Final Ashes squad full of familiar faces
ENGLAND have named a 17-man squad for the Ashes tour, with head coach Chris Silverwood leaning on familiar faces for the trip Down Under.
Silverwood and captain Joe Root are unable to call on a fullstrength group due to the continued hiatus of star all-rounder Ben Stokes and injuries to Jofra Archer, Olly Stone and Sam Curran but fears over players opting out due to concerns over Australia’s travel restrictions have not materialised.
Following successful discussions with Cricket Australia over arrangements for families and quarantine there have been no opt-outs.
As such, the squad has a tried and trusted feel, with no uncapped Test players selected. That means potential ‘wildcard’ picks such as Lancashire trio
Liam Livingstone, Matt Parkinson and Saqib Mahmood have all been overlooked, but they can expect to form part of the Lions squad which will shadow the early stages of the tour and could yet be called upon.
While Stokes’ absence has long been expected - he has already missed the India Test series, the resumption of the Indian Premier League and the T20 World Cup as he prioritises his mental health and recovery from a finger injury - fellow all-rounder Curran was a late withdrawal.
While Curran’s bowling may not have been perfectly suited to Australian conditions, he could have offered balance and variety to the side in Stokes’ absence. However, the lower back injury which forced him out of the World Cup squad has now been diagnosed as a stress fracture requiring specialist treatment.
With Archer and Stone both sidelined, Mark Wood is the only express pace option in the seam ranks, which are led once again by the vastly experienced James Anderson and Stuart Broad.
While they, and perhaps Chris Woakes, may be making their Ashes swansong, Sussex’s Ollie Robinson is set for his first series against the old rivals and could find himself in a crucial role following his triumphant start to life as an international cricketer.
The two spin bowling slots go to Jack Leach and Dom Bess.
Joe Root (Yorkshire) Jimmy Anderson (Lancs) Jonny Bairstow (Yorks) Dom Bess (Yorkshire) Stuart Broad (Nottinghamshire)
Rory Burns (Surrey)
Jos Buttler (Lancashire) Zak Crawley (Kent) Haseeb Hameed (Nottinghamshire)
Dan Lawrence (Essex) Jack Leach (Somerset) Dawid Malan (Yorkshire) Craig Overton (Som’set) Ollie Pope (Surrey)
Ollie Robinson (Sussex) Chris Woakes (Warwicks) Mark Wood (Durham)