England announce squad for Ashes; Ben Stokes, Jofra Archer not available

England have announced a 17-member squad for the upcoming Ashes, set to get underway on 8th December in Brisbane. After months of speculations regarding the cancellation of the series due to stern COVID-19 restrictions in Australia, ECB green signalled the series after players’ agreed to travel Down Under.

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"England Men's Head Coach Chris Silverwood has named a 17-player squad for the Ashes tour of Australia starting in November. All 17 players have been capped at Test level and is the strongest available squad selected by Silverwood. Ten of the 17 will be touring Australia in an Ashes series for the first time, including vice-captain Jos Buttler," read a statement from ECB.

Among the notable omissions are all-rounder Ben Stokes and pacer Jofra Archer. Stokes has taken an indefinite break from all forms of cricket while Archer is recovering from an injury. Meanwhile, Zak Crawley, who was dropped from the England squad midway through the India series has been recalled, while Dan Lawrence and off-spinner Dom Bess also find a place in the team.

Haseeb Hameed, who had an impressive series against India, has held on to his place in the team. Jos Buttler and Jonny Bairstow are the two wicketkeepers, while Jack Leach will lead the spin bowling attack. England have named a very strong bowling attack with all their ace bowlers, including James Anderson, Stuart Broad, Ollie Robinson and Craig Overton, included in the squad. Mark Wood and Chris Woakes will also be part of the squad, England have not won a Test in Australia since their win in Sydney in 2011.

England's squad for Ashes 2021/22

Joe Root (C), Jos Buttler (WK), Ollie Robinson, Chris Woakes, Mark Wood, Zak Crawley, Haseeb Hameed, Dan Lawrence, Ollie Pope, Jack Leach, Dawid Malan, James Anderson, Jonathan Bairstow (WK), Dom Bess, Stuart Broad, Rory Burns, Craig Overton