England

Ben Stokes

Age 32 Caps 92 Captain/left-hand bat, right-arm seam

Stokes has proved an inspirational leader and an excellent cricket captain since his appointment last April, but sadly his left knee seems to be a complete mess. Though he is adamant about his ability to bat, he has become a bowler of last resort and is quite happy doing nothing but leading – in the warmup against Ireland he became the first winning captain in Test history not to bat, bowl or keep wicket.

Ollie Pope

Age 25 Caps 36 Vice-captain/right-hand bat

Since Stokes’s decision to play Pope, for the first time in his career, at No 3 the 25-year-old’s average is 49.80 – before that it was 28.66 – and his strike rate from 50.6 to 78, and he has been named vice-captain. Says he is determined to make up for his miserable Ashes in 2021-22, when he averaged 11.16 in six innings: “I feel like I’m a different player, mentally and technically.”

Moeen Ali

Age 35 Caps 64 Right-arm off-spin/left-hand bat

When England last hosted the Ashes Moeen played the first Test, took three wickets for 172 and was promptly dropped for 16 months. This time he took the call when Jack Leach’s injury forced a last-minute SOS, nearly two years after he announced his retirement from Test cricket (since when he has played no first-class matches and 97 T20s), and is tasked with providing the squad with spin-bowling ballast and bonus explosive batting.

Jimmy Anderson

Age 40 Caps 179 Right-arm seam

England’s evergreen man for all seasons just keeps going. “I don’t feel old or that I’m slowing down. Age is just a number,” he said earlier this year. Also just numbers: 179 Tests, 685 wickets, 7,675 Ashes deliveries (37 overs from a place in the all-time top three). “If we play to the best of our ability I don’t think anyone can cope with us,” he said last month, in a surprise pre-Ashes broadside.

Jonny Bairstow

Age 33 Caps 90 Wicketkeeper/right-hand bat

The headline success of the first summer of Bazball and winner of the new-look Wisden Trophy for the year’s finest performance in a Test – and it wasn’t even for the fireworks at Trent Bridge – the question is whether that golden spell ended when he sustained a horrific, freak leg injury last September. Bairstow went straight back into the team, albeit bumped a couple of places down the order and with added wicketkeeping duties, for the Ireland Test, when his glovework was sound and his batting untested.

Stuart Broad

Age 36 Caps 162 Right-arm seam/left-hand bat/nighthawk

This will be Stuart Broad’s ninth Ashes, highlights including the unforgettable spell of eight for 15 at Trent Bridge in 2015, and the hex he has placed on David Warner, whom he has dismissed 14 times in Tests (when the Ashes were last contested in England Broad bowled 104 deliveries at Warner, conceded 35 runs and dismissed him seven times – but on that day in Nottingham eight years ago Warner fell to Mark Wood).

Harry Brook

Age 24 Caps 7 Right-hand bat/right-arm medium

The youngest member of the England squad and author of one of the all-time great breakout years in 2022 – as it dawned he had never played a senior international in any format, and by the time it ended he had a T20 World Cup winner’s medal, had taken ownership of the No 5 spot in the Test batting order, and had been signed on a £1.3m IPL deal by Sunrisers Hyderabad.

Zak Crawley

Age 25 Caps 34 Right-hand opening bat

Brendon McCullum says Crawley’s “skillset is not to be a consistent cricketer” but that “when he gets going he can win matches for England”. Since McCullum’s appointment he has got going 33% of the time – eight scores above 30, another six in double figures and 11 not getting that far – and his unreliable returns have made him a target for criticism. But he retains the faith of the selectors and is young enough to redefine himself yet.

Ben Duckett

Age 28 Caps 10 Left-hand opening bat

Duckett made his Test debut in 2016, playing four games and averaging 15.71 before being dropped again, and there have been various off-field problems including drink-driving and speeding bans and, infamously, once pouring a beer over Jimmy Anderson’s head – “I haven’t helped myself off the pitch,” he says. But since his recall last winter he is averaging 69 and, more remarkably for an opening batter, of the 710 balls he has faced in that time he has left just eight.

Dan Lawrence

Age 25 Caps 11 Right-hand bat/right-arm off-spin

Lawrence has been spoken about as a potential international batter since he scored 161 in his seccond first-class game in 2015, but eight years later he has made 11 Test appearances, and only three at home. He is the squad’s single batting understudy, covering every position from one to seven – he has already batted for England in most of those, except as opener.

Matthew Potts

Age 24 Caps 6 Right-arm seam/right-hand bat

A teammate of Stokes at Durham, who caught the captain’s eye when playing through the pain barrier with a side strain against Glamorgan last summer. “That’s the attitude that really makes you open your eyes and realise that this kid is ready,” Stokes said. “He’s an athlete and everything I expect this team to be going forward.” One of England’s barrage of seam bowlers preparing to play on rotation, Potts described Australia’s decision to pick just four – since upped to five by Michael Neser’s call-up – as “weird”.

