Pakistan vs England Tests 2020: England Win 1-0 in COVID Bio-Bubble (No Spectators) — Anderson 600 Wickets (First Pace Bowler), Crawley 267 and Buttler 152 Break England 5th-Wicket Record (359), Masood 156, Woakes 84* Saves 1st Test
England won the three-match Test series against Pakistan in August 2020 by 1-0 (2 draws) — played in COVID bio-secure bubbles at Old Trafford and the Rose Bowl with no spectators. Jos Buttler and Mohammad Rizwan jointly won the Player of the Series award. 1st Test Old Trafford (Aug 5-9): England won 3 wickets — PAK 326 & 169; ENG 219 & 277/7. Masood 156 (first PAK opener century in England since Anwar 1996). Woakes 84*+Buttler 75 rescued from 117/5. PoM Woakes. 2nd Test Rose Bowl Southampton (Aug 13-17): Draw — PoM Rizwan 72. 3rd Test Rose Bowl Southampton (Aug 21-25): Draw — ENG 583/8d. Crawley 267 + Buttler 152 (No. 7) — 359-run 5th-wicket stand (England record, broke 47-year-old Greig-Fletcher 254). Anderson 5/56; on final day Anderson took Azhar Ali's wicket to become the first pace bowler and first Englishman to take 600 Test wickets. Azhar Ali 141*. First use of front-foot no-ball technology in Test cricket.
England won the three-match Test series against Pakistan in August 2020 by 1-0 (2 draws) — all three Tests played in COVID-19 bio-secure bubbles at Old Trafford and the Rose Bowl, Southampton, with no spectators permitted. Jos Buttler and Mohammad Rizwan jointly won the Player of the Series award. Stuart Broad was England's leading wicket-taker with 13 wickets; James Anderson took 11. The series also marked the first use of front-foot no-ball technology in Test cricket. 1st Test Old Trafford (Aug 5-9): England won by 3 wickets — PAK 326 & 169; ENG 219 & 277/7. Shan Masood scored 156 off 319 balls — the first Pakistan opener to score a Test century in England since Saeed Anwar in 1996. Yasir Shah took 8 match wickets (4/66+4/99). England were 117/5 chasing 277 before Chris Woakes (84*) and Jos Buttler (75) put on a match-winning partnership; England won with 3 wickets in hand. Player of the Match: Woakes. 2nd Test Rose Bowl, Southampton (Aug 13-17): Match drawn — PAK 236; ENG 110/4d. Severely affected by bad weather. Mohammad Rizwan scored 72 in a limited game. Player of the Match: Rizwan. 3rd Test Rose Bowl, Southampton (Aug 21-25): Match drawn — ENG 583/8d; PAK 273 & 187/4. Zak Crawley scored 267 off 393 balls (34 fours, 1 six) and Buttler scored 152 batting at No. 7 — their 5th-wicket partnership of 359 was a new England record, surpassing the 254 set by Tony Greig and Keith Fletcher against India in 1973. Azhar Ali scored 141* in Pakistan's 1st innings. Pakistan followed on and batted to 187/4 to save the draw. Anderson took 5/56 in Pakistan's 1st innings. On the final day of the match, Anderson dismissed Azhar Ali (caught Joe Root at slip) to become the first pace bowler and first Englishman in history to take 600 Test wickets — the fourth player overall to reach the mark after Muralitharan (800), Warne (708), and Kumble (619).
Anderson's 600th Wicket: First Pace Bowler in History to the Milestone
James Anderson's 600th Test wicket — Azhar Ali caught by Joe Root at slip off an outswinger on the final day of the 3rd Test at the Rose Bowl — was Test cricket's most celebrated fast-bowling milestone in years. Anderson became the first pace bowler in the 143-year history of Test cricket to take 600 wickets, and the first Englishman of any kind (surpassing Derek Underwood's 297 among England left-armers and all previous English wicket-takers). The 600 wickets placed him fourth on the all-time list behind the three spinners who preceded him — Muralitharan (800), Warne (708), and Kumble (619). Anderson's achievement was built on decades of consistent reverse swing and outswing, and a capacity for reinvention across conditions and surfaces. In the same match, Crawley and Buttler's 359-run 5th-wicket partnership had made England's 583/8d — the backdrop against which Anderson's final-day 5/56 and series-defining wicket arrived.
Crawley 267 and Buttler 152: England's New 5th-Wicket Record at Southampton
Zak Crawley's 267 at the Rose Bowl — his maiden Test century, immediately converted into one of England's highest individual scores — was a nine-hour innings that established the 23-year-old opener as a Test batsman capable of sustained concentration and high scoring. His partnership of 359 for the 5th wicket with Jos Buttler (152, batting at No. 7) broke an England record that had stood for 47 years: the 254 set by Tony Greig and Keith Fletcher against India in 1973. Buttler, dismissed by Fawad Alam (the Pakistani batsman's maiden Test wicket), made his 152 from No. 7 in a clear statement of England's batting depth. Pakistan were dismissed for 273 following on (Anderson 5/56 reducing them after Azhar Ali's patient 141*), but secured the draw with 187/4 in the 2nd innings. Shan Masood's 156 in the 1st Test at Old Trafford remained the series' most resilient individual batting performance from Pakistan — a near-eight-hour innings in seaming conditions rated one of the best Pakistan innings of 2020.
Frequently asked questions
Who won the Pakistan vs England Test series in 2020?
England won 1-0 (2 draws). England won Test 1 at Old Trafford by 3 wickets (Woakes 84*; Masood 156 for Pakistan). Tests 2 and 3 at Southampton were drawn. Anderson reached 600 Test wickets in Test 3. Crawley 267 and Buttler 152 set an England 5th-wicket record of 359. Jos Buttler and Mohammad Rizwan jointly won Player of the Series.
When did James Anderson take his 600th Test wicket?
Anderson took his 600th Test wicket on the final day of the 3rd Test at Southampton (August 2020) — Azhar Ali, caught by Root at slip. He became the first pace bowler and first Englishman to take 600 Test wickets — fourth overall after Muralitharan (800), Warne (708), and Kumble (619).