Ashes

England squad: AJ Brimson, Joe Burgess, Daryl Clark, Herbie Farnworth, Tom Johnstone, Mikey Lewis, Harry Newman, Mikolaj Oledzi, George Williams (capt), Harry Smith, Mike McMeeken, Jez Litten, Matty Lees, Kai Pearce-Paul, Kallum Watkins, Morgan Knowles, Owen Trout, Alex Walmsley, Morgan Smithies.

Australia XIII: Reece Walsh, Mark Nawaqanitawase, Kotoni Staggs, Gehamat Shibasaki, Josh Addo-Carr, Cameron Munster, Nathan Cleary, Patrick Carrigan, Harry Grant, Tino Fa’asuamaleaui, Angus Crichton, Hudson Young, Isaah Yeo (captain).

Interchanges: Tom Dearden, Lindsay Collins, Reuben Cotter, Keaon Koloamatangi.

Reserves: Bradman Best, Lindsay Smith, Mitchell Moses.

The Ashes returns on 21 November and plenty of batters will be dreaming of runs before the opening Test in Perth.

Just 10 England players have scored a century in a men’s Ashes Tests in Australia since 2005, can you name them all?

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Captain Ben Stokes has extended his England central contract through to the end of the next home Ashes series in 2027.

Stokes, whose previous deal was due to expire at the end of next summer, is one of 14 players to sign on for two years.

They include pace bowler Jofra Archer, who has signed an extended contract following his return to Test cricket.

England said the contracts reward performances in the past year, while also looking ahead to the upcoming schedule. The home Ashes in 2027 is followed by a 50-over World Cup in South Africa, Zimbabwe and Namibia.

All of the 16 players in the squad for the upcoming Ashes in Australia have been handed a contract of at least one year.

Eleven of the Ashes squad – including Stokes, Archer, Joe Root and Harry Brook – have signed two-year deals.

Four of the five with one-year contracts – batters Zak Crawley and Ollie Pope, spinner Shoaib Bashir and seamer Matthew Potts – are not multi-format players, while 35-year-old pace bowler Mark Wood is entering the final part of a three-year contract he signed in 2023.

The extension of Stokes’ contract is particularly eye-catching.

The 34-year-old all-rounder has a chequered injury record and is currently recovering from a shoulder problem.

However, he is on track to be fit for the first Ashes Test in Perth on 21 November, which would be his first action since July.

In signing a longer deal, it indicates the potential for him to lead England into the 2027 Ashes and also aligns his future with head coach Brendon McCullum, who is contracted to England until the end of the World Cup that year.

From Mount Maunganui to Wellington, plus a loss in Hamilton in between, England’s batting failings against the Black Caps were undeniably a concerning trend.

Yes, captain Harry Brook lost all three tosses to expose those batters to the worst of conditions on at least two occasions.

Yes, New Zealand’s 50-over side, with their 93% win ratio at home since 2019, provide one of the toughest challenges in world sport.

But with four Ashes bankers in England’s top five – and the fifth a possible starter in Jacob Bethell – they returned only one innings above 34 between them across three matches.

Bethell, Brook, Ben Duckett, Jamie Smith and Joe Root batted 15 times collectively in the 50-over series and together had nine single-figure scores.

No-one would call that ideal.

“It’s a different form of the game and it’s a completely different kind of challenge that we’re going to be confronted with as well,” said coach Brendon McCullum, denying batters would be scarred by the 3-0 series sweep heading into the Ashes.

At no point have England been in New Zealand because they see it as the optimal way to prepare for five Tests in Australia.

These fixtures were part of their wider schedule, dictated by those with a grip on the purse strings and who sign broadcast deals.

England have, instead, tried to make the most of the cramped schedule and ease players back into action after a post-summer break.

Steve Smith’s Sheffield Shield century appeared ominous, but fellow Australia middle-order batter Travis Head is also battling through white-ball matches against India, with no score above 30 in four attempts.

Had Root stroked New Zealand’s medium-fast pacers for a century in front of Aotearoa’s grass banks, few would have said it mattered when it came to facing Mitchell Starc and Josh Hazlewood in the Perth cauldron with a different ball.

The reverse must also be true.

“Jamie Smith, Joe Root and Ben Duckett, they’ll be better for the run, too,” McCullum said.

“I’m sure they’ll be better for it with the prep that we’ve had with the other Test guys [bowlers Mark Wood, Josh Tongue and Gus Atkinson] who’ve been here for a while, too, we’ll have no excuses come Australia.”

