire)
  • Shoaib Bashir (Derbyshire)
  • Harry Brook (Yorkshire)
  • Sam Cook (Essex)
  • Jordan Cox (Essex)
  • Ben Duckett (Nottinghamshire)
  • Emilio Gay (Durham)
  • Dan Lawrence (Surrey)
  • Ollie Pope (Surrey)
  • Ollie Robinson (Sussex)
  • Jamie Smith (Surrey)

No late bolter. No experimental call-up. England are backing the same group that crushed Pakistan by 194 runs at Lord’s to go again and finish the job.

Two wins banked. One Test left. A whitewash on offer at Edgbaston – and a chance for Tongue, Duckett and the rest to close the home summer with a final, resounding statement.

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