Ashes 2023: player-by-player guide to England and Australia squads

Age 32 Caps 92 Captain/left-hand bat, right-arm seam

Stokes has proved an inspirational leader and an excellent cricket captain since his appointment last April, but sadly his left knee seems to be a complete mess. Though he is adamant about his ability to bat, he has become a bowler of last resort and is quite happy doing nothing but leading – in the warmup against Ireland he became the first winning captain in Test history not to bat, bowl or keep wicket.

Age 25 Caps 36 Vice-captain/right-hand bat

Since Stokes’ decision to play Pope, for the first time in his career, at No3 the 25-year-old’s average has shot up from 28.66 to 49.80, his strike rate from 50.6 to 78, and he has been named vice-captain. Says he is determined to make up for his miserable Ashes in 2021-22, when he averaged 11.16 in six innings: “I feel like I’m a different player, mentally and technically.”

Age 35 Caps 64 Right-arm off-spin/left-hand bat

When England last hosted the Ashes Moeen played the first Test, took three wickets for 172 and was promptly dropped for 16 months. This time he took the call when Jack Leach’s injury forced a last-minute SOS, nearly two years after he announced his retirement from Test cricket (since when he has played no first-class matches and 97 T20s), and is tasked with providing the squad with spin-bowling ballast and bonus explosive batting.

Age 40 Caps 179 Right-arm seam

England’s evergreen man for all seasons just keeps going. “I don’t feel old or that I’m slowing down. Age is just a number,” he said earlier this year. Also just numbers: 179 Tests, 685 wickets, 7,675 Ashes deliveries (37 overs from a place in the all-time top three). “If we play to the best of our ability I don’t think anyone can cope with us,” he