Left-arm pace from both ends as Mohammad Amir bowls the second over.

Jos Buttler comes very close to chopping on and Phil Salt then plays and misses to get the crowd excited.

A mistimed pull from Salt finds a gap next ball and good running brings England three.

Ravi Bopara
Former England all-rounder on BBC Test Match Special

Shaheen Afridi bowling to Jos Buttler is a real box-office match-up. But there's not quite the amount of swing that Shaheen might have been hoping for.

Phil Salt gets England off the mark with a single chipped leg-side before Jos Buttler pushes smartly through the covers for two.

The England skipper then manages to dig out a yorker from Shaheen Afridi for another single.

Salt then smokes the last ball over cover for four!

Aatif Nawaz
Commentator on BBC Test Match Special

It's a stunning atmosphere. Almost a packed house, and plenty of good support for both teams.

Shaheen Afridi comes charging in to bowl the first ball of the day.

He immediately looks for the in-swinging yorker but it's a touch too full.

Phil Salt drives but picks out the fielder at mid-on. No run.

Here come the teams. Loud cheers for the Pakistan players, led out by Babar Azam.

England openers Jos Buttler and Phil Salt soon follow.

The cheers for them are not quite as loud which suggests fans of the home team may be rather outnumbered at Edgbaston...

The TV have just shown some footage of Jofra Archer bowling some very sharp deliveries in a second XI game recently.

You fancy the Pakistan batters will be rather more used to such pace compared to county second teamers.

Regardless, they have a while before they have to worry about Archer because it is England batting first.

It'll be up to Jos Buttler and co to try and deal with the likes of Shaheen Afridi and Haris Rauf - they're quite nippy too...

England fast bowler Jofra Archer on Sky Sports: "I'll wait until I've bowled to tell you how it feels! But just being back around the guys has been so refreshing, it's great to be back.

"I think the hardest part of the rehab was the repetitive routine, every few days was gym and then running and the constant robotic nature of things just feeling like a hamster on a wheel. It was the same thing, day in day out.

"But, I'm back here now so I've got to say it's been worth it. Hopefully the rain stays away - we were never going to play with how it was at Leeds.

"I have been bowling properly since November but there's always an extra 10% of intensity in a game. So I've got to get myself through today, the next few games and that'll hopefully book me a seat on the plane.

"Given the last two years, I have to take it game by game and not look too far ahead. But I would love to play in the World Cup, play in Barbados as well."

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Confirmation then that more than a year after his last England appearance, Jofra Archer is back.

Forget international cricket, the 29-year-old fast bowler has not played a competitive game for 12 months so this is a big one for him.

After all the rehab, setbacks and more rehab, now he has the chance to remind everyone what he is capable of - all just in time for a World Cup as well.

England: Phil Salt, Jos Buttler (c, wk), Will Jacks, Jonny Bairstow, Harry Brook, Liam Livingstone, Moeen Ali, Chris Jordan, Jofra Archer, Adil Rashid, Reece Topley.

Pakistan: Babar Azam (c), Saim Ayub, Mohammad Rizwan, Fakhar Zaman, Shadab Khan, Azam Khan (wk), Iftikhar Ahmed, Imad Wasim, Shaheen Afridi, Haris Rauf, Mohammad Amir.

England captain Jos Buttler: "We'd have looked to chase as well but it looks a good wicket.

"More so for Jofra [Archer], really excited. It's been a long road for him but he's worked hard, he looks great, looks fit and he's ready to get out there in an England shirt again.

"[Liam Livingstone] will be a significant factor today, hopefully, as well. Excited for him. He can bowl off-spin, leg-spin and is a powerful hitter as well so gives us a lot of options.

"We want to win the series, play really good cricket here and now. Obviously the World Cup is around the corner but let's try and play some good cricket.

"It's great to be back in England, Edgbaston is a great ground to play at so really looking forward to today.

"Pakistan fans always create a great atmosphere, we have great games against Pakistan so looking forward to the series."

Pakistan captain Babar Azam: "The pitch looks pretty good, hopefully we can make the most of a bit of swing from the first six overs.

"It's a big thing for us to have Haris Rauf back. I have got a lot of quality bowlers, a lot of fast bowlers to balance with our spinners.

"We are keeping things simple ahead of the World Cup, we want to make sure we are enjoying ourselves and doing our best.

"You've got to play with intent in T20, hopefully if we keep the message of enjoying ourselves that will work for us in how we want to bat.

"We always like coming here to play, there is a lot of good support for us and we are always grateful."

A bit of confusion over the call but it's soon cleared up and Babar Azam did call correctly.

Pakistan will chase in Birmingham.

With the start of the T20 World Cup just a matter of days away, defending champions England take on Pakistan at Edgbaston.

It's not a bad time for a certain fast bowler to be making his international comeback then...

Image source, Getty Images

Let's try this again then...

After a drop or two of rain in Leeds a couple of days ago, (belatedly) it looks like we're all set for the start of the men's international summer!