London, Oct 10: England have named a 17-man squad for this winter’s Ashes tour, with head coach Chris Silverwood leaning on familiar faces for the trip.
Silverwood and captain Joe Root are unable to call on a full-strength group due to the continued hiatus of star all-rounder Ben Stokes and injuries to Jofra Archer, Olly Stone and Sam Curran but fears over players opting out due to concerns over Australia’s travel restrictions have not materialised.
Following successful discussions with Cricket Australia over arrangements for families and quarantine there have been no opt-outs. As a result, the squad has a tried and trusted feel, with no uncapped test players selected.
That means potential selections such as Lancashire trio Liam Livingstone, Matt Parkinson and Saqib Mahmood have all been overlooked. While Stokes’ absence has long been expected, fellow all-rounder Curran was a late withdrawal.
Curran’s bowling may not have been perfectly suited to Australian conditions, but he could have offered balance and variety to the side in Stokes’ absence.
Squad
Joe Root (Captain), 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. (AP)
