AUSTRALIAN ASSOCIATED PRESS TRUSTED ACCURATE IMPARTIAL DONATE AAP NEEDS YOU NEWS FACTCHECK NEWSROOM PHOTOS ABOUT CONTACT England fast bowler Stuart Broad will confident of adding to his 32 Ashes wickets in Australia. Image by Jono Searle/AAP PHOTOS CRICKET Penpix of England’s Ashes squad AAP December 3, 2021 ENGLAND’S 18-MAN ASHES SQUAD: RORY BURNS Age: 31 Tests: 29, Ashes Tests: 5 Playing role: Left-handed batter Test batting average: 32.3, Ashes batting average: 39 The opener, dubbed a “crippled crab” at the crease by Ian Chappell because of unique technique, faced more balls than any other Englishman during his debut Ashes series in 2019. HASEEB HAMEED Age: 24 Tests: 6, Ashes Tests: 0 Playing role: Right-handed batter Test batting average: 35.9, Ashes batting average: N/A Expected to partner Burns at the top of the order. Threatened to be a one-tour wonder after debuting against India in 2016, now has a chance to halt England’s revolving door of opening partnerships. DAWID MALAN Age: 34 Tests: 17, Ashes Tests: 5 Playing role: Left-handed batter Test batting average: 28.62 , Ashes batting average: 42.55 Set to occupy the all-important No.3 spot in the order. A knock of 140 was the highlight of his 2017-18 tour of Australia, but the veteran also failed to pass 20 in five innings of that series. JOE ROOT (capt) Age: 30 Tests: 109, Ashes Tests: 24 Playing role: Right-handed batter Test batting average: 50.15, Ashes batting average: 40.33 Finished England’s most recent Ashes tour on a drip, with doubters questioning his captaincy, and still no hundred in Australia. Six centuries this year suggest the world’s top-ranked Test batter has never been placed better to have a big tour. BEN STOKES Age: 30 Tests: 71, Ashes Tests: 14 Playing role: Allrounder (left-handed batter, right-arm fast-medium) Test batting average: 37.04, Ashes batting average: 38.37 Test bowling average: 31.38, Ashes bowling average: 35.94 The late addition of England’s talisman, capable of winning a Test with bat or ball, will make the tourists stand so much taller. And conjure memories of Headingley heartbreak among Australia’s XI. JONNY BAIRSTOW Age: 32 Tests: 78, Ashes Tests: 19 Playing role: Right-handed wicketkeeper-batter Test batting average: 33.7, Ashes batting average: 26.96 One of England’s mainstays in the middle order – and one of few to fire during the 2017-18 Ashes. JOS BUTTLER Age: 31 Tests: 53, Ashes Tests: 10 Playing role: Right-handed wicketkeeper-batter Test batting average: 33.33, Ashes batting average: 20.5 Once thought of as a white-ball specialist, Buttler is an established part of England’s red-ball plans and set to play his first Test in Australia. Smashed a match-winning 71no against Pat Cummins’ side at the Twenty20 World Cup. OLLIE ROBINSON Age: 28 Tests: 5, Ashes Tests: 0 Playing role: Right-arm medium-fast Test bowling average: 19.6, Ashes bowling average: N/A Coming off a productive home summer with the ball, during which he debuted and made headlines for offensive social media posts from 2012 and 2013. Was handed an eight-match ban by England’s cricket board, with five games of that punishment suspended. STUART BROAD Age: 35 Tests: 149, Ashes Tests: 32 Playing role: Right-arm fast-medium Test bowling average: 27.84, Ashes bowling average: 29.35 Has been in the middle of so many unforgettable Ashes moments – good and bad for England. The veteran, whose haul of 8-15 helped roll Australia for just 60 in 2015, will again be key to England’s hopes of reclaiming the urn. JACK LEACH Age: 30 Tests: 16, Ashes Tests: 4 Playing role: Left-arm orthodox Test bowling average: 29.98, Ashes bowling average: 25.83 Expected to get the nod as England’s frontline spinner despite not playing in their home summer. The bespectacled tweaker wrote himself into Ashes folklore in a final-wicket stand with Stokes at Headingley. JIMMY ANDERSON Age: 39 Tests: 166, Ashes Tests: 32 Playing role: Right-arm fast-medium Test bowling average: 26.62, Ashes bowling average: 34.56 The legend was widely considered a long shot to make this tour when injury ruined his 2019 Ashes, but continues to prove doubters wrong. The legend, with 632 Test wickets to his name, looms as an even bigger threat if overcast skies continue to blanket the series. DOM BESS Age: 24 Tests: 14, Ashes Tests: 0 Playing role: Right-arm offbreak Test bowling average: 33.97, Ashes bowling average: N/A Admitted he started “hating cricket” amid biosecurity bubble fatigue and a dip in form on this year’s tour of India. Overlooked throughout England’s home summer, but back in the frame again. ZAK CRAWLEY Age: 23 Tests: 15, Ashes Tests: 0 Playing role: Right-handed batter Test batting average: 28.34, Ashes batting average: N/A A knock of 267 against Pakistan in 2020 is proof of his talent, but has failed to nail down a spot at the top of the order. DAN LAWRENCE Age: 24 Tests: 8, Ashes Tests: 0 Playing role: Right-handed batter Test batting average: 27.23, Ashes batting average: N/A One of several first-time Ashes tourists seeking to make their mark with the bat. Scored a hundred at the MCG against Australia A during a 2020 tour with England’s second XI. OLLIE POPE Age: 23 Tests: 20, Ashes Tests: 0 Playing role: Right-handed batter Test batting average: 32.16, Ashes batting average: N/A Scored 274 for Surrey in his final innings of the English season. A knock of 81 against India in this year’s fourth Test should also be a source of confidence for the youngster. CHRIS WOAKES Age: 32 Tests: 39, Ashes Tests: 9 Playing role: Right-arm fast-medium Test bowling average: 28.73, Ashes bowling average: 43.9 One of several quicks jostling for a spot in England’s Test attack. Managed to dismiss Steve Smith more than any other teammate in the 2019 Ashes. MARK WOOD Age: 31 Tests: 21, Ashes Tests: 4 Playing role: Right-arm fast Test bowling average: 33.1, Ashes bowling average: 39.1 Injuries have been a near-constant concern for the quirky quick with an imaginary horse. If fully fit and firing, the 2015 Ashes winner will offer a point of difference to an attack missing fellow express pacemen Jofra Archer and Olly Stone. CRAIG OVERTON Age: 27 Tests: 6, Ashes Tests: 3 Playing role: Right-arm medium-fast Test bowling average: 33.58, Ashes bowling average: 41.62 Adopted a combative approach on debut at Adelaide Oval in 2017. May struggle to break into England’s first-choice attack unless there are some injuries. 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