*Official* Road to the 2025-26 Ashes

[Molehill]

Will Stokes play any cricket between the oval test this week and the Australian tour?

Almost certainly not. The only non Test he's played in the last year was a warm up in NZ. I guess the only thing he could do is have a bat for Durham in Sept, but that would seem unlikely.

 

[LangleyburyCCPlayer]

England have actually done ok in the First Test of foreign tours recently, the last time they didn't win one was that farcical tour of W Indies in 2022. Not saying they will win this time, but being under-prepared has not generally been a thing.

Well the only game before the series starts is against the Lions so you’d bloody hope they’ll win that one (not that they’re going to publicise the score or anything lol)

I don’t think we played a warm-up before Hyderabad and Multan and we very famously won both Tests! We did play a warm-up before the New Zealand series, but we didn’t take it all that seriously, and that first Test could easily have gone differently if they’d held on to catches. Would imagine the Lions will be a mix of young up and comers and senior players who need overs in the legs (Wood perhaps?)

 

[LangleyburyCCPlayer]

Almost certainly not. The only non Test he's played in the last year was a warm up in NZ. I guess the only thing he could do is have a bat for Durham in Sept, but that would seem unlikely.

Yesterday I learned that we have a white-ball series in New Zealand in October and the start of November, obviously Stokes has now retired again from ODIs, but how many of the Test team will play in that just to get some match practice?

 

[mackembhoy]

Almost certainly not. The only non Test he's played in the last year was a warm up in NZ. I guess the only thing he could do is have a bat for Durham in Sept, but that would seem unlikely.

Unless your Sussex blokes pull off 8 wickets this afternoon.

Durham will be dropping to 11th in the table.

So maybe he will want to try and save Durham from relegation and turn out for us against Worcestershire and Yorkshire

 

[LangleyburyCCPlayer]

Unless your Sussex blokes pull off 8 wickets this afternoon.

Durham will be dropping to 11th in the table.

So maybe he will want to try and save Durham from relegation and turn out for us against Worcestershire and Yorkshire

No chance with this injury!

 

[mackembhoy]

No chance with this injury!

Aye hadn't really looked into it

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1950555376346169663

 

[Gob]

What's the most likely side for the opening test then?

Duckett
Crawley
Pope
Root
Brook
Stokes
Smith
Woakes
Wood
Atkinson
Archer

No point in playing a spinner. Yes both Wood and archer in the same line up is super risky but I feel they need to hit Aust hard right at the start and manage the seamers from there

 

[govinda indian fan]

What's the most likely side for the opening test then?

Duckett
Crawley
Pope
Root
Brook
Stokes
Smith
Woakes
Wood
Atkinson
Archer

No point in playing a spinner. Yes both Wood and archer in the same line up is super risky but I feel they need to hit Aust hard right at the start and manage the seamers from there

Woakes wont play in aus. Carse likely

 

[Johan]

What's the most likely side for the opening test then?

Duckett
Crawley
Pope
Root
Brook
Stokes
Smith
Woakes
Wood
Atkinson
Archer

No point in playing a spinner. Yes both Wood and archer in the same line up is super risky but I feel they need to hit Aust hard right at the start and manage the seamers from there

Duckett
Crawley
Pope
Root
Brook
Stokes
Smith
Carse
Atkinson
Wood
Archer

for the first Test imo, rotation involving guys like Tongue/Pope/Cook/Bashir can happen later.

 

[Molehill]

I couldn't see us taking Woakes before this series and it could be his shoulder takes quite a long time to heal anyway, he really didn't look in a good way. Having said that, the wickets in the BGT would have been a bit more Woakes friendly.

The Top 7 looks set in stone if all are fit, Atkinson and Archer would be nailed on too. The fast bowling squad will include Carse, Wood, Tongue and probably one other and will rotate.

I suspect England will play a spinner, having Stokes as the 4th seamer affords them that.

 

[LangleyburyCCPlayer]

What's the most likely side for the opening test then?

