England’s cricket team has included spinner Shoaib Bashir and fast bowler Mark Wood in their squad for the Ashes series, set to begin in Australia this November. This update comes as part of the 16-player roster revealed by the ECB on Tuesday.
Harry Brook, the white-ball captain, steps in as vice-captain of the Test squad, replacing Ollie Pope. Additionally, Will Jacks, who has not participated in red-ball cricket for England since 2022, has been recalled.
The ECB stated, “Jacks will miss the white-ball tour of New Zealand, commencing in October, due to a broken finger but is anticipated to be fit for the Ashes.”
“Test captain Ben Stokes is recovering from a shoulder injury that kept him out of the final Test against India. He is expected to be ready for the test series starting in November,” the statement added.
Bashir, who sustained a finger fracture during the third Test against India at Lord’s in July, will also sit out the New Zealand tour.
Wood injured his knee during the Champions Trophy in February and had surgery in March, which sidelined him for the summer.
England aims to reclaim the Ashes, which they last held before losing to Australia in the 2017-18 series. The first of five Tests is scheduled to commence in Perth on November 21.
Squad: Ben Stokes (captain), Jofra Archer, Gus Atkinson, Shoaib Bashir, Jacob Bethell, Harry Brook, Brydon Carse, Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Will Jacks, Ollie Pope, Matthew Potts, Joe Root, Jamie Smith, Josh Tongue, Mark Wood.
