England have announced their full-strength squad for the upcoming Ashes 2021-2022. The big name missing from the 17-member squad for Australia tour is all-rounder Ben Stokes, who is on indefinite break from cricket and was not considered for selection.
Other absentees from the England Test squad include Jofra Archer, Sam Curran, Olly Stone. Archer has been nursing his elbow injury for a long time. Sam injured his lower back in the ongoing Indian Premier League (IPL) 2021 playing for Chennai Super Kings (CSK). Also, Stone has suffered a similar injury as the left-arm fast-bowling all-rounder.
One thing that can be noticed in the squad is that all the 17 players have made their Test debuts. However, 10 of these players were not a part of England’s squad when they went to Australia for Ashes 2017-18 which includes vice-captain Jos Buttler.
Dawid Malan and Haseeb Hameed have been rewarded for their performances against India in the five-match Test series which was not finished due to Covid-19 outbreak in the Indian dressing room. Off-spinner Dom Bess has been picked as Jack Leach’s backup whereas the only outright fast bowler in the team is Mark Wood.
England will be looking to reclaim the Ashes after a 2-2 draw at home in 2019 where the two teams were involved in one of the most thrilling editions of the age-old rivalry. It will be interesting to see if skipper Joe Root continues his exemplary form in the longest format of the game. Root scored 564 runs at an average of 94 from seven innings including three centuries and one half-century.
On the other hand, Australia have not announced their squad for the Ashes 2021-2022 that kicks off on December 8 at the Gabba, Brisbane.
England Ashes squad: Joe Root (c), James Anderson, Jonathan Bairstow, Dom Bess, Stuart Broad, Rory Burns, Jos Buttler, Zak Crawley, Haseeb Hameed, Dan Lawrence, Jack Leach, Dawid Malan, Craig Overton, Ollie Pope, Ollie Robinson, Chris Woakes, Mark Wood
