England thrash Pakistan by an innings and 103 runs in first Test

Joe Root’s return as England captain results in a thumping win inside three days against Pakistan in first Test.England crushed ‌Pakistan by an innings and 103 runs to win a one-sided first Test at Headingley and ⁠launch Joe Root’s second ⁠spell as permanent captain in style.The convulsions which accompanied the series defeat by New Zealand eight weeks ago, with Ben Stokes stepping down and coach Brendon McCullum being relieved of ⁠his red-ball duties, were emphatically put behind them by England.Recommended Stories list of 4 itemslist 1 of 4Top 10 players to watch in the 2026-27 European football seasonlist 2 of 4Northern Italy seeks to keep the pressure on the south as Serie A returnslist 3 of 4La Liga: The key talking points for Real Madrid before the 2026-27 seasonlist 4 of 4La Liga: Five key talking points heading into Barcelona’s 2026-27 seasonend of listA dominant display against a hugely disappointing Pakistan side saw the game wrapped up before tea on Friday on the third day, despite the loss of more than ⁠half a day’s play to rain.After England added 43 runs to their overnight score to reach 409 and gain a first innings lead of 238, their pace attack routed the tourists. Mohammad Rizwan top scored with 41 as Pakistan were bowled out for 135 in 37.3 overs.England’s Josh Tongue, who was playing in The Hundred season’s final ‌three days before the start of the test match, finished with 3-43 and Ollie Robinson 3-29. Their match figures of 8-89 and 8-80 respectively were test-career bests.For the second time in the match, Pakistan lost their first wicket without a run on the board as Imam-ul-Haq gloved Jofra Archer to wicketkeeper Jamie Smith in the second over and it was something of a procession thereafter.In Archer’s second over, Azan Awais was caught at leg slip by Root, who had just moved himself there in a prescient ⁠piece of captaincy. It was Root’s 219th test catch, taking him back ahead ⁠of Australia’s Steve Smith atop the all-time non-wicketkeeper list.