That's the spirit, Crispin... get the pessimism in early!

Sir Alastair Cook
Ex-England captain on BBC Test Match Special

England need to win this series. This Pakistan side doesn't have the usual flair.

The England bowlers are warming up gently on the outfield. Not long to go now until play gets under way.

We'll have the national anthems first, of course.

Matthew Henry
BBC Sport journalist at Headingley

Pakistan's left-arm spinner Ali Usman was playing for Blackpool CC in June.

England captain Joe Root after winning the toss: "We're going to bowl first. There's some good overheads to work with throughout the day, a bit of top moisture, hopefully the lads can exploit that.

"Nerves are always there, it's time to finish if they no longer linger. There's a huge amount of excitement. We get to bowl first, these talented bowlers get a chance to show everyone what they are capable of, it's nice for the group."

On what to expect: "Continuation of certain areas, hopefully over a period of time, an evolution of it. There were wonderful things from Brendon [McCullum] and Ben [Stokes], they got the best out of players and changed the way we play cricket in this country.

"It was some of the best cricket I've ever played in, it changed my outlook on the game. It's about evolving it and understanding the certain ebbs and flows of the game, what each situation requires and to see our skill to come through when it matters."

On coming off The Hundred: "It's not perfect, something we can't control. One thing I will say, the guys who've come out of the tournament, especially those who played in the final, all had brilliant tournaments.

"Regardless of format, if you're playing well and producing good scores, that's a great way to come in. Excited to go again and get back into Test cricket.

"We have a top seven and the four seamers, Jofra [Archer], Gus [Atkinson], Josh Tongue and Ollie Robinson."

England: Ben Duckett, Emilio Gay, Jordan Cox, Joe Root (c), Harry Brook, Dan Lawrence, Jamie Smith (wk), Ollie Robinson, Gus Atkinson, Jofra Archer, Josh Tongue.

Pakistan: Azan Awais, Imam-ul-Haq, Shan Masood, Abdullah Shafiq, Saud Shakeel, Muhammad Rizwan (wk), Salman Ali Agha (c), Ali Usman, Khurram Shahzad, Mohammad Ali, Muhammad Abbas.

Pakistan stand-in captain Salman Agha: "It was last minute I find out I'm captaining. Babar's absence is unfortunate.

"We've been playing a lot of red-ball cricket. We're well prepared.

"Whenever you to go into any series it's an opportunity to win. We want to win a series. Today is the first day - we just have to have a good day.

"We wanted to bat first.

"We have seven proper batters, three seamers, and one spinner. I can turn my arm oven if needed."

Joe Root also confirms that it's an all-seam attack for the home side.

That means we've got Jofra Archer, Gus Atkinson, Josh Tongue and Ollie Robinson hoping to make the most of conditions this morning.

Who will take the new ball? Archer and Robinson would be my guess but then Atkinson has done well in that role as well in recent times.

Good start for Joe Root, back in the blazer as permanent skipper for the first time in more than four years, as he wins the toss.

Salman Agha calls heads, the coin comes down tails and Root says England will bowl first.

Overheads and a bit of moisture in the surface are cited as the reasons why.

Matthew Henry
BBC Sport journalist at Headingley

Hello, hello. Is this snoozy start just in my head or part of the calmer, post-Bazball world? The crowd is drifting and players are wandering.

Jofra Archer, Gus Atkinson, Ollie Robinson have marked out their runs.

We've just had a bit of early confusion after Babar Azam, who we were told wasn't playing, emerged in his whites and blazer. Turns out he was just doing the pre-series photo shoot rather than the toss.

One change from the Bazball era comes in the fact that England have not named their XI several days in advance.

They will make Pakistan - and the rest of us - wait until the toss to learn who they'll be facing.

However, we do know that Jordan Cox is set to bat at number three with Jacob Bethell out injured, while Dan Lawrence returns two years on from his last Test appearance and will bat at six.

Given the summer we're having there should be no issues with the weather... oh, of course. Test cricket is back and so is the possibility of rain.

The forecast for Headingley isn't brilliant today but it's dry at the moment so fingers crossed it stays that way.

Fittingly, Headingley hosts Joe Root's first game back as skipper.

Pakistan are the opponents for this three-match series. They've also got a new, old Test captain after Babar Azam was re-appointed to the role in July.

However, the 31-year-old will not be involved in Leeds this week after taking a nasty blow to the hand in Pakistan's warm-up match at Beckenham last week.

Salman Agha will lead the tourists' in Babar's absence.

Image source, Getty Images

A new era begins.

Well, sort of...

The Bazball era is over with Brendon McCullum relieved of his red-ball duties and Ben Stokes calling time on his international career.

But it's not quite out with the old and in with the new as Joe Root returns for his second stint as Test captain, while Stephen Fleming is the latest former New Zealand skipper to take on the Test coaching role.

Fleming may have been appointed but he doesn't officially start until the South Africa series this winter, leaving Marcus Trescothick to step up in the interim.

So, there you go, you're all caught up - time for some actual cricket.