Duckett
Crawley
Pope
Root
Brook
Stokes
Smith
Woakes
Wood
Atkinson
Archer

No point in playing a spinner. Yes both Wood and archer in the same line up is super risky but I feel they need to hit Aust hard right at the start and manage the seamers from there

Woakes is out, which I am a bit concerned about, shocking away record notwithstanding, not fading after a long day is never a bad thing, especially when all the other seamers are fragile. I think we will see Archer and Wood rotated, maybe seeing them together in one Test, depending on which pitch is likely to help them the most (I’ll defer to the Aussies on that one lol, I don’t know the intricacies of your pitches). I get the idea of not playing a spinner in Australia, but what’s the point of plucking some random tall lad from a YouTube clip if it’s not to give him a game in Australia?

 

[Molehill]

What's the most likely side for the opening test then?

Duckett
Crawley
Pope
Root
Brook
Stokes
Smith
Woakes
Wood
Atkinson
Archer

No point in playing a spinner. Yes both Wood and archer in the same line up is super risky but I feel they need to hit Aust hard right at the start and manage the seamers from there

And what's the likely Aussie line up? Does Lyon still get a game? Who are the top 3? Webster at 6?

There are a lot of questions to be resolved in both teams it seems, but suspect England will need at least 2 Aussie pacers to breakdown to have any chance.

 

[ImpatientLime]

I couldn't see us taking Woakes before this series and it could be his shoulder takes quite a long time to heal anyway, he really didn't look in a good way. Having said that, the wickets in the BGT would have been a bit more Woakes friendly.

The Top 7 looks set in stone if all are fit, Atkinson and Archer would be nailed on too. The fast bowling squad will include Carse, Wood, Tongue and probably one other and will rotate.

I suspect England will play a spinner, having Stokes as the 4th seamer affords them that.

woakes bowled on seamer friendly surfaces in 21/22 and got flogged. that hobart track was as good as you'll get for a bowler of his MO in oz (plus it was under lights) and he was horrendous.

he cannot go.

 

[Prince EWS]

Woakes wont play in aus. Carse likely

But he is arse?

 

[Johan]

could concede the series before the 1st Test.

 

[LangleyburyCCPlayer]

And what's the likely Aussie line up? Does Lyon still get a game? Who are the top 3? Webster at 6?

There are a lot of questions to be resolved in both teams it seems, but suspect England will need at least 2 Aussie pacers to breakdown to have any chance.

Why do English pacers break like KitKats yet Australian ones can all play 100 Tests back to back? Assuming neither team gets a debilitating injury mid-game, I think our bowlers will do well against a fragile batting lineup, I think our batting lineup will do what they always do and will and try to smash everything, I think it’ll come off once or twice, but against that bowling attack, over the course of 5 Tests, it’s a tough ask!

 

[ashley bach]

Very early doors here but I honestly suspect there will be a massive upset this series

Australia 4-1

Having had time to reflect this is absolute stupidity on my behalf. Not sure what I was thinking but must have been stoned out a my brain at the time.

5-0

Or 4-0 pending weather in Brisbane or Sydney

 

[Gremlin]

Why do English pacers break like KitKats yet Australian ones can all play 100 Tests back to back? Assuming neither team gets a debilitating injury mid-game, I think our bowlers will do well against a fragile batting lineup, I think our batting lineup will do what they always do and will and try to smash everything, I think it’ll come off once or twice, but against that bowling attack, over the course of 5 Tests, it’s a tough ask!

Interesting point. Although two recently retired pacers didn't have too much time away from the middle if memory serves, what's changed?

 

[ImpatientLime]

i mean cummins spent the first half of his career broken.

also suspect the english guys are more often than not just weaker. anderson and broad total freaks mind.

 

[Durham Fan]

I’ll let out a large and frustrated sigh when the inevitable team sheet arrives with Crawley and Pope’s names on it. Sick to death of them.