England’s 175 was some way short of the 244 average first-innings total in ODIs at Hamilton.

Indeed it was over a hundred runs adrift of the average winning score – 287 – when batting first at the ground.

Given so few runs to play with, England’s bowlers needed to marry incisiveness with control.

Archer brought them both during 10 overs of top-class fast bowling across two spells as he put down a marker in his first outing of the winter.

The 30-year-old set the tone early with a full delivery in his first over that had Young trapped plumb in front.

New Zealand’s batters were then hopping about the crease, as Archer showed his teeth with some rasping short balls.

Archer’s pace was up there as well. He averaged 87.4mph across his two spells with his fastest delivery of the day clocked at 90.2mph.

The Barbados-born quick bowler’s two other wickets owed a little more to fortune – Ravindra hooking him to Adil Rashid in the deep and Bracewell feathering one off his pads into the gloves of wicketkeeper Jos Buttler.

Yet they had been earned by spells of pressure. Archer’s 51 dot balls were the most he has bowled in an ODI when he has sent down 10 overs.

Archer’s injury problems and careful management over the past few years have been well documented.

But the fact he seems willing to throw himself about in the field – diving to stop balls on the boundary at fine leg – shows there are no scars.

There will be no holding back this winter.

England coach Brendon McCullum and captain Ben Stokes will have excitedly taken note. So too, with a little more trepidation, will Australia.

Sydney Roosters prop Lindsay Collins is promoted to the starting line-up in the only personnel change to the team that started at Wembley, with Patrick Carrigan moving into the loose forward role vacated by Yeo.

Lindsay Smith, Yeo’s Penrith Panthers club-mate, steps up to the bench, with Jacob Preston named among the reserves.

“Harry and all of the senior players for that matter stepped up after Isaah’s unfortunate injury last week,” said former Kangaroo half-back Walters.

“While we’d love to have Isaah out there, he’ll still be contributing in many other ways around the group this week. He’s a natural leader, and so too is Harry so we’re in great hands this week.

“I’m really pleased with the way we’ve started the series, but we’re into a new week now and our focus is on preparing well and being at our very best this Saturday.”

Brisbane Broncos superstar Reece Walsh will again play at full-back, having scored two tries and won the man-of-the-match award on his international debut at Wembley.

Saturday’s second Test, and the third at AMT Headingley on 8 November, both kick off at 14:30 GMT and are live on BBC One.

Australia: Reece Walsh, Mark Nawaqanitawase, Kotoni Staggs, Gehamat Shibasaki, Josh Addo-Carr, Cameron Munster, Nathan Cleary, Lindsay Collins, Harry Grant (captain), Tino Fa’asuamaleaui, Angus Crichton, Hudson Young, Patrick Carrigan.

Interchanges: Tom Dearden, Lindsay Smith, Reuben Cotter, Keaon Koloamatangi.

Reserves: Bradman Best, Jacob Preston, Mitchell Moses.

Six months later, Vaughan replaced Hussain as Test captain. His mission was to reshape an England team scarred by years of Ashes beatings. Only four of the XI from Sydney made it to the first Ashes Test at Lord’s in 2005.

“It wasn’t two years of waking up and thinking, ‘we’ve got to beat Australia’, because the only way to beat Australia is to win the games before,” says Vaughan. “You can’t suddenly arrive in an Ashes to beat that side having not beaten the other teams.

“It became obvious we were going to have a fresher team, a younger team, a team that had very little baggage. What was very clear in 2002-03, understandably, once we’d lost the first Test it was ‘here we go again’, because a lot of those players had been around the England side in the 1990s.”

Those unforgettable eight weeks of summer in 2005 etched the names of Vaughan and his players into English cricketing folklore. Steve Harmison drawing blood from Ponting, and Andrew Strauss’ catch. Kevin Pietersen’s hair and Gary Pratt’s direct hit. Andrew Flintoff’s batting. Andrew Flintoff’s bowling. Andrew Flintoff’s drinking.

Because of injuries that occurred even before the series ended, the class of 2005 never played together again.

“That moment when you win is the best moment, but also quite deflating because it’s all over,” says Vaughan. “All the stress and pressure were hard to deal with, but you get adrenaline from being in a series like that. When it’s over you wonder what’s next.”

