Brace yourself for the biggest rivalry in Test cricket – The Ashes. Australia and England are set to fight for the urn with a 5-match series on the line. The 1st Test will be played at the Perth Stadium in Perth, starting November 21 at 8:00am IST. England last beat Australia to win The Ashes back in 2015 at home. Since then, 4 Test series have been played. Australia have recorded two series wins (both at home) and two draws. In fact, the last two Test series Down Under saw Australia hammer England 4-0 on both occasions.
On Wednesday, November 19, England announced a 12-man squad for the Perth Test. One can see England opt for an all-man pace attack given the nature of the surface. As far as Australia are concerned, they are likely to field two debutants in the form of opener Jake Weatherald and pacer Brendan Doggett.
England squad for the Perth Test: Ben Stokes (c), Jofra Archer, Gus Atkinson, Shoaib Bashir, Harry Brook, Brydon Carse, Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Ollie Pope, Joe Root, Jamie Smith (wk), Mark Wood.
Australia squad for the Perth Test: Steve Smith (c), Scott Boland, Alex Carey, Brendan Doggett, Cameron Green, Travis Head, Josh Inglis, Usman Khawaja, Marnus Labuschagne, Nathan Lyon, Michael Neser, Mitchell Starc, Jake Weatherald, Beau Webster.
Ahead of the Perth Test, we decode impact players who can govern this contest.
Mitchell Starc – Australia
In the absence of Pat Cummins and Josh Hazlewood, left-arm pacer Mitchell Starc will lead the Aussie attack. As per ESPNcricinfo, Starc boasts 402 Test wickets from 100 matches. He is also closing in on 100 Ashes wickets, having picked 97 to date. Interestingly, he is the highest wicket-taker among pacers at the Perth Stadium in Tests.
Jofra Archer – England
The English fast bowler will enjoy bowling here in Perth with pace and bounce on offer. Archer, who made a comeback from injury in the Test series against India at home this year, looks potent. He owns 51 Test scalps from 15 matches. Archer will be keen to be in business with his sheer pace.
Joe Root – England
The senior Englishman bossed the show against India at home this year and will want to continue in the same vein. Root has scored a whopping 13543 runs in Test cricket at 51.29 from 158 matches. From 34 Test matches (65 innings) against Australia, he averages 40.46 with the help of 4 centuries and 18 fifties. He is 72 shy of 2500 Ashes runs.
Steve Smith – Australia
Steve Smith will lead Australia in the Perth Test. Smith owns close to 10500 Test runs at an average of over 56. Versus England, he is 83 shy of 3500 Ashes runs. In Australia, Smith owns 1417 Ashes runs from 18 Tests (30 innings) at 54.50 with 5 tons and 5 fifties collected.
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