 "England announce Ashes squad: Shoaib Bashir and Mark Wood return, Will Jacks recalled")
LONDON: England spinner Shoaib Bashir and fast bowler Mark Wood have been named in the squad after injuries for the Ashes series starting in Australia in November, as the country’s cricket board (ECB) announced a 16-man list on Tuesday.
White-ball captain Harry Brook has replaced Ollie Pope as vice-captain of the test squad while Will Jacks, who last played red-ball cricket for England in 2022, has earned a recall.
“Jacks will miss the white-ball tour of New Zealand (starting in October) with a broken finger but is expected to be fit for the Ashes,” the ECB said in a statement.
“Test captain Ben Stokes continues his recovery from the shoulder injury that ruled him out of the final test against India … and remains on track to be available for the start of the test series in November.”
Bashir, who fractured his finger in the third test against India at Lord’s in July, will also miss the New Zealand tour.
Wood suffered a knee injury during the Champions Trophy in February. He underwent surgery the following month, which ruled him out for the summer.
England will look to reclaim the Ashes for the first time since losing it to Australia in 2017-18 when the first of the five tests kicks off at Perth on November 21.
England’s squad: Ben Stokes (captain), Jofra Archer, Gus Atkinson, Shoaib Bashir, Jacob Bethell, Harry Brook, Brydon Carse, Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Will Jacks, Ollie Pope, Matthew Potts, Joe Root, Jamie Smith, Josh Tongue, Mark Wood
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