Live - England v Pakistan

Live video scorecard - England v Pakistan (UK users only - although TMS commentary is available worldwide)

LIVE TEXT COMMENTARY (all times BST)

To get involved, e-mail tms@bbc.co.uk (with 'For Pranav Soneji' in the subject), use 606 or text us your views on 81111 (UK) or +44 7786200666 (worldwide) with "CRICKET" as the first word. (Not all comments can be used. Messages will be charged at your standard operator rate)

By Pranav Soneji

Play is due to start at 1100 BST (TMS coverage begins at 1045)

From Brian, Liverpool, TMS inbox: "Marvellous! I've missed this - just got time to settle back in the jacuzzi with a couple of beers and wait for the infantile banter to commence. I only hope the cricket doesn't get in the way..."

1048: Bad man Bad Mick, although it hasn't exactly been a bed of begonias for the Essex left-hander, who has scored 100 runs in seven Test innings this summer. However, Cookie (or is it Cooky?) and Straussy are just 67 runs shy of become England's most prolific opening partnership in Test history. "I'm delighted the selectors have kept faith with me for this Test and I aim to repay them with runs," said Cook in his column for Metro this morning. And TMS is back on the radio too. Ah yes, and should England take a 3-0 lead in this four-Test series, then they usurp Australia in the ICC world rankings. Whose smile just got about two inches wider?

From Bad Mick, Cambridge, TMS inbox: "Just done the office sweepstake to see how many runs Cook will score. I got 51-70 runs. Drat and double drat."

1037: So England, rampant after six successive Test victories, will once again look to smash a huge total on probably the best batting pitch in the country for their triumvirate of seamers to knock off the brittle Pakistan top order in record time. The tourists have made a host of changes, with former captain Shoaib Malik and Umar Amin making way for opener Yasir Hameed and the recently-returned-from-exile Mohammad Yousuf, while Umar Gul's hamstring injury means a debut for left-arm seamer Wahab Riaz. And wicketkeeper Zulqarnain Haider, whose belligerent knock at Edgbaston frustrated England for the first time in this series, is out with a fractured finger so the much-maligned Kamran Akmal and his ear-piercing shrieks return behind the stumps.

1035: Toss time - and England have won the toss and elected to bat first. "Usually a good wicket to bat on," says captain Andrew Strauss of The Oval wicket. Weather update - after waking up to glorious sunshine this morning, Pakistan captain Salman Butt sees the clouds converge in rapid time, which means there could be a bit of wobble for his seamers.

1030: Ahhhh, Homes under the Hammer - is there any better viewing on a Wednesday morning? A Test match you say? At The Oval? But it's Wednesday...

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