England squad for Ashes 2025-26 announced, Harry Brook named VC, Chris Woakes snubbed

On Tuesday, September 23, the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) officially announced the strong 16-man squad for the upcoming Ashes series, which kicks off on November 21.

The England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) selection committee has made some big decisions, with the biggest one being the appointment of Harry Brook as the new Test vice-captain.

Harry Brook confirmed as new vice-captain, Ollie Pope Axed

The England National Cricket Team will travel to Australia for a high-voltage Test series against Pat Cummins & Co. This is expected to be a highly challenging tour for the Three Lions, and for that, the selectors have picked the best possible squad.

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Harry Brook - the white-ball captain - has been handed the vice-captaincy in Test cricket as well, replacing Ollie Pope in the role.

Notably, Ollie Pope was serving as the Test vice-captain for a long time, but his performances with the bat were quite underwhelming. With Pope being removed from the leadership role, his place in the playing XI could come under threat with Jacob Bethell waiting in the wings.

In another major development, the express pacer Mark Wood has finally recovered from his knee injury and is ready to fire Down Under. Along with him, the off-spinner Shoaib Bashir has also recovered from his finger injury and is fully fit to go.

Ben Stokes continues his recovery from the shoulder injury - ECB

One player who is not fully recovered at the moment is the red-ball skipper Ben Stokes. However, he is expected to be available for the series opener against Australia.

"Test Captain Ben Stokes continues his recovery from the shoulder injury that ruled him out of the final Test against India at the Kia Oval and remains on track to be available for the start of the Test series in November," ECB stated.

Meanwhile, pacer Matthew Potts and batting all-rounder Will Jacks have both received recalls for the high-profile Test series. Will Jacks will serve as the second spinner on the tour, with no place for Rehan Ahmed, Jack Leach, or Liam Dawson in the squad.

Also, the veteran pace-bowling all-rounder Chris Woakes has not been considered for selection after dislocating his shoulder during the Oval Test against the India National Cricket Team.

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England Test squad for Ashes vs Australia:

Ben Stokes (captain), Jofra Archer, Gus Atkinson, Shoaib Bashir, Jacob Bethell, Harry Brook (vice-captain), Brydon Carse, Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Will Jacks, Ollie Pope, Matthew Potts, Joe Root, Jamie Smith (wicketkeeper), Josh Tongue, Mark Wood.

Talking about the Ashes 2025-26 schedule, Team England will take on England Lions in a warm-up fixture from November 13 to 15 in Perth. After that, the series opener will take place at the Optus Stadium in Perth from November 21 to 25, followed by the second Test at The Gabba in Brisbane from December 4 to 8.

Then, the third Test at the Adelaide Oval is scheduled between December 17 and 21, and the fourth Test will be hosted by the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) from December 26 to 30. The series finale will take place at the Sydney Cricket Ground (SCG) from January 4 to 8, 2026.