No Stokes or Archer in England squad for Ashes tour of Australia

Stokes,
who
sustained
the
injury
while
playing
in
the
Indian
Premier
League
in
April,
announced
in
July
he
was
taking
a
break
from
cricket
to
protect
his
mental
wellbeing
and
allow
his
finger
to
recover.

Sam
Curran,
who
was
diagnosed
with
a
stress
fracture
to
his
lower
back
in
the
past
week,
was
also
omitted
from
head
coach
Chris
Silverwood’s
squad
for
the
five-match
series
in
Australia,
which
starts
on
December
8
in
Brisbane.

Fast
bowlers
Jofra
Archer
and
Olly
Stone
remain
absent
as
they
recover
from
injuries,
but
Stuart
Broad
is
selected
after
suffering
a
torn
calf
muscle
during
England’s
home
Test
series
with
India
in
July.

Joe
Root
will
be
captain
and
Jos
Buttler
vice-captain
of
a
side
consisting
entirely
of
players
previously
capped
at
Test
level.

The
England
and
Wales
Cricket
Board
(ECB)
only
confirmed
on
Friday
that
the
tour
would
be
going
ahead
amid
possible
concerns
around
coronavirus
restrictions
in
Australia.

While
“several
critical
conditions”
must
still
be
met
for
the
Ashes
to
proceed,
the
ECB
said
“positive
discussions”
were
ongoing
and
that
“it
is
hoped
matters
will
be
resolved
in
due
course”.

Silverwood
said
he
was
“delighted
that
all
of
our
available
players
have
committed
to
the
tour”
despite
the
likes
of
Root
and
Buttler
previously
expressing
doubts.

ECB
conditionally
approve
for
Ashes
tour
to
go
ahead

“A
tour
of
Australia
is
the
pinnacle
as
an
England
Test
cricketer,”
he
said.

“This
is
why
we
play
and
coach
to
be
involved
in
iconic
series
like
this.
More
than
half
of
our
squad
haven’t
featured
in
an
Ashes
tour
before,
which
means
we
will
be
fresh
and
looking
to
embrace
the
cricket
and
the
excitement
of
touring
one
of
the
best
places
in
the
world.

“I
believe
we
have
selected
a
well-balanced
squad
with
options
in
all
areas
and
a
blend
of
youth
and
experience.
There
is
real
competition
for
places
and
a
genuine
desire
to
work
hard
and
compete,
aiming
to
create
some
history.”

England
are
looking
to
regain
the
urn
after
it
was
retained
by
Australia
following
a
2-2
series
draw
in
2019.

England
squad
for
the
Ashes:

Joe
Root
(captain),
James
Anderson,
Jonny
Bairstow,
Dom
Bess,
Stuart
Broad,
Rory
Burns,
Jos
Buttler
(wicketkeeper),
Zak
Crawley,
Haseeb
Hameed,
Dan
Lawrence,
Jack
Leach,
Dawid
Malan,
Craig
Overton,
Ollie
Pope,
Ollie
Robinson,
Chris
Woakes,
Mark
Wood.