London [UK], June 3: England has announced their 16-member squad for the first two matches of the Ashes series, which will start from June 16.

England have retained the same group of 16 players from the one-off Test against Ireland for the first two Ashes Tests. Josh Tongue, who made his Test debut against Ireland, has made his place in the squad alongside James Anderson and Ollie Robinson, who were ruled out of the Lord's Test. Ben Stokes Becomes First Captain in Test History to Win Without Batting, Bowling Or Wicketkeeping; Achieves Unique Feat During ENG vs IRE One-Off Test 2023.

England's team comprise a strong pace line up which will be led by James Anderson who is expected to be fit for the first Test. Stuart Broad, Mark Wood, Matthew Potts and Chris Woakes will make the bowling attack for England, according to ICC. On the other, bowler Ben Stokes' fitness is unclear but head coach Brendon McCullum had earlier said that Stokes is making good progress and could bowl at some point during the summer.

Jonny Bairstow will be a wicketkeeper batter for the team, who is in action agaisnt Ireland in the ongoing Test match after nine months.

Zak Crawley showed signs of returning to form at Lord's with a half-century in the first innings. He will open with Ben Duckett, who made a brilliant 182 against Ireland. Dan Lawrence will be part of the team as a reserve batter. England's biggest decision would be choosing their pace attack for the first Test with quite a few options at their disposal.

England squad: Ben Stokes (c), Ollie Pope, Jonny Bairstow (wk), Joe Root, James Anderson, Stuart Broad, Harry Brook, Jack Leach, Ben Duckett, Zak Crawley, Matthew Potts, Ollie Robinson, Dan Lawrence, Chris Woakes, Mark Wood, Josh Tongue. (ANI)

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