Ashes: England announce squad for first two Tests, Josh Tongue retains his place

The England cricket team has announced their squad for the first two Test matches of the upcoming Ashes series. The Three Lions have named an unchanged 16-member squad with debutant Josh Tongue retaining his place. Ollie Robinson and James Anderson did not take part in the Ireland match due to injury issues, but they are expected to be fit ahead of the five-match Test series.

England name squad for first two Ashes Test matches

Tongue has been given the preference over experience campaigner Chris Woakes, who has missed out on a place in the squad. The 25-year-old has had an exponential rise in the last few months and was added to the squad as there were concerns over the fitness for the existing pace contingent. earlier Stokes spoke pretty highly of the player. 

“It was a hard decision to make. We know Woakesy is a very experienced player and what he will offer this team when he plays. We see this as a great opportunity to see someone like Josh Tongue go out and play in a Test. We might need someone like him throughout the summer,”

Surprisingly, Jack Leach remains the only spin bowler included in the squad, as the Three Lions will rely a lot on their pace attack. The players will start practicing at Edgbaston on June 13 ahead of the first Test on 16th June.

Read More: England about to wrap up 4-day test in 3 against Ireland at Lord's

England squad for the first two Ashes Tests

Ben Stokes (c), Ollie Pope, Jonny Bairstow (wk), Joe Root, James Anderson, Stuart Broad, Harry Brook, Jack Leach, Ben Duckett, Zak Crawley, Matthew Potts, Ollie Robinson, Dan Lawrence, Chris Woakes, Mark Wood, Josh Tongue.

England vs Australia Ashes fixtures

1st Test: England v Australia, 16-20 June, Edgbaston, Birmingham
2nd Test: England v Australia, 28 June-2 July, Lord’s, London
3rd Test: England v Australia, 6-10 July, Headingley, Leeds
4th Test: England v Australia, 19-23 July, Emirates Old Trafford, Manchester
5th Test: England v Australia, 27-31 Kia Oval, London