Ollie Robinson

Age 29 Caps 16 Right-arm seam/right-hand bat

For all the pre-season ankle issues, Robinson has largely left fitness concerns behind him, becoming “a bit of a gym freak” since the last Ashes while continuing to hone his skills, and in this season’s County Championship he has taken 20 wickets in just three games (including Marnus Labuschagne, at the first attempt). “When he was out in Australia I thought he had some really good skills,” Steve Smith, briefly a Sussex teammate, observed, “and it looks like he’s got better since then.”

Joe Root

Age 32 Caps 130 Right-hand bat/right-arm spin

Root admits that “Ben Stokes is doing a far better job than I did” as Test captain, and among the benefits has been an improvement to Root’s own batting average, which has risen from 46.44 during his own captaincy to 61.94 under Stokes’, with a considerably higher strike rate and more reverse scoops. In the absence of Jack Leach we may see more of his spin bowling as he attempts to grasp “an opportunity to go and make history and have an incredible two months as a group”.

Josh Tongue

Age 25 Caps 1 Right-arm seam/right-hand bat

For all his 48 first-class appearances Tongue appeared largely unknown to the people who selected him – he had certainly never met Stokes – and they were delighted to discover a bowler of the mythical “heavy ball” (©Tim Bresnan), who could sustain speeds between 85mph and 90mph across spells whether bowling short or full. For his part Tongue, who contemplated retirement during 14 months spent dealing with a shoulder problem, described a “very chilled” dressing room, adding: “Brendon is really nice”.

Chris Woakes

Age 34 Caps 45 Right-arm seam/right-hand bat

A year ago Woakes was contemplating the end of his red-ball career as he dealt with a succession of injuries, but after sitting out this year’s IPL he declared himself fully fit and before the Ireland Test said it was “great to be back in”. It turned out that he was not back in after all, but with the first two Ashes Tests coming at his home ground, Edgbaston, and the site of his greatest international successes, Lord’s, the wait should be almost over.

Mark Wood

Age 33 Caps 28 Right-arm seam/right-hand bat

Of the three bowlers of express pace that England hoped to name in this squad, Wood is the last man standing. Expect him to be treated as a rare and fragile resource, particularly given that playing four Tests in six weeks during the last Ashes series left him feeling “knackered, wrecked, exhausted”. Before that series started Wood told the media he would “love to stick one up them”, an ambition that remains unfulfilled.

Australia

Pat Cummins

Age 30 Caps 50 Captain/right-arm fast/right-hand bat

Tall, dark, resistant to cliche, the captain retains that fresh-out-of-the-packaging scent after 18 months in the job. For 144 years Australians were convinced that specialist bowlers, especially fast ones, could never run teams. Cummins has junked that. His players have left behind verbal abuse, he shows as much leadership for causes off the field, and he can still hit a perfect length to rock the stumps like his classic deliveries to Joe Root.

Scott Boland

Age 34 Caps 8 Right-arm medium-fast/right-hand bat

An overnight success a decade in the making, Boland harnessed his years of belting the ball into an unresponsive MCG pitch, then unleashed that on Test debut on a rare Melbourne green seamer to capture his famous Ashes figures of six for seven. He is better than one performance and has stayed in the mix ever since, an expert at hitting the seam on a good length.

Alex Carey

Age 31 Caps 20 Wicketkeeper/left-hand bat

Respected for his calmness, Carey has captained Australia in one-day cricket and cemented his spot behind the stumps in the Test team. His glovework may be challenged in England though it held up during this year’s tough tour of India. His batting recently yielded his first Test century, and his temperament is almost unfailingly upbeat. His bad run with the reverse sweep might peter out given England’s lack of spinners.

Cameron Green

Age 24 Caps 21 Right-hand bat/right-arm fast

A physically imposing specimen, Green stands at 6ft 6in but has the footwork and timing of someone a foot shorter. Often defence-minded, he can hit long when called upon and is fresh off his first Test ton in India. His bowling is a work in progress for consistency but can top 90mph and offers a mean short ball. Australia’s long-searched-for unicorn is in the final stages of testing for authenticity.

Marcus Harris

Age 30 Caps 14 Left-hand opening bat
Harris holds the strange position of spending five years as the squad’s reserve opener due to weight of domestic runs, while usually being overlooked when a replacement is actually needed. His few Test opportunities have not suggested a player up to that level. But three seasons of county graft may have given him the tools to cope better than 2019, should a vacancy arise.

