England and India are gearing up for a high-profile five-match Test series, starting June 20 at Headingley in Leeds. The series marks England and India’s journey in the ICC World Test Championship 2025/27 cycle. In the previous edition, India finished third in the standings, with England taking fifth place. Both sides have yet to win the WTC title across its three editions so far.
India are starting a new era under newly appointed skipper Shubman Gill. Team India will hope to begin its transition well with Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma already having retired last month. For England, Ben Stokes & Co. will hope to bring the Bazball effect to fruition. Both teams will aim for a strong start to the series.
The two teams have met 136 times in Tests. England have won 51 games to India’s 36. Another 50 matches have been drawn. In 67 matches on English soil, England have claimed 36 wins with India claiming 9 victories. 22 games have been drawn. As per ESPNcricinfo, the two teams have met 7 times at Headingley in Leeds. England have won 4 games to India’s two. One Test has been drawn.
On June 5, England announced a 14-member squad for the first Test against India at Headingley, Leeds.
England squad for 1st Test
Ben Stokes (captain), Shoaib Bashir, Jacob Bethell, Harry Brook, Brydon Carse, Sam Cook, Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Jamie Overton, Ollie Pope, Joe Root, Jamie Smith (wk), Josh Tongue, Chris Woakes.
Meanwhile, India added Harshit Rana late on in the squad as a backup pacer. India have a 19-member squad at their disposal.
India squad for England series
Shubman Gill (captain), Rishabh Pant (wk), Yashasvi Jaiswal, KL Rahul, Sai Sudharsan, Abhimanyu Easwaran, Karun Nair, Nitish Reddy, Ravindra Jadeja, Dhruv Jurel (wk), Washington Sundar, Shardul Thakur, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammad Siraj, Prasidh Krishna, Akash Deep, Arshdeep Singh, Kuldeep Yadav, Harshit Rana.
England have quite the edge over India as the two teams head into the first Test. Given the hold of England over India at home, the visitors need to come up with the necessary goods in order to provide a fight.
Here are the key details of the stadium and pitch report.
Headingley, Leeds Cricket Stadium’s Location & Key Details of the Stadium
As mentioned, the Headingley Stadium, also known as Leeds Cricket Stadium, is located in Leeds, England. Established in 1890, the stadium can host around 17000 spectators. Notably, there is no pavilion at Headingley, so players have to make do with a modern dressing room in the stands. Yorkshire Cricket Club use the Headingley Stadium as their home venue.
What is the Pitch Like at Headingley, Leeds Cricket Stadium?
As far as the surface is concerned, traditionally, the wicket here is variable. When there is cloud cover, it will aid seam bowling.
Ahead of the first Test, the pitch curator of Headingley, Richard Robinson, told RevSportz that the match’s pitch will not be a ‘green-top’. One can expect a surface that will help both the batters and bowlers. He also stated that a 300-run score for the team batting first can be a good total. Meanwhile, batting here will get better as the game progresses.
With England getting a dry summer this year, a lot of water has been injected into the surface so that one gets a 5-day Test match and not a 3-day Test match.
The captain who wins the toss could choose to field first, as the pitch will only improve and flatten out, helping batsmen.
Key Stats & Records at Headingley, Leeds Cricket Stadium
Australia hold the highest team total here at this venue, posting 653/4d versus England in July 1993. India hold the 2nd-highest total of 628/8d in August 2022. On the other hand, England’s best score here is 570/7d versus the West Indies in May 2007.
In terms of the lowest team totals, West Indies’ score of 60 in August 2000 holds the record. India’s lowest score here is 78 vs England in 2021. Meanwhile, England own the joint-second-lowest total of 67 versus Australia in 2019.
As per ESPNcricinfo, the average run rate for teams batting first at Headingley is 2.87 from 81 games. Teams batting first here have won 29 times and lost 34. 18 games have been drawn.
Meanwhile, the average run rate for teams batting 2nd here is 2.84.
Among active cricketers, Joe Root owns 682 runs here at 42.62 with the help of 2 tons and four fifties. In terms of bowling, Chris Woakes has claimed the most wickets (14 at 30.07) from 4 games.
England captain Stokes has fared well here, scoring over 450 runs and taking 8 wickets.
Pace bowlers have enjoyed more success here, with the top 7 bowlers all being pacers in terms of wickets. Thereafter, 3 spin bowlers complete the list of top 10 wicket-takers.
ENG vs IND: Weather Forecast – Will Rain Play a Role?
According to the BBC, the weather in Leeds is expected to be bright and sunny for the first three days of the Test, with the maximum temperature rising to as high as 29 degrees Celsius. Meanwhile, the maximum temperature will drop to 23 degrees for the last two days of the Test, with slight rain forecast as well. However, one can expect not much hindrance in terms of weather.
ENG vs IND: Pitch Advantage for Which Side?
England will start the contest with an edge over India. However, both sides can potentially hurt each other with quality batters and potent pacers in the mix. Whichever side comes out scoring the most runs across their two innings will hold the edge.
England have won each of their last 5 Test matches here at this venue. Two of these wins in this run have come against Australia. Meanwhile, England beat India here in 2021, winning by an innings and 55 runs.FAQs – Pitch Report for Galle International Stadium
What is the pitch report for Headingley, Leeds Cricket Stadium for today’s match?
Pitch is expected to aid batters as the game progresses. However, there will be something for the bowlers in it as well.
Who has the better record between England and India at Headingley, Leeds Cricket Stadium?
England and India have met 7 times here at this venue. England have won 4 games to India’s 2. One game has ended in a tie.