England vs Pakistan: Joe Root's best side in question ahead of South Africa tour and 2027 Ashes series

An eventful two months in English cricket has seen a the appointment of a new Test captain and head coach in Joe Root and Stephen Fleming amid a plethora of off-field issues that included multiple incidents involving alcohol and the retirement of previous captain Ben Stokes.

England's comprehensive series victory may have restored faith in a team who had previously lost seven of their last 10 Tests, but multiple questions relating to team personnel and leadership remain unanswered.

Here, the Sky Sports pundits assess the key dilemmas facing Root and Fleming...

Cox, Lawrence, Gay, Smith - who stays and who goes?

One of the most pressing issues facing England's selectors is that of the last remaining spot in an otherwise entrenched batting line-up.

Opener Emilio Gay, all-rounder Dan Lawrence, and wicketkeepers Jordan Cox and Jamie Smith have all featured in at least three of the summer's six Tests, but one of those four will have to drop out to facilitate the return of highly-rated Jacob Bethell, who has primarily featured as a No 3 for England.

Bethell has been tipped to open the batting in place of Gay - who has struggled after notching three half-centuries in six Tests this summer - while Cox has impressed both with the bat and in two days with the gloves after he replaced the injured Smith, notching a half-century in each of the three Tests against Pakistan.

"I would probably bring Bethell straight back in at three," Nasser Hussain said on the Sky Sports Cricket podcast. "You can't produce that hundred at Sydney the way he did and not have a Test match future.

"It's then Cox who looks vulnerable, or Gay - but I'm old school and think that opener is a specialist position.

"The two areas of English cricket we're looking for, a front-line spinner and opener.

"Gay has made a decent start, he looks like he could have a future but we're not certain. I would stick with him.

"The other option is you give Cox the gloves and axe Jamie Smith, but I also wouldn't do that. He's also done well with the gloves and got some runs."

England seamer Stuart Broad heaped on the praise for Jordan Cox after his composed 59no led England to victory in the third Test against Pakistan, adding: "I think Cox has done enough in this series to deserve a spot in the team.

"He's been composed, assured, calm, provided a match-winning innings today in a situation that was very difficult as a No 3 with England losing two wickets in the first over.

"That's the selector's biggest question - how do you get Cox in the team when Bethell is back.

"Huge credit to Cox for putting the selectors in that position - what I like about him is that he's got confidence in his own ability.

"One thing about this England team we've seen all summer is they lack a bit of leadership out on the field.

"I think Cox adds that. And I think he adds to the group and the leadership out there. I would have him in my XI come Pretoria in December."

The other area in discussion is that of England's bowling attack.

The four-pronged seam attack of Jofra Archer, Ollie Robinson, Gus Atkinson and Josh Tongue tore Pakistan's batting line-up to shreds for much of the series, restricting them to a score of under 200 in all of their first five innings and earning comparisons to the storied 2005 Ashes attack that interim head coach Marcus Trescothick called "fair" after the second Test.

Pakistan, though, were able to rebound on a flat Edgbaston pitch in their sixth innings, posting a score of 449 after a toiling day three performance that raised questions over whether England's bowlers were simply made to look good by favourable conditions.

Robinson in particular - who took a staggering 21 wickets at an average of 8.76 across the series - was questioned by Hussain, who identified his low speeds as a potential issue on more batter-friendly wickets.

"As we saw late yesterday - on England's one bad day - Robinson regressed to the mean, like the rest of the attack. His speeds were down and he was easier to play.

"He is what he is: he's a highly-skilled bowler, but if you keep him out there long enough, 78 mph becomes 74 mph - and that's a lot easier to face, even if it is nipping around a lot.

"You cannot argue though with his stats this summer. He's been absolutely fantastic with new-ball wickets up front. He sets the tone and wobbles it around - he's very difficult to play.

"Fleming, Root and whoever now just need to keep someone on his shoulder between now and South Africa, to make sure he rocks up fit for that first Test match."

Broad: We haven't learned a huge amount about Robinson

Broad, while complimentary of Robinson's success, feels the England seamer still has a lot to prove going into series against South Africa and Australia which will undoubtedly provide different challenges.

"Robinson looked relatively ineffective yesterday when it got a bit a bit flatter," Broad said on Sky Sports.

"Joe Root didn't trust him with the second new ball for more than two overs. But if he gets conditions where it nips around against this quality of batting unit, he's going to be highly effective.

"So I don't think we've learned a huge amount about Ollie Robinson. He's very good when conditions suit, but I expect the pitches to be different next summer.

"What I don't want to see is this trend of the keeper standing up to the stumps and the 75mph bowlers lobbing it up on a length continuing.

"At that level, you can have 25, 30 bowlers from county cricket that can do that job. On a normal Test match pitch, only five or six players can do that.

"Robinson has been given the ball in a summer that suited him, but there is no doubt that he delivered in an absolutely top-class way."

First Test (Headingley) - England won by innings and 103 runs

Second Test (Lord's) - England won by 194 runs

Third Test (Edgbaston) - England won by eight wickets

Watch every England match during the international summer live on Sky Sports, including the white-ball series' against Sri Lanka, starting with the first T20I on Tuesday. Not got Sky? Latest Sky Sports deals or stream contract-free with NOW .