England Ashes squad verdict – why Stuart Broad must play over Mark Wood at Edgbaston

Just hours before England wrapped up a 10-wicket win over Ireland at Lord’s they named the 16-man squad for the first Ashes Test at Edgbaston.

Here Telegraph Sport takes a look at the names included and offers up who it thinks should take the field against Australia on 16 June.

Ben Stokes

One point England’s captain has to appreciate: while Test cricket in general is entertainment, as he says, an Ashes series is all about winning, by whatever means, by blocking if necessary, because the urn is what England’s supporters want most. Otherwise he has everything as a captain, provided he can run, not hobble, and bowl occasionally.

Verdict: In the team

Ben Duckett

A fine, yet unique, 10-Test apprenticeship in which he has scored faster than any specialist batsman in Test history. Can playing at almost every ball — he has “left” eight balls in six Tests since his recall — work against world-class seamers tempting him to off-drive, or will he throttle down? Setting the tone for his team is an awesome responsibility but he has a sound head and is now past his impulsive youth.

Verdict: In the team

Zak Crawley

It is like watching a tightrope artist running across Niagara Falls when he opens an innings: they both want to reach their destination as fast as they can, and are liable to slip. England will hope that he has learned, from his 50 against Ireland, not to hit too hard: that is why he scored so many off his inside edge, when his bottom hand took over. It has to be sober, not giddy, attack.

Verdict: In the team

Ollie Pope

If seals have to be clubbed, it could hardly be done more handsomely than Pope did during his maiden Test double-hundred. When he is on song, he is another Joe Root. But remember his previous Test innings: how edgy he was when England chased in Wellington, and that lacuna in his Test record. He averages 48 in his first innings, 16 in his second. England need growing self-assurance in their official vice-captain, especially when chasing.

Verdict: In the team

Joe Root

England won both the 2009 and 2015 Ashes on the back of only two individual centuries. If Root can score three off his own bat, England will be on their way — and he will make everyone forget he has yet to make a hundred in Australia. An enormous ask, but he has made three against them in England.  The Ireland Test was just the top-up he needed: a 50 and a few catches and overs.

Verdict: In the team

Harry Brook

He made his championship debut for Yorkshire at Lord’s but had not played a red-ball game there since, so he could have done with more time in the middle than seven balls, both to get used to the slope and to erase the memory of his barren run in the IPL. England won’t want his head falling down the slope as he cover-drives against Australia. It is still infinite promise rather than fulfilment as a batsman, and third slip.

Verdict: In the team

Jonny Bairstow

Still far from fully fit after his left knee surgery — no sign of the sprinting that was his USP as a batsman running between wickets and as a wicketkeeper chasing balls to the boundary. Yet he kept competently, coping with a bit of Lord’s wobble, and got to know Jack Leach’s spin. Would have been good for his confidence if he had enjoyed a quick thrash against Ireland as the four red-ball innings since his comeback have been defensive knocks.

Verdict: In the team

Stuart Broad

It is a marvellous achievement to have made it to another Ashes, bowling as finely as he has ever done, thanks to his thirst for learning new tricks. And in the Ireland Test he did everything required of a strike bowler. So surely England at Edgbaston have to play their one psychological trump card: Broad’s mastery over David Warner in the last home Ashes. In the process Broad would whip up the Hollies stand to fever pitch.

Verdict: In the team

Matthew Potts

As Lord’s went flat during Ireland’s second innings, Potts slipped down the pecking order. More than Josh Tongue, he needs something in the pitch: his stamina and accuracy are admirable but, without Ollie Robinson’s height, 82 mph is not quite enough. So a pace bowler to hold in reserve — unless England change their strategy and want decks with grass.

Verdict: Must bide his time

Josh Tongue

In Ireland’s first innings, when no doubt he was nervous, he fell between stools: neither an accurate fast-medium nor a threatening express, even against Ireland’s tail. But in their second innings, after Stokes had sympathetically brought him on early, he suggested that he could become the real deal — not overtaking Mark Wood, by any stretch, but slotting in when he needs resting.

Verdict: Must bide his time

Jack Leach

He is definitely getting more lateral turn, after months and months of working with England’s spin-bowling coach Jeetan Patel, as well as a more attacking intent. In the old days he would have experimented during county games with adjusting his grip on the seam, but he has got there through long stints in the nets. Duels with counterparts are key to a series, and Leach could now match Nathan Lyon.

Verdict: In the team

James Anderson

Nothing would be more catastrophic for his reputation than to break down a second time at the start of an Ashes series, as he did after four overs in 2019, but if it does happen again it will not be for want of match-practice this time. Since his groin niggle he has been doing all he can to be ready, in the absence of championship matches: and what a responsibility, to bowl the first over of an Ashes series, and who better to do it?

Verdict: In the team

Ollie Robinson

It would be a powerful force for England if they can get four Tests out of Robinson without his breaking down. His opening new-ball spells of eight overs — seven plus one after drinks — are almost guaranteed, in England, to bring a wicket or two. It is that release-point: it is the highest in international cricket now that Kyle Jamieson of New Zealand is injured.

Verdict: In the team

Chris Woakes

Good to have someone so reliable in reserve — or will he be required, as an all-rounder, when Stokes is unable to play or bowl? He is the only one of England’s pace bowlers who can bat at number eight: Broad has been known to slog there, but not bat in recent years. The worry is that at 34, after a very long lay-off, the nip is not quite what it was.

Verdict: Must bide his time

Mark Wood

He was England’s leading cricketer — not just bowler — in the last Ashes series in Australia. Like Simon Jones in 2005, his spirit is indomitable even if and when his body is ailing. England need Wood to match fire with Pat Cummins’s fire. But if he is to play three Tests, as he himself has suggested, which would they be? Perhaps the second at Lord’s, fourth at Old Trafford and fifth at the Oval.

Verdict: Must bide his time

Dan Lawrence

He can slot in seamlessly, in terms of style, if one of England’s swashbuckling middle-order batsmen is injured. If a replacement is required in the top three, England might have to look elsewhere - conceivably at Stokes himself if he is no longer bowling.

Verdict: Must bide his time

Scyld Berry’s England team for the Ashes First Test: Crawley, Duckett, Pope, Root, Brook, Stokes, Bairstow, Robinson, Broad, Leach, Anderson

Scyld Berry’s verdict: It is a fine ideal, to stage this Ashes series on fast and true pitches, but England have to cut their cloth and grass accordingly. At Edgbaston they need a greenish deck for their fast medium bowlers. Sorry, has to be done!