England won the toss and chose to bat first in the opening npower Test at Trent Bridge, with Paul Collingwood and Stuart Broad returning for their first Test of the summer.

Andrew Strauss’ decision, under overcast skies, immediately sets up the majorly-anticipated clash of the series, between England’s largely settled batting line-up, and Pakistan’s array of impressive fast bowlers.

Collingwood and Broad sat out England's two home Tests against Bangladesh, but they are straight swaps for the injured Ian Bell and Ajmal Shahzad here.

As expected, Tim Bresnan was left out of the XI, having only been added to the 12-man squad yesterday in the light of Shahzad’s ankle problem.

There are no changes to the Pakistan side that beat Australia at Headingley Carnegie in last week’s MCC Spirit of Cricket Test.