Josh Tongue has been called up to the England Ashes squad for the first two Tests against Australia. The Worcestershire seamer, 25, who made his debut in the one-off Test against Ireland, appears to have impressed the selectors sufficiently to keep his position in the unchanged 16-man team.
Ben Foakes has been snubbed yet again as Jonny Bairstow has been named as the designated wicketkeeper following his recovery from a foot injury.
Because the lineup remains unchanged, Zak Crawley and Ben Duckett will continue to open for England. Both James Anderson and Ollie Robinson join the Ashes team despite missing the Lord’s Test against Ireland due to niggles. The squad is missing Jofra Archer, Craig Overton, Olly Stone, and Jamie Overton due to injury.
The roster is strong on bowlers, with Essex’s Dan Lawrence serving as the only backup batsman.
The first Ashes Test will be contested at Edgbaston on June 16, while the second will be played at Lord’s on June 28.
On Day 3 of the one-off Test match at Lord’s, Josh Tongue produced a five-wicket haul as the hosts romped home to a comfortable win over a gallant Ireland side. Tongue made the most of his late call-up to the Test squad, taking five wickets to help England finish out Ireland’s second innings on Day 3, with the visitors setting a target of just 11 runs.
England has fewer than two weeks until the first Ashes Test of the next ICC World Test Championship cycle, which will be held in Birmingham. Earlier in the day, they picked a strong 16-man squad for the first two Tests of the series.
England Squad
Ben Stokes, James Anderson, Jonny Bairstow, Stuart Broad, Harry Brook, Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Dan Lawrence, Jack Leach, Ollie Pope, Matthew Potts, Ollie Robinson, Joe Root, Josh Tongue, Chris Woakes, Mark Wood
Ashes schedule
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
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