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England Cricket Board (ECB) on Sunday named a 17-member squad for the 2021-22 Ashes tour of Australia.
The Ashes between England and Australia is set to commence on December 8 in Brisbane. Earlier, the fate of the Test series had been thrown into uncertainty due to COVID-19-related restrictions in Australia.
“A tour of Australia is the pinnacle as an England Test cricketer. I’m delighted that all of our available players have committed to the tour,” England head coach Chris Silverwood said in the official statement.
“This is why we play and coach to be involved in iconic series like this. More than half of our squad haven’t featured in an Ashes tour before, which means we will be fresh and looking to embrace the cricket and the excitement of touring one of the best places in the world.”
No place for Ben Stokes in the touring party
All-rounder Ben Stokes was not considered for selection as he continues to take an indefinite break from cricket to manage his health. His absence is no surprise but leaves a huge hole in England’s Test team as the touring party will attempt to win the Ashes in Australia for the first time in eleven years.
Apart from Stokes, Sam Curran was not named in the 17-man squad after confirmation of a stress fracture in his lower back.
Australia are the current holders of the Ashes after retaining the urn following a 2-2 draw in England in 2019. They won the last series Down Under (4-0) in 2017/18.
Beaten in six of their last nine Tests, England’s squad features 10 players who will be touring Australia for the first time.
England’s Test squad for the upcoming Ashes:
Joe Root (c), James Anderson, Jonny Bairstow, Dom Bess, Stuart Broad, Rory Burns, Jos Buttler (wk), Zak Crawley, Haseeb Hameed, Dan Lawrence, Jack Leach, Dawid Malan, Craig Overton, Ollie Pope, Ollie Robinson, Chris Woakes, Mark Wood.
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