Ollie Pope has been named in the 12-man squad announced by the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) a day prior to the start of the first Ashes Test, which begins in Perth on November 21.
Pope has pipped Jacob Bethell in the race for the number three spot after scoring a century in the warm-up game against the England Lions. There are no surprises in the probables named for the Ashes opener.
Four frontline pacers have been named – Jofra Archer, Brydon Carse, Gus Atkinson and Mark Wood, who is returning from a long injury lay-off. Shoaib Bashir, the only specialist spinner in the squad, has made the cut.
The promising off-spinner has been picked ahead of Will Jacks and pacers Matthew Potts and Josh Tongue.
Wood was seen with heavy strapping on one of his legs during the practice session. Despite that, he bowled close to full tilt, as revealed by Jamie Smith, who faced him in the nets.
England will make a decision on their playing XI closer to the start of the match. If Wood is fit, then it could be a toss-up between Bashir and Brydon Carse.
England 12-man squad for the First Ashes Test: Ben Stokes (captain), Jofra Archer, Gus Atkinson, Shoaib Bashir, Harry Brook, Brydon Carse, Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Ollie Pope, Joe Root, Jamie Smith (wk), Mark Wood.
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