England announce playing XI for first Ashes Test; Moen Ali set to make Test comeback
The England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) have announced their playing XI for the first Ashes Test against Australia at Edgbaston, starting Friday, June 16.
While the top seven remains the same from the side that recently decimated Ireland in the one-off Test by ten wickets, the bowling attack wears a different look with the return of stars James Anderson and Ollie Robinson.
The duo were rested for the game against Ireland as they were recovering from minor niggles. They will replace impressive debutant Josh Tongue and right-arm-pacer Matthew Potts.
Anderson and Robinson have been in terrific form in Test cricket, finishing in the top ten of the wicket-takers chart, with over 50 wickets in the recently concluded WTC cycle.
Anderson boasts incredible numbers in the Ashes over his illustrious career, picking up 112 wickets in 35 matches, with his best bowling figures being 6/47 in the third Test at Edgbaston in 2015. The 40-year-old has formed the most lethal bowling partnership in Test cricket history with Stuart Broad, and the pair have combined to take 1,159 wickets between them.
The duo will be looking to ensure their perfect record of never losing an Ashes series against Australia at home remains intact.
The other major news is the return of Moen Ali to the England Test team after having reversed his decision to retire from red-ball cricket. The 35-year-old, who had announced his retirement from Test cricket in the summer of 2021, has been brought in as a replacement for regular spinner Jack Leach, who suffered a low back stress fracture.
Ali has said to have decided to return to Test action following discussions with head coach Brendon McCullum and skipper Ben Stokes. He will slot into the eleven straightaway as the specialist spinner and bat at No. 8 to provide great depth to the English batting order.
The opening combination of Zak Crawley and Ben Duckett has been in excellent form, providing the team with fast starts over the past couple of years. They are followed by a devastating middle order of vice-captain Ollie Pope, coming off a double century in the Ireland Test, and Joe Root, the leading run-getter in the 2021-23 World Test Championship (WTC) cycle.
Harry Brook, Ben Stokes, and Jonny Bairstow complete the middle to lower middle order of their batting, with Bairstow set to bat at No. 7 and don the wicket-keeping duties for the Three Lions.
England are coming into the series with spectacular form in Test cricket. They have won 10 of their last 12 matches since the Stokes-McCullum combination took over. Under the duo, England completed a clean sweep (3-0) of New Zealand at home and a home series win (2-1) against South Africa.
Later in 2022, England also won their Test series (3-0) in Pakistan, becoming the first team to whitewash the home team in cricket history.
They began this year on a similar note in the two-Test series in New Zealand, demolishing the Kiwis by 267 runs in the first Test before losing a thrilling second Test by one run.
On the other hand, Australia finished atop the points table for the 2021-23 WTC cycle and recently won the WTC final against India at the Oval.
England playing XI for the first Ashes Test against Australia
Ben Duckett, Zak Crawley, Ollie Pope, Joe Root, Harry Brook, Ben Stokes (c), Jonny Bairstow (wk), Moen Ali, Stuart Broad, Ollie Robinson, James Anderson.