Josh Hazlewood

Age 32 Caps 59 Right-arm fast/left-hand bat
An outstanding fast bowler with 222 Test wickets, Hazlewood combines metronomic length with seam movement, a touch of swing, and an unexpectedly testing bouncer. His only problem is injury. After seven years of barely missing a game, he has played four Tests in the last two-and-a-half years, mainly thanks to side strains and his achilles tendon. One of Australia’s best three quicks if fit, he has work on his hands to get there before Friday.

Travis Head

Age 29 Caps 37 Left-hand bat/right-arm off-spin
Appointed South Australian captain by the age of 22, big things were expected from Travis Head from the start. He has begun to deliver them in Tests, reeling off counterattacking gems from No 5 too many times for it to be luck. England were on the receiving end of Travball in 2021 before Bazball even raised its head. He can also turn the ball a mile, once taking four for 10.

Josh Inglis

Age 28 Caps 0 Wicketkeeper/right-hand bat
Born in Leeds before changing hemispheres, Inglis still retains something of the accent of his opposition, but has the unmistakable attitude of Perth. A star for Western Australia, he is the utility in this Ashes squad, as the reserve wicketkeeper who could also fill any vacant spot in the batting.

Usman Khawaja

Age 36 Caps 61 Left-hand opening bat

The comeback elder statesman who relaunched his Test career with twin tons in Sydney during the previous Ashes, Khawaja’s one gap as yet unfilled is making an impact on an England tour. In 2019 he lost his spot after the third Test, and averages under 20 in England. His recent renaissance has been built on staying relaxed, but tension may be hard to avoid if changing that record is on his mind.

Marnus Labuschagne

Age 28 Caps 38 Right-hand bat/right-arm off-spin

A product of the 2019 Ashes - when Steve Smith was felled by a Jofra Archer bouncer at Lord’s, Labuschagne sprang up in his place like a new hydra head. He hasn’t been out of the team since, racking up 10 hundreds on his way to No 1 in the men’s ICC batting rankings. His excitable on-field presence has mellowed, and he shoulders major responsibility batting at first drop.

Nathan Lyon

Age 35 Caps 120 Right-arm off-spin/right-hand bat

The quiet veteran, despite the odd awkward effort to come across as louder, Lyon could pass 500 Test wickets in this series. It reflects a career of remarkable durability, having missed only four Tests since his first in 2011. Still underrated for not producing fireworks, he has grooved his action into something perfectly dependable, and tailors it to all conditions.

Mitchell Marsh

Age 31 Caps 32 Right-hand bat/right-arm medium

A perennial squad tourist, Marsh popped up in the fifth Test of 2019 to take five for 46, and has established himself in recent years as a key batting contributor to Australia’s white-ball teams. He is behind Green these days as a Test all-rounder, but can do a range of jobs if called upon. Pure force of personality also makes him a dressing-room mood enhancer.

Todd Murphy

Age 22 Caps 4 Right-arm off-spin/left-hand bat

The next spinner in line, bespectacled country boy Murphy was thrown in at the deep end in India earlier this year and found his stroke almost instantly with a bag of seven wickets on debut. His off-breaks are very different to Lyon’s, more round-arm and using variations, but his skill level in employing those change-ups makes knowledgeable observers excited.

Matthew Renshaw

Age 27 Caps 14 Left-hand bat/right-arm off spin

Made his debut at 20 and thanks to his patience was seen as a long-term opener. Selectors messed with that programme, though, and he has spent years in a personal wilderness, trying different gameplans and batting positions. The current selectors are backing him as the next best batter available, with the versatility to cover the middle order.

Steve Smith

Age 34 Caps 97 Vice-captain/right-hand bat/right-arm leg-spin

An idiosyncratic modern great, Smith is poised to twitch and shuffle past Steve Waugh’s tally of 32 Test hundreds and trail only Ricky Ponting’s 41 for Australia. No visitor but Don Bradman has more tons in England, where Smith averages more than 61. His returns come from immense patience and concentration. After a quiet home Ashes 18 months ago, his hundred in the World Test Championship final in London has Smith set to go.

Mitchell Starc

Age 33 Caps 78 Left-arm fast/left-hand bat

Left-arm fierce, at times erratic as per high pace, Starc used to be a fragile human trebuchet. Lately he has become Australia’s most durable, playing 33 of the last 40 Tests and foregoing the riches he could make at the IPL. Swing with the new ball, reverse with the old, and with the ability to launch a few sixes with the bat, Starc’s footmarks are also a boon companion for Lyon’s spin.

David Warner

Age 36 Caps 104 Left-hand opening bat

England’s favourite villain, Stuart Broad’s favourite target, Warner has defied the odds to go again. The chances looked slim after Broad and Jofra Archer kept him to 95 runs in 10 innings across the 2019 Ashes, but like the best villains, Warner is hard to eliminate for good. The left-hander will be there again opening the batting, and says he wants to reverse the pressure by scoring fast.