England have made a significant change to their Ashes setup, with Harry Brook replacing Ollie Pope as vice-captain ahead of the winter tour to Australia. The announcement of a 16-man squad on Tuesday also saw Will Jacks make a surprising return, opening up the possibility for Jacob Bethell to bat at No. 3 in the Ashes lineup.
Brook Steps Up Amid Stokes Uncertainty
Brook’s promotion comes after taking over as England’s limited-overs captain earlier this year. His new role is particularly crucial given ongoing uncertainty over Ben Stokes’ fitness, who remains on track for the first Test starting November 21 after a shoulder injury.
“𝑩𝒓𝒐𝒐𝒌 𝒉𝒂𝒔 𝒔𝒉𝒐𝒘𝒏 𝒓𝒆𝒎𝒂𝒓𝒌𝒂𝒃𝒍𝒆 𝒍𝒆𝒂𝒅𝒆𝒓𝒔𝒉𝒊𝒑 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒚𝒆𝒂𝒓, 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒂𝒑𝒑𝒐𝒊𝒏𝒕𝒎𝒆𝒏𝒕 𝒂𝒔 𝒗𝒊𝒄𝒆-𝒄𝒂𝒑𝒕𝒂𝒊𝒏 𝒆𝒏𝒔𝒖𝒓𝒆𝒔 𝒄𝒐𝒏𝒕𝒊𝒏𝒖𝒊𝒕𝒚 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒔𝒕𝒂𝒃𝒊𝒍𝒊𝒕𝒚 𝒊𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒔𝒊𝒅𝒆,” 𝒔𝒂𝒊𝒅 𝒂𝒏 𝑬𝒏𝒈𝒍𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒔𝒑𝒐𝒌𝒆𝒔𝒑𝒆𝒓𝒔𝒐𝒏.
Ollie Pope, who previously stood in for Stokes on five occasions over the past 14 months, faces mounting pressure after a dip in form, despite starting the India series with a century at Headingley.
Jacks’ Recall Surprises Many
Will Jacks’ inclusion comes nearly three years after his only two Test appearances in Pakistan. Selected as the backup spinner behind Shoaib Bashir, Jacks’ selection over more established spinners such as Rehan Ahmed, Liam Dawson, and Jack Leach raises eyebrows, particularly given his limited first-class play over the past two seasons.
“𝑱𝒂𝒄𝒌𝒔 𝒑𝒓𝒐𝒗𝒊𝒅𝒆𝒔 𝒂 𝒖𝒏𝒊𝒒𝒖𝒆 𝒄𝒐𝒎𝒃𝒊𝒏𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏 𝒐𝒇 𝒔𝒌𝒊𝒍𝒍𝒔 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒂𝒕𝒕𝒓𝒊𝒃𝒖𝒕𝒆𝒔 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒇𝒊𝒕 𝒘𝒆𝒍𝒍 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝒑𝒍𝒂𝒏𝒔 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝑨𝒔𝒉𝒆𝒔. 𝑾𝒆 𝒂𝒓𝒆 𝒄𝒐𝒏𝒇𝒊𝒅𝒆𝒏𝒕 𝒉𝒆 𝒄𝒂𝒏 𝒎𝒂𝒌𝒆 𝒂𝒏 𝒊𝒎𝒑𝒂𝒄𝒕,” 𝑬𝒏𝒈𝒍𝒂𝒏𝒅’𝒔 𝒕𝒆𝒂𝒎 𝒎𝒂𝒏𝒂𝒈𝒆𝒎𝒆𝒏𝒕 𝒔𝒂𝒊𝒅.
Matthew Potts, returning after a gap since late 2024, joins as the sixth frontline seamer following Chris Woakes’ shoulder injury. Mark Wood, recovering from a knee issue, also makes the squad, giving England some experienced options in Australian conditions.
No. 3 and White-Ball Preparations
Jacob Bethell’s performance in the white-ball series, including a recent ODI hundred against South Africa, puts him in contention for the crucial No. 3 spot. England will assess his readiness during the upcoming T20I and ODI series against New Zealand, which serve as a warm-up for the Ashes.
Ollie Pope retains a role as back-up wicketkeeper in case Jos Smith is unavailable, while other squad adjustments ensure England balances experience and form across both white-ball and red-ball formats.
“𝑶𝒖𝒓 𝒇𝒐𝒄𝒖𝒔 𝒊𝒔 𝒐𝒏 𝒑𝒓𝒆𝒑𝒂𝒓𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒃𝒆𝒔𝒕 𝒕𝒆𝒂𝒎 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝑨𝒔𝒉𝒆𝒔 𝒘𝒉𝒊𝒍𝒆 𝒈𝒊𝒗𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒆𝒎𝒆𝒓𝒈𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒕𝒂𝒍𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒔 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒐𝒑𝒑𝒐𝒓𝒕𝒖𝒏𝒊𝒕𝒚 𝒕𝒐 𝒔𝒕𝒂𝒌𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒊𝒓 𝒄𝒍𝒂𝒊𝒎,” 𝑬𝒏𝒈𝒍𝒂𝒏𝒅’𝒔 𝒎𝒂𝒏𝒂𝒈𝒆𝒎𝒆𝒏𝒕 𝒔𝒂𝒊𝒅.
England winter squads:
- T20I vs New Zealand: Harry Brook (captain), Rehan Ahmed, Sonny Baker, Tom Banton, Jacob Bethell, Jos Buttler (wicketkeeper), Brydon Carse, Jordan Cox, Zak Crawley, Sam Curran, Liam Dawson, Jamie Overton, Adil Rashid, Phil Salt, Luke Wood.
- ODI vs New Zealand: Jofra Archer, Ben Duckett, Joe Root, Jamie Smith replace Jordan Cox, Zak Crawley, Phil Salt.
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