Australia England’s first match on Australia tour will be against England. This article provides details about the England vs Australia playing 11 for the first match of Ashes 2025.
England vs Australia Playing XI – 1st Test, Ashes 2025:
Openers: Jack Crawley, Ben Duckett
England will be looking to get off to a good start in the Ashes this time, as the visitors will remember how the last series on Australian soil started when Ririe Burns was bowled around her legs on the first ball of the series.
The Ben Stokes-led side will be looking to shake off the poor record they have had since last winning the Ashes in this part of the world in 2010, having not won a single Test in the last three fixtures.
Having said that, England will be confident of putting in a much better effort, especially with the bat, as they have been playing some good cricket over the years in this format.
The onus will be on the opening pair of Jack Crawley and Ben Duckett to get the team off to a good start and put pressure on the weak Australian bowling lineup, who will be without the services of captain Pat Cummins and Josh Hazlewood.
Both Crawley and Duckett have the ability to take the game away from the opposition once they find their rhythm and they will hope to do so in the first of the five Test matches.
Middle-order batsmen and all-rounders: Ollie Pope, Joe Root, Harry Brook, Ben Stokes (captain), Jamie Smith (wicketkeeper).
The openers will also want the middle order to make the most of the platform they have created and help their team score over 400 runs, as anything less than that will give Australia a chance to get back into the game.
All eyes will be on Joe Root, who will be looking for his maiden Test century in Australia and will be looking to get the monkey off his back in the first innings of the opening game to build confidence for the rest of the series.
Apart from Root, captain Ben Stokes, who is the only batsman in the current team to score a century in Australia, will have to lead from the front with both bat and ball to boost his team’s chances of challenging the Australians.
Although the visiting team has a strong batting lineup, which includes names like Ollie Pope, Harry Brook and Jamie Smith, a lot will depend on how England’s top five batsmen perform in the first Test.
Bowlers: Gus Atkinson, Jofra Archer, Brydon Carse, Mark Wood
It will be interesting to see what bowling combination England choose to field in the series opener, as the first Test of the series plays a vital role in setting the tone for the remainder of the tour, especially for the visiting team.
Considering how frustrated and weak the English have looked throughout the 2021 series, it would not be a surprise if the team management decides to go with a complete pace attack with four fast bowlers and Ben Stokes for the first Test in Perth.
The four fast bowlers are expected to be Gus Atkinson, Jofra Archer, Brydon Carse and Mark Wood, while Ben Stokes will be the fifth bowling option.
However, playing all pace attack will also mean that the visitors may have to compromise on their over-rate, which they have not been good at maintaining recently.
