Sawt Falasteen - Pakistan bowl against England in rain-delayed second Test

Azam was absent as Pakistan suffered an innings and 103-run thrashing in last week's series opener at Headingley after aggravating a finger injury.

"We will bowl first because of the conditions," the 31-year-old batsman said. "The pitch has grass on it...

"Now, I am 100 percent (fit). That's why I am here. Good to go. Always an honour for us to play at Lord's, especially for me as a captain."

Azam was the only change to the Pakistan side, returning in place of stand-in skipper Salman Ali Agha.

England captain Joe Root, fresh from a convincing win in the first match of his second spell as full-time skipper, said: "We would've bowled first too, but saying that it looks a very different pitch to the last time we played here."

England, 1-0 up in a three-match contest, were unchanged following just their third win in 11 Tests.

"The all-round nature was most pleasing (at Headingley), the way we were so calm and the ability we had to recognise those moments," said Root.

"It wasn't absolutely perfect but it was a great blueprint and more of the same this week would be outstanding."

Victory at Lord's would give England their first Test series win since beating New Zealand in 2024.

England are dealing with the latest of several off-field incidents that have plagued the team in recent months.

Derbyshire Police said late Wednesday they were looking into "allegations of assault", after an incident that saw England fast bowler Brydon Carse handcuffed outside a nightclub over the weekend and subsequently dropped from the squad.

Teams

England: Ben Duckett, Emilio Gay, Jordan Cox, Joe Root (capt), Harry Brook, Dan Lawrence, Jamie Smith (wkt), Gus Atkinson, Ollie Robinson, Jofra Archer, Josh Tongue

Pakistan: Azan Awais, Imam-ul-Haq, Shan Masood, Abdullah Shafique, Babar Azam (capt), Saud Shakeel, Mohammad Rizwan (wkt), Ali Usman, Khurram Shahzad, Mohammad Ali, Mohammad Abbas

Umpires: Allahuddien Paleker (RSA), Paul Reiffel (AUS)

TV umpire: Chris Gaffaney (NZL)

Match referee: Ranjan Madugalle (SRI)

D.Qudsi--SF-PST