England set to play 500th home Test
England set to play 500th home Test
As England are set to hosts Pakistan for 3rd Test at Edgbaston in Birmingham on Wednesday, the hosts will achieve new record as they will be playing their 500th home Test. This was the same venue England defeated Australia by 2 runs in 2005 and this was the place they were elevated in Test rankings in 2011. This was also memorable venue for the hosts as they took 2-1 lead in Ashes series last year to which the success belonged to James Anderson and Steven Finn. England have won 25 time in 48 Tests. England played their first home Test against Australia in 1880, that actually did not take place due to riots at Sydney in 1879 when crowd of New South Welshmen, who were angry over the dismissal of local star batsman Billy Murdoch in a match against Lord Harris’s England side. FULL CRICKET SCORECARD: Pakistan vs England 2016, 3rd Test at Edgbaston
A closer look at the table below, it is pretty evident England are the first to achieve this feat while Australia are the next ones in contention. England have won 206 at home while lost 115. In hindsight, Australia have played 404 Tests at home and have 430 matches, which is why they lead the Test rankings. Meanwhile, India have long way to go in this race and have reached the half level mark with 248 Tests at home. ALSO READ: PAK mulls changes in playing XI for 3rd Test at Edgbaston
| T | Y | M | W | L | T | D | I | HS | LS |
| England | 1880-2016 | 499 | 206 | 115 | 0 | 178 | 868 | 903 | 52 |
| Australia | 1877-2016 | 404 | 230 | 95 | 1 | 78 | 739 | 735 | 42 |
| India | 1933-2015 | 248 | 87 | 51 | 1 | 109 | 431 | 726 | 75 |
| West Indies | 1930-2016 | 235 | 84 | 58 | 0 | 92 | 425 | 790 | 47 |
| South Africa | 1889-2016 | 215 | 92 | 68 | 0 | 55 | 387 | 658 | 30 |
| New Zealand | 1930-2016 | 197 | 51 | 63 | 0 | 83 | 362 | 680 | 26 |
| Pakistan | 1955-2009 | 151 | 56 | 22 | 0 | 73 | 258 | 765 | 77 |
| Sri Lanka | 1982-2016 | 126 | 54 | 31 | 0 | 41 | 220 | 952 | 71 |
| Zimbabwe | 1992-2016 | 53 | 9 | 28 | 0 | 16 | 99 | 563 | 59 |
| Bangladesh | 2000-2015 | 51 | 4 | 35 | 0 | 12 | 99 | 556 | 87 |
England have already made replacements for injured Ben Stokes and called in Steven Finn back for the Edgbaston Test. All-rounder Stokes was ruled out after damaging his calf in England’s 330-run win in 2nd Test at Old Trafford that leveled the series at 1-1. With rain causing hurdle, skipper Alastair Cook has gone ahead with four seamers including Moeen Ali while Gary Ballance finds his way back in the squad.