AUS vs ENG: England announces a 12-member squad for the Ashes opener
The highly anticipated Test series between Australia and England, the Ashes 2025/26, is scheduled to begin on November 21st. The first Test match of the series will be played at the Perth Stadium in Perth. For the first match of the series, the visiting England team recently announced a 12-man squad.
The good news for England is that ace pacer Mark Wood is fully fit and available for the match. Vice-captain Ollie Pope has also retained his place in the playing XI. He confirmed his spot in the England playing XI by scoring 100 and 90 runs against the England Lions at Lilac Hill before the first Test. Jacob Bethell, Will Jacks, Matthew Potts, and Josh Tongue were not included in the 12-man squad, meaning they will be benched during the first Test.
Given the Perth pitch's history of favouring fast bowlers, England appears to be considering fielding four fast bowlers. This means that Shoaib Bashir may also be ruled out of the match. The Perth pitch is always favourable for fast bowlers. Jofra Archer, Mark Wood, Brydon Carse, and Gus Atkinson are among England's fast bowlers and are almost certain to play in this match, with captain Ben Stokes as the fifth fast bowler option.
The last Ashes series, played on English soil in 2023/24, ended in a 2-2 draw. Australia are the defending champion. The last time England toured Australia, they won 4-0 in 2021/22.
On the other hand, Australia will be without their regular captain Pat Cummins, who is currently recovering from a lower back injury. In his absence, Steve Smith will lead the team. In addition to Pat Cummins, senior fast bowler Josh Hazlewood will also miss the first match of the series due to a hamstring injury. Brendan Doggett could replace him as the third fast bowler. Despite Australia entering the first match of the Ashes 2025 without their two main fast bowlers, Steve Smith and company are strong contenders to win the match. Ben Stokes and company will look to exploit this weakness and start the series with a convincing win.
For England, Ben Duckett and Zak Crawley will open the innings. Ollie Pope will bat at number three. Test specialist and one of the best Test batsmen of the current era, Joe Root, will bat at number four. Harry Brook, captain Ben Stokes, and wicketkeeper-batsman Jamie Smith will bat at number five, six, and seven. Jofra Archer, Mark Wood, Brydon Carse, and Gus Atkinson will then be the four fast bowlers. In the intra-squad match, Joe Root bowled 14 overs, suggesting that he may bowl in this match as well.
England’s 12-man squad for Ashes opener
Ben Stokes (c), Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Ollie Pope, Joe Root, Harry Brook, Jamie Smith (wk), Jofra Archer, Gus Atkinson, Shoaib Bashir, Brydon Carse, Mark Wood
