England announces squad for Ashes series, names batsman with 14 Test centuries as captain

England has named a 16-man team for the Ashes series, to be led by 34-year-old Ben Stokes, an attacking batsman with 14 hundreds and 35 fifties in Tests. Harry Brook replaced Ollie Pope as vice-captain of the Ashes team.

Durham pace bowler Mark Wood has come back into the England team for the Ashes campaign after a left knee injury. Somerset spinner Shoaib Bashir has returned to the team after overcoming a finger injury that was incurred during the Indian home series.

Durham pace bowler Matthew Potts and Surrey batting all-rounder Will Jacks have both been drafted in. Potts last played against New Zealand in December 2024, while Jacks has been included in the squad after playing against Pakistan in December 2022. Jack's missed the white-ball tour of New Zealand due to a finger injury but is expected to be fit for the Ashes.

Test captain Ben Stokes is recovering from a shoulder injury. He was ruled out of the final Test against India at the Kaia Oval and is on track to be available for the start of the Ashes series in November.

England will tour Australia in November for the Ashes series, where they will play five Test matches. The Ashes series begins on November 21st and ends on January 8th next year. The first match of the Ashes series between the two teams will be played in Perth from November 21 to 25, the second in Brisbane from December 4 to 8, the third in Adelaide from December 17 to 21, the fourth in Melbourne from December 26 to 30, and the fifth from January 4 to 8.

England's squad for the Ashes series 2025-26: Ben Stokes (captain), Jofra Archer, Gus Atkinson, Shoaib Bashir, Jacob Bethell, Harry Brook (vice-captain), Brydon Carse, Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Will Jacks, Ollie Pope, Matthew Potts, Joe Root, Jamie Smith, Josh Tonge, Mark Wood.