Team Selector: Select your England Test XI to face Australia in the first Ashes Test

England have announced a 17-member squad to tour Australia for the Ashes. You can select your own playing XI with our team selector.

Joe Root will lead the side, along with Jos Buttler as the vice-captain. The latter will also be taking the gloves, with Jonny Bairstow fitting in as the back-up keeper. England will be miss out on the services of Ben Stokes, Jofra Archer, Sam Curran and Olly Stone.

The other batters in the squad are Dawid Malan, Rory Burns, Ollie Pope, Haseeb Hameed, Zak Crawley, and Dan Lawrence. The pace attack will be led by James Anderson, with Mark Wood, Stuart Broad, Chris Woakes, Ollie Robinson, and Craig Overton the other seamers. Dom Bess and Jack Leach are the two spinners.

England’s Test specialists are due to land on Australian shores on November 4, and the first Ashes Test is due to begin on December 8 at the Gabba. Like the Australians, England will face a few selection issues of their own. After a below par home season, questions remain around the make-up of the English XI. What should the composition of the middle-order look like? Who will be England’s fast bowlers for the first Test? And, in absence of someone like Moeen Ali, will England look to promote Chris Woakes to a higher position and play a spinner along with four fast men?

England Test squad for the men’s Ashes in Australia: Joe Root (c), Jos Buttler (wk), Jonny Bairstow (wk), Ollie Robinson, Chris Woakes, James Anderson, Stuart Broad, Jack Leach, Mark Wood, Dom Bess, Dan Lawrence, Zak Crawley, Ollie Pope, Haseeb Hameed, Dawid Malan, Rory Burns, Craig Overton.