The Third Test was surrounded by controversy as Pakistan wanted to bring in their WSC players Zaheer Abbas, Mushtaq Mohammad and Imran Khan to win a series victory in the last Test. This would have given them an edge over an England team without its WSC veterans. Several England players led by the vice-captain Geoff Boycott, Bob Willis and Derek Randall refused to play Pakistan with their Packer players and Barrington and Brearley tried to negotiate between the players, the TCCB and the Pakistani cricket authorities. Matters were made worst by Mike Brearley breaking his arm and returning to England, leaving the uncompromising Boycott as captain and Willis as vice-captain. Fortunately, the Pakistani players could only play by breaking their WSC contracts, which they refused to do, and the Test was drawn. Barrington was out of his depth in these political matters, even though Willis later admitted that his determination for the Test to be played regardless was the right course.