Ashes 2023: England announce squad for first two tests against Australia

England lost the 2021-22 Ashes series in Australia by a 4-0 margin.

The English summer of test cricket has started with England playing a one-off four-day test against Ireland at home. The game is underway at Lord's, and the hosts are heading towards a win by an innings margin. After this game, England will host Australia for a much-anticipated five-match Ashes 2023 series at home.

The first game of the Ashes series will kick off on June 16 at Edgbaston, Birmingham. The last time, Australia thrashed the English team 4-0 at home. However, things have changed drastically since then. Ben Stokes took over the captaincy and Brendon McCullum has taken charge as head coach. Under Stokes and McCullum, England have revamped their cricket strategy and are playing a more aggressive brand of cricket.

England name 16-member squad for Edgbaston and Lord's test

After suffering humiliation in the last Ashes series, England will have a perfect chance to take revenge at home. The form England are in at the moment, it will be an exciting series between the oldest rivals in the game. Meanwhile, the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) has named a 16-member squad for the first two tests of the upcoming Ashes series.

The English selection committee has named an unchanged side which is playing the one-off test against Ireland. It means the almost the same playing XI will be seen in the first test against Australia in Birmingham with minimal changes. Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, and Ollie Pope will be in top order. Joe Root, Harry Brook, Jonny Bairstow, and skipper Ben Stokes will bat in the middle order.

The only change we might see will be in the bowling department. James Anderson might be back, and Josh Tongue will make his way. The first game will be played between June 16 and 20, while the second match will start at the Lord's on June 28. Meanwhile, the squad for the remaining three games will be announced later on. The third, fourth, and fifth games will take place in Leeds, Manchester, and the Oval, respectively.

England's squad for first two Ashes 2023 tests:

Ben Stokes (C), 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