Vaughan did not know it at the time, but lifting the urn was to be his last act as an Ashes cricketer. His troublesome knees meant he played only two more Tests in the 18 months that followed, including missing the defence in Australia in 2006-07. Under the captaincy of Flintoff, and a shadow of the team that won in 2005, England were dismantled 5-0 by an Australia side determined for revenge.

“We got absolutely hammered, and would have got hammered with me playing,” says Vaughan. “We poked the bear.

“It was hard to watch, because a lot of my mates were playing. Once we beat that Australia team once, they weren’t going to allow us to beat them twice, especially in their own backyard.”

Vaughan tearfully stepped down as England skipper in 2008, although still with thoughts of playing in the home Ashes of 2009 under the captaincy of Strauss. Form and knees didn’t allow it. In the four years between Ashes series played in this country, Vaughan went from winning captain to former cricketer. He retired at the age of 34.

“Straussy rang me and said he wanted me to get runs in county cricket and we’d have a look, but my body was knackered,” says Vaughan. “I couldn’t do the training or the work.

“There was the odd morning I woke up and thought, ‘come on, let’s have a go at getting that batting slot’. I was thinking there was a chance.

“I probably retired a little bit too young, but I would have royally embarrassed myself in 2009.”

Considering his lofty standing in recent English cricketing history, Vaughan played relatively few Ashes Tests – 10 of them, five away and five at home.

He will forever be remembered for what he achieved in 2005. It would not have been possible without what happened in 2002-03.

Nathan Collins scored 22 points as England came through a testing final warm-up for the Wheelchair Rugby League Ashes to beat Queensland 72-60 on the Sunshine Coast.

Leeds Rhinos pivot Collins scored two tries and landed seven goals as Tom Coyd’s side had to come back from an early 12-6 deficit against competitive hosts.

Wheels of Steel winner Joe Coyd scored three of England’s 13 tries, and added a goal, as they followed up their 86-10 win over New South Wales in last Friday’s tour opener.

Mason Billington and Luis Domingos both scored twice, with one try each for Rob Hawkins, tour captain Lewis King, Seb Bechara and Finlay O’Neill. Wayne Boardman added a goal to the tally.

For Halifax Panthers youngster O’Neill it was a first international try, and he was watched by his father and grandmother, who have travelled from Yorkshire for the tour’s early stages.

Queensland included several players who are set to feature for Australia against England later this week, including Zac Schumacher, who scored five of their tries, and Bayley McKenna, who converted all nine of his goal attempts.

Dan Anstey and Adam Tannock scored twice for the hosts and Pete Arbuckle once, with their other goal coming from Jack Kruger.

England face a two-Test series against Australia on the Gold Coast, with the first match on Thursday and the second on Sunday.

Twenty-two years later, same story. Australia picked up where they left off in their domination of the rugby league Ashes.

After a tense opening 20 minutes of the first series since 2003, the Kangaroos opened the scoring against England with their first flowing move of the contest.

Debutant Mark Nawaqanitawase shifted the ball left for rampaging full-back Reece Walsh to go over in style.

England were unhappy as scrum-half Mikey Lewis appeared to be tripped in the build-up, and there looked to be a forward pass too – but the try was given following a review by video referee Jack Smith.

Smith partly redeemed himself to the Wembley crowd by disallowing a second Australia try before the break as Dom Young was taken out by Josh Addo-Carr as he jumped to catch a high kick.

Shaun Wane’s side initially responded well to conceding and defence-splitting grubber kicks from George Williams and Tom Johnstone had the green and gold defence on their heels.

But Cleary added a penalty with the last action of the first half to put Australia 8-0 up – and they extended the lead straight after the interval.

After putting the hosts under constant pressure from the restart, Angus Crichton strode through to score with full-back Jack Welsby too deep and allowing him to go through far too easily.

Australia kept England at arm’s length thereafter, easing their way to victory in the first meeting between the sides since the 2017 World Cup final.

That success was secured with 15 minutes remaining as second row Crichton scythed through the defence again, and more gloss was added when a superb field-length move down the left was finished by the impressive Walsh.

Daryl Clark barged over in the final minutes for England, but it was no more than a consolation.

A downside for the visitors was that captain Issah Yeo was forced off in the first half after failing a head injury assessment following a clash with Young. He will also miss the second test next week at Hill Dickinson Stadium in Liverpool.

More to follow.

A return to form for Labuschagne would not entirely solve the issues Australia have around their batting line-up for the first Test against England at Perth on 21 November.

He was pushed up to open in his most recent Test – the World Test Championship final defeat by South Africa in which he returned scores of 17 and 22 – but has been batting at his previous position of number three for Queensland.

