As a Test summer during which English cricket appeared to be in crisis nears its end, Joe Root's side go into their final fixture against Pakistan with the only major talking point being whether the bowling attack will be rotated. Barring the discovery of any more England off-field issues before the start of the third Test at Edgbaston on Wednesday, it's Pakistan making all the noise after sacking their head coach and replacing seven members of their touring squad following defeats at Headingley and Lord's. Brydon Carse remains absent from England's 15-player group at Edgbaston after the fast bowler was briefly arrested following an incident outside a Derby nightclub in August.
Fellow quick Matthew Fisher has been dropped, but the rest of the group were all part of the squad at Lord's last time out. With a series victory sealed, England could choose to give some of their cross-format players a rest ahead of upcoming white-ball contests with Sri Lanka. If the third Test were to go all five days, the first of three T20 internationals would start just two days later, before three 50-over matches follow later in September.
Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player Perhaps the biggest positive to come out of the series so far has been the performance of England's new-look pace attack, made up of Jofra Archer, Gus Atkinson, Ollie Robinson and Josh Tongue. Three of the four are also part of both England's T20 and ODI squads to face Sri Lanka, with only Robinson not currently part of the white-ball setup. Ahead of England revealing their final Test XI of the summer, Sky Sports assess whether the incumbents should be rested, and the merits of those who could replace them.
Jofra Archer - England's star bowler has had a very encouraging summer fitness wise, performing at a consistently high level in the four out of five Tests he's played in. Given Archer only returned to Test cricket last summer after more than four years out of the longest form of the game, England would be wise to take every opportunity to maintain the 31-year-old's freshness. Speaking to the media on Monday, Archer said: "My body is in a good place, the team is in a good place, and everyone is in a good place.
I just want to play cricket." While it's good to hear him say such things, there is no doubt that a fit Archer walks straight into any England XI, so the focus should be on ensuring that's the condition he remains in ahead of next summer's home Ashes. Gus Atkinson - The Surrey quick has also played four out of five Tests so far this summer, with his only absence coming when he was made unavailable for selection for the second Test against New Zealand after being involved in an incident at a nightclub, alongside former skipper Ben Stokes. Atkinson hasn't bowled badly by any means against Pakistan, but has had little reward, claiming just one of the 38 Pakistan wickets that have fallen across the two games.
With that in mind, there is a strong argument that of the three quicks also playing white-ball cricket, Atkinson should be given another opportunity to fill his boots against a fragile Pakistan batting line-up before returning to Test action against South Africa in December. Josh Tongue - The Nottinghamshire quick is the only member of England's bowling attack to have played all five Tests this summer. Those performances, along with strong showings before that against Australia and India have made him undroppable for incoming head coach Stephen Fleming.
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