England name 16-member squad for first 2 Men's Ashes Tests
England have announced an unchanged 16-man squad from the side currently taking on Ireland in the one-off Test for the first two Ashes Tests against Australia. The battle for the Ashes urn kicks off at Edgbaston in Birmingham from June 16 onwards.
There were some injury concerns with James Anderson, Ollie Robinson, and skipper Ben Stokes. However, all three have shown good progress with no signs of injury recurrence.
The squad also include 25-year-old Josh Tongue, who made his debut in the Test against Ireland. He impressed immediately with figures of 4/56 in the ongoing second innings of the game.
England have picked as many as seven pace bowling options, with the lone specialist spinner in Jack Leach.
While the pace trio of James Anderson, Ollie Robinson, and Mark Wood are not playing the ongoing Ireland Test, they should be drafted back into England's playing XI for the first Ashes Test.
England squad for first Two Ashes Tests: Ben Stokes (c), James Anderson, Jonathan Bairstow (wk), Stuart Broad, Harry Brook, Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Dan Lawrence, Jack Leach, Ollie Pope, Matthew Potts, Ollie Robinson, Joe Root, Josh Tongue, Chris Woakes, and Mark Wood.
England and Australia's recent Test performances
The last meeting between England and Australia took place Down Under in 2021/22, with the hosts winning by a 4-0 scoreline.
However, the last Ashes series in the UK in 2019 was one for the ages. Both teams went back and forth in a battle for supremacy that ultimately ended in a 2-2 stalemate.
Australia have been unbeaten in the last three Ashes series, winning the two at home and drawing the one in England, thereby retaining the urn since the 2017/18 series.
England has been dominant in Test cricket since the partnership of head coach Brendon McCullum and skipper Ben Stokes took over.
Under the duo's leadership, they have resorted to an aggressive brand of cricket that has paid rich dividends, with the side winning 10 of their last 12 Tests. This includes a clean sweep at home of New Zealand 3-0 and a home series win against South Africa 2-1.
Later in 2022, Stokes and Co. also won their Test series in Pakistan 3-0, becoming the first team to whitewash the home team in cricket history.
England began 2023 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 thriller by one run in the second.
Meanwhile, Australia dominated the World Test Championship (WTC) cycle for 2021-23, winning 11 of their 19 Tests and finishing on the top of the standings.
They will square off against India in the WTC final before the Ashes series at the Kensington Oval, starting on June 7.