All-rounder Stokes named as England captain for Ashes series in November

Ben Stokes was named as England captain for the Ashes tour as the squad was announced on Tuesday for five Tests in Australia.

All-rounder Stokes missed the final Test against India at the Oval, which started on July 31, with a shoulder injury.

But England chiefs said he “remains on track to be available for the start of the Test series” against arch rivals Australia, which starts in November.

Harry Brook has been confirmed as England’s vice-captain, replacing Ollie Pope, who is in the 16-man squad as a batter.

Durham fast bowler Mark Wood returns after his recovery from a left knee injury, while Somerset spinner Shoaib Bashir is available again following a finger injury.

Durham seamer Matthew Potts and Surrey batting all-rounder Will Jacks are both included.

Potts last featured in December 2024 against New Zealand, while Jacks won his most recent Test cap in December 2022 against Pakistan.

England drew 2-2 with Australia on home turf in the most recent Ashes series, in 2023, but have not won Down Under since 2010/2011.

The first Test starts in Perth on Nov.21, with further matches in Brisbane, Adelaide, Melbourne and Sydney.

England also named squads for a white-ball tour of New Zealand before the Ashes, including three T20s and three one-day internationals.

Meanwhile, with the Ashes just two months away, Ricky Ponting believes Australia may have run out of time to make sweeping changes to their Test XI, despite ongoing concerns about the top order.

The former skipper weighed in after the Aussies’ 3-0 sweep in the Caribbean, a series that raised fresh questions over the batting lineup ahead of the 2025/26 showdown with England. While conditions in the West Indies were bowler-friendly, only two or three of Australia’s top six look truly settled.

“Everyone’s been talking about how crucial these first four Sheffield Shield games are, particularly for some of our top order batters, and I agree with that,” Ponting told SEN Tassie. “But I also feel that it’s probably got almost to the point where it’s too late to be making too many big wholesale changes to the current team going into an Ashes series.”

Ponting threw his support behind 19-year-old opener Sam Konstas, who struck 109 and 27 not out for Australia A against India A in Lucknow last week. “Konstas has obviously just done well. He made a hundred for Australia A over in India, which is exactly what he needed. So, I can see our top order being Konstas and Khawaja.”

He also backed Cameron Green’s elevation to number three, with Steve Smith at four, Travis Head at five, and Beau Webster rounding out the top six. “I think the fact that they’ve moved Green up to number three in the Caribbean probably suggests to me that they see him as that long-term number three. Smith will stay at four, Head at five, and then I would keep Beau at number six. I can’t see how they could leave Beau out of the side and keep some of the other guys in. That’s the way that I’m sort of looking at it.”

Still, Ponting admitted there was room for flexibility, particularly if Australia wanted to unsettle an aggressive England side. “The other thing I thought they could do if they were worried about that (Green’s role) at all – and with our current openers who are probably not the fastest scorers (is move Travis Head up). Head is the second most established player in that (batting) lineup, probably behind Steve Smith, and the natural progression for players of that sort of age ... you usually come into the side as a number five or six player, and eventually you’d work your way up and find yourself in a number three slot.

“So, they could think about doing that with Travis Head and with the way that England play their cricket, to have someone like Head coming in at number three and being able to put some pressure back on (could be strong).”

Australia host England in the first Test of the Ashes at Optus Stadium on Nov. 21.

Agencies

England Ashes squad

Ben Stokes (capt), 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 (wkt), Josh Tongue, Mark Wood