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Harry Brook replaces Ollie Pope as vice-captain, Mark Wood returns as England announce squad for Ashes
England announce their squad for the upcoming Ashes. Harry Brook replaces Ollie Pope as the vice-captain.
Harry Brook was named England's vice-captain for the upcoming Ashes, beginning November 21 at the Optus Stadium in Perth. In the high-profile five-Test series between arch-rivals England and Australia, Brook will replace Ollie Pope as Ben Stokes' deputy. England's ODI and T20I captain now steps into the Test leadership group. The 16-member squad also includes pacer Mark Wood, who returns to the Test squad following his recovery from a left knee injury.
England skipper Stokes hurt his shoulder during the fourth Test against India in Manchester, and this ruled him out of the final game at the Oval. However, he remains on track to be fit in time and lead the Three Lions Down Under.
Test Captain Ben Stokes continues his recovery from the shoulder injury that ruled him out of the final Test against India at the Kia Oval and remains on track to be available for the start of the Test series in November.
Somerset spinner Shoaib Bashir, who suffered a finger injury in the third Test against India at Lord's Cricket Ground, has also recovered, and hence he has been chosen as the frontline spinner.
Durham seamer Matthew Potts and Surrey batting all-rounder Will Jacks have also been included in the squad. Notably, these two were not a part of England's squad for the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy against India, which ended at level terms of 2-2.
Potts last played a Test for England in December 2024 against New Zealand, while Jacks last played a Test for England almost three years ago in December 2022 against Pakistan.
Jacks, who will miss the upcoming white-ball tour of New Zealand with a broken finger, is expected to be fit for the Ashes.
England chase history
England last won the Ashes in 2015, and ever since then, the side has been chasing the chance to regain the coveted urn. When speaking about the side's performance Down Under, England's last victory in Australia came in 2010-11 under Andrew Strauss's captaincy.
On their last tour of Australia, England was hammered 4-0 under Joe Root's captaincy. The 2023 Ashes, which was played in England, ended at 2-2.
If England wants to regain the urn, they must beat the Pat Cummins-led Australia because a drawn series wouldn't be good enough. Australia are yet to announce their squad for the upcoming five-match series.
England squad for Ashes: Ben Stokes (captain), Jofra Archer, Harry Brook (vice-captain), Mark Wood, Joe Root, Gus Atkinson, Shoaib Bashir, Jacob Bethell, Brydon Carse, Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Will Jacks, Ollie Pope, Matthew Potts, Jamie Smith, and Josh Tongue.
