Key events
Ali Martin
There are some chilly white-ball games still to come this month and with it the sight of Kevin Pietersen back in England training kit for the first time in 12 years. KP is down with the kids these days, 6/7 memes and the like, and starts a new life as the “specialist mentor” to Harry Brook’s young thrusters.
But the final Test of the summer that starts at Edgbaston on Wednesday does feel like an end of sorts, or at least one last push before a breather for the side that has undergone the more significant recalibration. And that is before we get on to Pakistan and a tour that has descended into a bonfire of players and a phone-snatching investigation into “discipline and conduct”.
Here’s something I wrote on Pakistan. It’s been a tough watch.
Preamble
Hello, hello, hello and welcome to the last Test of the English summer. It’s been a wild one: beginning with Ben Stokes and Brendon McCullum, ending with Joe Root and Marcus Trescothick. Stephen Fleming’s on the way. There’s been late-night drama, a series defeat to New Zealand, and a comfortable triumph against Pakistan. But the hosts aren’t the story today. No, it’s all Pakistan, with their board’s frankly ridiculous decision to discard seven players and two coaches after the second Test at Lord’s. A remarkable toss awaits as Babar Azam is asked about any changes to his XI. This bizarre dead rubber gets going at 11am BST.
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