Were he to return at number three, the position he has scored all of his Test hundreds, Australia would still be looking for at least one opener.

Twenty-year-old Sam Konstas played in West Indies but managed only 50 runs across six innings. Though he scored a century for Australia A in India last month he has not passed 50 in four innings in domestic cricket this season and was dismissed by Scott Boland for a four-ball duck on Wednesday.

Tasmania’s uncapped opener Jake Weatherald, 30, scored a 99-ball 94 on day two of a low-scoring match against Western Australia on Thursday to push his case.

If Labuschagne returned as an opener then it would allow Australia to pick Cameron Green at number three and retain fellow all-rounder Beau Webster in the middle order, though Green only has one fifty in eight innings in that position since being pushed up the order for the Test final against South Africa.

Webster is currently out with an ankle injury but Green is in Australia’s squad for the three-match one-day international series against India which begins on Sunday.

Domingos passed his healthcare course too – and over the next few years, spent time in Spain with second-tier Basketmi Ferrol and top-flight Servigest Burgos, then followed his friend and mentor Bartolo to Portugal to join BC Gaia, all the while racking up international appearances for the country of his birth.

“Spain’s the biggest league in the world,” Domingos said. “It’s the NBA of wheelchair basketball.

“I played alongside two of the best players: Mateusz Filipski – he’s known as wheelchair basketball’s Steph Curry. He can shoot from everywhere. He’s a good leader, an amazing human. And I played alongside Lee Fryer, one of England’s most exciting emerging players.”

But Domingos wanted to come back to England to study, starting a business management degree at the University of Huddersfield – he is set to graduate next summer.

He kept up his fitness playing wheelchair basketball for a team in Wakefield, who shared training facilities with Wheelchair Championship rugby league side Castleford. A friend urged him to sign up with Cas – and everything has snowballed from there.

In April, he scored the winning try as they beat North Wales Crusaders to win the Wheelchair Challenge Trophy, for second-tier clubs. In June, he was called into England’s 17-strong national performance squad.

And then in August, he made the final 10 to fly to Australia – qualifying for the call-up on residency grounds. His domestic season was capped last month when Castleford beat Rochdale in the Wheelchair Championship Grand Final.

“It feels amazing to be part of the Ashes,” he said. “England is a family. I feel privileged to be part of this.

“I think my experiences with Portugal will help me to deal with the pressure. I can take some of the things I’ve learned in professional settings to this.

“At the moment, I’m enjoying this. Everything happens for a reason and you know, if I try to understand the reason, it won’t be so. Whatever happens tomorrow, I’m not sure. I’m hoping it’s a good thing, but I’m living today.”

Broad retired from playing after the Ashes series in England in 2023, when Australia retained the urn with a 2-2 draw.

He added: “You wouldn’t be outlandish in thinking – it’s actually not an opinion, it’s a fact – it’s probably the worst Australian team since 2010 when England last won, and it’s the best English team since 2010.

“So those things match up to the fact it’s going to be a brilliant Ashes series.”

The first Test starts in Perth on 21 November and Australia’s preparations have been hit by the potential absence of skipper Cummins, who has not played since July because of lumbar bone stress in his back.

The pace bowler is still recovering from the injury and has said he is “less likely than likely” to play in the opener.

His absence would leave Australia with a bowling attack of Mitchell Starc, Josh Hazlewood and Scott Boland, who are all in their mid-30s, with their other seamers inexperienced or untried at Test level.

The packed Ashes schedule – five Tests in seven weeks – also means both sides will be tested by injuries.

“Australia have been so consistent for a long period of time that you just knew who was going to open the batting, who was going to bat where, what bowlers there were – and they don’t have that,” said Broad.

“It’s very much a similar situation to 2010-2011 when England went and won there.

“The fact of the matter is Australia generally have to be bad to lose in Australia and England have to be very good.

“England have a great chance of being very good and Australia have a decent chance of being bad.

“I don’t think anyone could argue that it’s their weakest team since 2010… it’s just a fact.”

Hull KR’s Grand Final-winning trio Mikey Lewis, Jez Litten and Joe Burgess have all been named in England’s final 24-man squad for the autumn Ashes Test series against Australia but there is no place for Super League’s Man of Steel winner Jake Connor.

Litten’s only previous cap arrived against France in 2023, while Burgess, who scored two tries in Hull KR’s triumph over Wigan on Saturday, returns to the England set-up after a 10-year absence.

