England play Pakistan at Leeds from 19 August, at the English ground least likely to produce a stalemate in our entire data. Seventeen Tests there, sixteen results, and the lowest first innings average of any major English venue we hold.
England and Pakistan begin a three Test series at Headingley from 19 to 23 August, followed by Lord's from 27 to 31 August and Edgbaston from 9 to 13 September. Babar Azam captains Pakistan, whose squad includes four uncapped players.
Of the English grounds in our data, they are starting at the one where matches finish.
Headingley barely draws
Our records hold 17 Tests at Headingley between 2006 and 2025. One was drawn. England won 10 and lost 6.
For comparison, Lord's, in the same period, has held 41 Tests and produced 11 draws. Same country, same weather, wildly different outcome rate.
Why: the first innings is smaller there
The average first innings at Headingley in our data is 289, the lowest of the major English venues we hold. Edgbaston averages 310, Lord's 337, Old Trafford 353.
More than sixty runs of difference between Headingley and Old Trafford in the first innings is a lot. It is roughly a session, and it is a session that never has to be recovered later. Matches that start smaller finish sooner.
And the fourth innings is bigger there
This is the part that makes Headingley genuinely unusual, and it is why the ground has produced some of the most watchable Test cricket of the last twenty years.
Twelve of the 17 Headingley Tests in our data reached a fourth innings. Those fourth innings averaged 234 runs, and the largest was 373.
At Lord's, 34 matches reached a fourth innings, averaging 181. At Edgbaston, 189.
So Leeds gives you a modest first innings and a fourth innings in which large scores remain possible. That combination is exactly the recipe for a chase, which is exactly what Headingley keeps producing.
England and Pakistan, head to head
Our data holds 31 Tests between them, from 2005 to 2024: England 14, Pakistan 12, five drawn. That is about as level as a two decade head to head gets.
Narrow it to matches played in England and it separates: 17 Tests, of which Pakistan won 4.
Pakistan touring England is a different proposition from Pakistan playing England anywhere. The away record is the one under examination this month.
What to watch
Two things, on our numbers.
First, whether the toss matters less than the first hour. Headingley's low first innings average is partly a bowling ground and partly a place where sides get rolled early. In a series where Pakistan have picked uncapped seam and spin options, the first hour of the series may set the tone for it.
Second, the fourth innings. If this match follows the Headingley pattern, it will still be alive on the fourth afternoon with somebody chasing something. That is the ground's habit, and it is a habit our data can put a number on.
Coverage note
Our Test records begin in 2005, so "17 Tests at Headingley" means 17 in that window and not in the ground's full history. Venue figures throughout are computed from our own ball-by-ball data.
Schedule, captaincy and squad details verified on 31 July 2026 against the board's squad announcement of 23 July 2026. All statistical figures computed by CricNerd from our own Test records.