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New Delhi: England have announced their 12-man squad for the first Ashes Test against Australia, which is set to begin at Optus Stadium in Perth on November 21. Mark Wood has been declared fit after suffering a tight hamstring on the first day of England's only warm-up game against the Lions last week.
He is joined by fellow fast bowlers, including Jofra Archer, Brydon Carse, Gus Atkinson and captain Ben Stokes, with Shoaib Bashir as the only spin option. The surface at the Optus Stadium is expected to be the fastest pitch of the series, and the visitors might drop Bashir from the playing XI.
Ollie Pope is included in the 12-member squad ahead of Jacob Bethell for the No. 3 spot after a ton and a 90-run knock in the warm-up fixture. Fast bowlers Josh Tongue and Matthew Potts, and off-spinning all-rounder Will Jacks were also omitted along with Bethell.
Wood was the standout pacer during the 2021-22 series, picking up 17 wickets at an average of 26.64 and would be one of five players in the XI with previous Test match experience in Australia, along with skipper Stokes, Joe Root, Zak Crawley and Ollie Pope.
He bowled for 40 minutes at the Perth nets during Tuesday's training session, and then delivered just two overs on Wednesday afternoon, before participating in light fielding drills on the outfield with physical preparation coach Pete Sim.
England’s last Test win in Australia came in January 2011, when they won the series 3-1. Since then, the visitors have had three disappointing tours down under, with an aggregate scoreline of 13-0. Their last tour in the 2021/22 season ended in a 4-0 loss, which eventually led to Joe Root stepping down as Test captain.
Ben Stokes (c), Jofra Archer, Gus Atkinson, Shoaib Bashir, Harry Brook, Brydon Carse, Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Ollie Pope, Joe Root, Jamie Smith (wk), Mark Wood.