But Connor, who was also omitted from the squad get-together in June, has been unable to convince head coach Shaun Wane he deserves a spot amid fierce competition in the halves.

Wane’s stellar options in those berths include captain George Williams, Wigan’s Harry Smith and Lewis, who won the Rob Burrow Award for man of the match with a sparkling performance at Old Trafford.

Australia face England at Wembley on 25 October, at Everton’s Hill Dickinson Stadium on 1 November and at AMT Headingley on 8 November. All three matches are 14:30 kick-offs and will be live on BBC One.

“I’m really excited by the 24 players we have selected ahead of this upcoming Ashes Series,” said Wane.

“There were some tough decisions to be made given the quality we have across both Super League and the NRL and that’s never easy, but I am confident that the 24 selected will give us the best chance of winning this series.”

England squad: John Bateman (North Queensland Cowboys), AJ Brimson (Gold Coast Titans), Joe Burgess (Hull KR), Daryl Clark (St Helens), Herbie Farnworth (Dolphins), Ethan Havard (Wigan Warriors), Morgan Knowles (St Helens), Matty Lees (St Helens), Mikey Lewis (Hull KR), Jez Litten (Hull KR), Mike McMeeken (Wakefield Trinity), Harry Newman (Leeds Rhinos), Mikolaj Oledzki (Leeds Rhinos), Tom Johnstone (Wakefield Trinity), Kai Pearce-Paul (Newcastle Knights), Harry Smith (Wigan Warriors), Morgan Smithies (Canberra Raiders), Owen Trout (Leigh Leopards), Alex Walmsley (St Helens), Jake Wardle (Wigan Warriors), Kallum Watkins (Leeds Rhinos), Jack Welsby (St Helens), George Williams (Warrington Wolves), Dom Young (Newcastle Knights)

Ben Stokes and Mark Wood will be “raring to go” in time for the Ashes, according to England pace bowler Brydon Carse.

Talismanic England skipper Stokes missed the final Test against India in July because of a shoulder injury, while express paceman Wood has not played a Test since August 2024 as a result of elbow and knee problems.

Both are looking to be fit for the first Test in Perth on 21 November, a series opener that Australia captain Pat Cummins has said he is “less likely than likely” to feature in because of a back injury.

Carse, a Durham team-mate of Stokes and Wood, said: “Ben and Woody are going well.

“I’ve been down to Loughborough in the past couple of weeks, had a couple of nights with them. Ben is looking near enough 100% fit and so is Mark. I’ve been bowling with them.

“It’s exciting to see where they have got to after their setbacks during the summer. They will be raring to go come Australia time.”

Pace bowling and the durability of the respective attacks could be a decisive factor in the outcome of a five-Test Ashes series crammed into the space of seven weeks.

With Aussie spearhead Cummins a huge doubt for Perth and possibly beyond, the home side will rely on Mitchell Starc, Josh Hazlewood and Scott Boland, all in their mid-30s. Beyond that, their other seamers are inexperienced or untried at Test level.

The group of fast bowlers named by England is set to be their fastest and most hostile to tour Australia in more than 50 years, albeit with some fitness doubts among them.

By the time of the first Test, Wood will not have played any competitive cricket since February. Despite that lack of action, the 35-year-old – probably the fastest bowler in the world – often claims he is at his best when fresh.

All-rounder Stokes, 34, is vital to England’s Ashes hopes, but has a history of pushing himself to breaking point. He has not completed any of England’s past four Test series and in the home summer against India his large bowling workload resulted in the shoulder injury.

Stokes and Wood are also the only pace bowlers in the England squad to have played in a Test down under before, but Carse believes the touring seamers will not suffer for their lack of time in Australian conditions.

“You can look at it two ways,” said Carse, speaking at the Toyota Professional Cricketers’ Association awards.

“Stokesy and Woody have played in Ashes series down in Australia, so they have the experience to fall back on.

“A couple of the other seamers have played in A trips out there. Hopefully that experience will allow them to feel a level of confidence going into the Ashes.”

Cummins’ injury concerns heading into this winter’s Ashes could be a case of a career about to come full circle – but not in the way Australia’s captain will have wanted.

He made his Test debut as an 18-year-old in 2011 against South Africa, becoming the second-youngest player to take a five-wicket haul in an innings at that time, despite sustaining a heel injury during the match.

But his explosive debut proved to be something of a false dawn. Cummins had to wait six years to make his second Test appearance as a young body failed to withstand the load of fast bowling, suffering repeated stress fractures to his lower back.

