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.

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. 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.

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. While it's good to hear Archer 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.

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.