While Australia and England are both on white-ball assignments, they have one eye towards the Ashes.
The saviours of Test cricket that is England – who haven’t made a World Test Championship final or beaten Australia or India home or away in WTC history – come to Australia as overwhelming favourites according to their media against “the worst Australian team in 15 years”.
These Bazballers talk a good game but what happens on the field is what matters.
Here is how each squad member shapes up for the Ashes.
Ben Duckett: A left-handed opener by trade, Duckett is one who loves to keep the scoreboard ticking. While there is no official stat on his current leave percentage in Test cricket, Duckett had a leave percentage below two in August 2024.
Averaging a shade below 43 with six Test hundreds, Duckett has the ability to change a game in a session. But the Australian seamers can easily have his number if they station a deep point to dry up the boundaries and have him edging to the slips cordon.
Still not the best cricketer to play for Parramatta District Cricket Club among active players.
Zak Crawley: A man who epitomises Bazball, he averages a “whopping” 33.22 in the 38 Tests he has played for England under the coaching of Brendon McCullum. A walking wicket on seaming paradises with his inability to defend balls, Crawley will most likely end up as being Scott Boland’s bunny, just like how Matt Henry had his number in England’s tour of New Zealand in late 2024.
If Crawley scores over 20 runs in any innings, that would be a pass mark for England.
Ollie Pope: Dubbed the next Ian Bell for eight years straight, Pope has traversed the Graeme Hick route of being too good for first-class cricket while being an average Test cricketer. With his hard hands and still being incapable of playing a turning ball despite playing for Surrey, Pope will give the slips cordon catching practice or Marnus Labuschagne will be helping Nathan Lyon’s wicket tally with catches at short leg to dismiss Pope.
Joe Root: Despite having less Test centuries in Australia than Yasir Shah, he is heading Down Under for the fourth time as the danger wicket. The calm and composed cricketer in a team filled with slogging hacks, Root’s ability to bat for long periods of time and score big is a testament to his mental skills.
On Australian pitches, expect the Aussie right-arm seamers to target his front pad while Mitchell Starc will bowl with a 7-2 off-side field and get him driving on the up to stop his run scoring.
Harry Brook. (Photo by Alex Davidson/Getty Images)
Harry Brook: Now 26 and the captain of the English white-ball teams while also holding the vice-captaincy of the Test side, Brook is about to enter his prime years. On his day, Brook has shown multiple times that he can win you a game in a session.
But as we saw in England’s choke at The Oval against India in August 2025, he will offer a brainfade shot that could lose England a game. If Australia can keep Root and Brook quiet, England will be lucky to pass 200 during their batting innings.
Ben Stokes (captain): According to English media outlets, someone who served their one-year suspension for an overblown issue that was sandpaper gate should never be allowed to captain Australia. But nothing beats having someone who has had more court cases than Test wins in Australia as their nation’s skipper.
A world-class all-rounder who has the ability to change the game in crunch situations at times while being wildly inconsistent with the bat, Stokes will more likely have a bigger say with the ball as the fourth seamer.
By the end of this tour, Stokes will most likely have more whinges about pitches and getting out to so called unplayable balls than he will celebrate wins.
Jamie Smith (wicketkeeper): Nothing beats having your first-choice Test wicketkeeper come to Australian shores when he is not even rated to be the first-choice wicketkeeper for his first-class team.
Smith has had a great start to his Test career and follows a mould similar to Matthew Prior. However, his glovework is still susceptible, and in Australia you need to hold onto your catches to win a Test, let alone a series.
Brydon Carse: A seamer who likes to hit the deck, Carse is someone who gets bounce quite late into his delivery stride. Only nine Tests into his career, Carse will look to do a role similar to what Morne Morkel did with South Africa – bowl an uncomfortable length and have the Aussie cricketers unsure to play on the front or back foot.
Gus Atkinson: A right-arm seamer who averages below 23, Atkinson comes to Australia as England’s biggest threat with the ball. With a strike rate of 35.8 in Test cricket, Atkinson’s role will be to make early inroads with the new ball and offer runs down the order.
If Atkinson can stay fit for at least four Tests, England are in with a chance of winning one or two Tests this series.
England bowler Jofra Archer. (Photo by Stu Forster/Getty Images)
Jofra Archer: Having played only 15 Tests since his Test debut at Lords in 2019, Archer is being banked heavily on rattling Australia with his raw pace. But an average over 30 with the ball shows Archer is nowhere near the finished product in Test cricket and if he does not get going, he will be nothing less than someone who gifts free runs to Australia and helps Steve Smith continue to be the official owner of England cricket.
Shoaib Bashir: Peak Bazball is having your lead spinner be someone who averages 39 in Test cricket that you found off a Twitter clip.
A third-grade spinner at best as of now, Bashir will be targeted more than Jack Leach was during the 2021 Ashes. As long as Australia do not get overconfident, Bashir will be lucky to create chances with the ball and end up with a horror tour of Australia with the ball.
Jacob Bethell: Another peak Bazball selection. While Bethell has shown his potential in white-ball cricket, being the back-up batting option for England in an Ashes series after having fewer first-class hundreds (0) than Chris Green (1) shows that Brendon McCullum and Stokes’ mentality of vibes and pray for the best in team selection will not make you an unbeatable Test team.
Enjoy your holiday in Australia, Jacob. Pray Pope gets some runs or else you’ll be a walking wicket in the latter part of the series too.
Will Jacks: The back-up spinner in the touring party, Jacks has played more first-class cricket (57) than he has taken wickets (49). Another glorified third-grade spinner who slogs it with the bat, Jacks will be lucky to be anything less than a glorified tourist in Australia during this Ashes series.
Matthew Potts: Another medium-fast seamer, Potts’ ability to nip the ball both ways makes him dangerous if he is to play multiple Tests this series. However, Potts does not have much Test experience and if he is to struggle with the ball to start off, his confidence will be dented quickly.
England captain Ben Stokes. (Photo by Gareth Copley/Getty Images)
Josh Tongue: The good part is that Tongue has a strike rate below 45 in Test cricket. The bad is that he averages 30 with the ball and has an economy over four. England have brought him to Australia as a strike weapon but if Tongue is to concede 150 odd runs to pick a five fer, then his selection will be one that will continue to raise eyebrows.
England have selected six frontline quicks for this series, so Tongue at best may get two Tests. For England’s sake, they will be hoping this selection was worth it.
Mark Wood: While Wood has shown in his Test career to have given Australia some trouble with the ball due to his speed, he has not played any red-ball cricket since August 2024.
Will he be able to get through even one Test if he has to bowl more than 20 overs in an innings given it has been so long since he last played a red ball game with his knee issues?
Personal verdict
Despite batting on flat surfaces at home to statpad on, half of England’s top six averages below 40 comfortably. As shown in two thrashings against New Zealand in their current ODI series, England cannot play the moving ball.
There is no proper leader in their fast bowling stocks. And then you have two questionable spin bowling options.
Australia would be entering this Ashes series undercooked, but Usman Khawaja, Marnus Labuschagne and Steve Smith have all gotten runs in the Sheffield Shield so far.
Add in Travis Head’s ability to score runs for fun on green tops and that is a batting line-up that is capable of scoring 100 more than a par score on bowling friendly wickets now.
Add in Scott Boland being a brilliant replacement for Pat Cummins and Nathan Lyon still going strong even on pitches that do not suit him much, and Australia have fewer weaknesses than the Bazball saviours.
Thanks for coming England. It’ll be 4-0 or 5-0 to Australia unless the local top six all fail like they did to Jasprit Bumrah in Perth last year which would result in the tourists causing a shock win.