Fast-forward 14 years, to the upcoming winter of 2025, and back problems have once again resurfaced, albeit this time as “lumbar bone stress” rather than a fracture. He has not bowled a ball since July.

If back injuries have plagued Cummins’ Test career, periods of fitness have been filled with ebullient excellence as a thoroughbred quick.

The 32-year-old, who was made Test captain in the wake of Tim Paine’s resignation shortly before the 2021-22 Ashes, has taken 309 Test wickets at an average of 22.10.

He is even more formidable in Australia, taking 177 wickets at 19.92, while he has also taken 91 wickets against England in just 19 matches.

In the most recent Ashes series in 2023, Cummins played in all five Tests, one of only two bowlers to do so along with Stuart Broad, taking 18 wickets.

A talismanic leader, Cummins enjoyed a glorious 2023 as captain, taking six wickets in Australia’s triumphant World Test Championship final and starring in their 50-over World Cup final victory in Ahmedabad – both against India.

He is the only captain in Test history to win the World Test Championship, World Cup and an Ashes series.

The three-quarter line offers so many options, despite the loss of Matty Ashton to a season-ending injury.

Out wide, Hull’s speedy Lewis Martin – a former Hull City youth footballer – was Super League’s top scorer, but is this too early for him?

Dom Young, who left Sydney Roosters for Newcastle mid-season, has been a rampaging force out wide for England, athletic and powerful.

Joe Burgess has three England caps but has not been in the reckoning of late, despite scoring regularly for Salford and now Hull KR. His team-mate Tom Davies is another who does great work out of back-field as well as out wide – but he only has one cap.

Liam Marshall scored on his England debut against Samoa last November, after several prolific seasons with Wigan, and will surely be considered.

Herbie Farnworth, arguably one of the best players in the world, has sewn up one of the centre spots, so who goes in alongside?

Jake Wardle has had another impressive season at Wigan, while Harry Newman – who Wane has shown faith in during recent series – was again a regular for Leeds.

Roosters’ Billy Smith and Gold Coast utility AJ Brimson, two Australia-born players, might come into consideration but will have to impose their desire and passion on Wane if they are to get the nod.

So who should make Wane’s Ashes squad? Share your thoughts below.

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Australia remain hopeful that captain Pat Cummins will be fit for the first Ashes Test against England in November but coach Andrew McDonald says it is getting “tight”.

The 32-year-old pace bowler has not played since suffering a back injury against the West Indies in July. Australian media reported on Wednesday that he will miss the first Test in Perth on 21 November and is doubtful for the whole series.

On Friday McDonald said there was “a lot more positivity” surrounding the skipper’s chances of playing in the opening Test but he would need at least “four, four-and-a-half weeks” of bowling practice to condition his body for the rigours of Ashes cricket. The first Test is six weeks away.

“The reality is, we’re starting to get tight in terms of the times,” McDonald said.

“We’re still optimistic, hopeful, but this time next week, I think we’ll be in a position to get a better gauge on where he’s at.”

McDonald said he would weigh up whether Cummins could be included in the side even if he was a “little bit underdone”.

Cummins has taken 309 Test wickets at an average of 22.10 runs per dismissal.

He is even more formidable in Australia, taking 177 wickets at 19.92, while he has also taken 91 wickets against England in 19 matches.

England vice-captain Harry Brook said it would be a “bonus” if Cummins was to miss out but warned that they could not take any replacement lightly.

“Pat Cummins is a phenomenal bowler and has been for so many years now,” said Brook on BBC Radio 5 Live.

“He’s got incredible skill at high pace and if he’s not there it’s a bonus for us.

“But they have got lots of amazing bowlers so I’m sure they’ll draft someone in who is very skillful. We can’t take anyone lightly.”

England Test captain Ben Stokes and coach Brendon McCullum make new players feel “on top of the world”, says all-rounder Will Jacks after receiving a surprise recall for this winter’s Ashes in Australia.

Off-spinner Jacks has played only two Tests, in 2022, but returns as cover for Shoaib Bashir ahead of Rehan Ahmed, Liam Dawson and Jack Leach.

“The leadership group make you feel like you can take anyone on,” Jacks told BBC Radio 5 Live.

“For someone who comes into the team making your debut, that builds you up quickly and makes you feel like you belong there straight away.

“He (Stokes) leads with his own actions, which makes him really easy to follow. He would never ask you do something he’s not willing to do.”