England Test squad named for Ashes tour [Tom Curran replaces Steven Finn Update #30]

[MenInG]

England selectors today named a 16-man Test squad for the winter tour of Australia starting in November.

England Test squad

Joe Root (Yorkshire) captain
Moeen Ali (Worcestershire)
James Anderson (Lancashire)
Jonny Bairstow (Yorkshire)
Jake Ball (Nottinghamshire)
Gary Ballance (Yorkshire)
Stuart Broad (Nottinghamshire)
Alastair Cook (Essex)
Mason Crane (Hampshire)
Ben Foakes (Surrey)
Dawid Malan (Middlesex)
Craig Overton (Somerset)
Ben Stokes (Durham)
Mark Stoneman (Surrey)
James Vince (Hampshire)
Chris Woakes (Warwickshire)



The 24-year-old Surrey wicketkeeper Ben Foakes has been included in the squad for the first time alongside Somerset fast bowler Craig Overton.

Hampshire top order batsman James Vince returns to the squad for the first time since August 2016 and will be looking to add to his seven caps. Yorkshire batsman Gary Ballance is back in contention for a Test spot after suffering a fractured finger in the second Test against South Africa in July.

Hampshire leg-spinner Mason Crane, who has spent most of the summer with the England Test squad, is selected as one of two specialist spinners.

Commenting on the squad, National Selector James Whitaker, said:

“A tour of Australia is the ultimate test for our squad. We have provided Joe Root and Trevor Bayliss with a well-balanced squad with options in all areas.

“After a successful summer, having won the Test series against South Africa and West Indies, there is real competition for places and we have selected a squad that will work hard and compete against Australia, aiming to win the Ashes.

“Surrey’s Ben Foakes deserves his selection for the first time at this level. His glovework has been exemplary and he is regarded as a wicketkeeper of the highest quality. He has the ability to contribute with the bat scoring over 680 runs in the Championship this summer at an average of 45.33.

Surrey and England Lions wicket keeper batsman Ben Foakes is having an outstanding 2017 with the bat and gloves. He spoke to ecb.co.uk about his cricketing journey to date and his aims for the future.


“Craig Overton, who like Foakes has come through the International Pathway, has been involved in the England set-up this summer with the Lions and the IT20 squad. He will now get his chance at Test level. We have been impressed with the way he has led Somerset’s attack over a long period of time. He has taken 43 Championship wickets this summer and will relish playing in Australian conditions.

“The selectors are backing James Vince to make an impact on his recall to the Test squad. He is a quality strokeplayer and we believe his game will suit the Australian pitches. His understanding of the England set-up will help him settle into the environment quickly and hit the ground running when we arrive in Perth next month.”

In addition to current full-time members of staff, former New Zealand fast bowler Shane Bond has been appointed fast bowling consultant and will be part of the England management team upto the end of second Test in Australia. Former England One-day captain Paul Collingwood will take a coaching role during the Test series and the ODIs against Australia. Kent’s Head Coach, Matt Walker, will assist England management for the IT20 Tri-Series in Australia and New Zealand.


England’s Ashes tour of Australia 2017/18 Itinerary (timings all local)

November 2017

4-5 November: 2-day tour match, England v WA XI, WACA, Perth, 10.30am
8-11 November: 4-day tour match (D/N), England v CA XI, Adelaide Oval, Adelaide, 2.00pm
15-18 November: 4-day tour match, England v CA XI, Tony Ireland Stadium, Townsville, 10.00am
23-27 November: 1st Test, England v Australia, Gabba, Brisbane, 10.00am

December 2017

2-6 December: 2nd Test, England v Australia (D/N), Adelaide Oval, Adelaide, 2:00pm
9-10 December: 2-day tour match, England v CA XI, Richardson Oval, Perth, 10:00am
14-18 December: 3rd Test, England v Australia, WACA Ground, Perth, 10:30am
26-30 December: 4th Test Match, England v Australia, MCG, Melbourne, 10:30am

January 2018

4-8 January: 5th Test, England v Australia, SCG, Sydney, 10:30am


The squad for the women’s Ashes, which was announced yesterday, can be viewed here.

An announcement on the England Lions squad, for their training camp of Australia in November and December, will be announced on Monday October 2 and those players awarded central contracts for 2017/18 and the ODI squad for Australia will be made on Wednesday October 4.

 

[MenInG]

So Stokes is in the squad!

 

[Protea Fan]

Ballance is a massive risk if he gets into playing eleven......no confidence,foot movement or technique

 

[AFM]

Stokes was always going to be in the squad. Things might change of course depending on how the investigation goes, but for now he's in.

Whether he plays or not, 5-0 Australia. I cannot see how England can take 20 wickets with the squad they have selected. Anderson and Broad wont be as effective with the Kookaburra unless conditions suit swing bowling ala Sydney 2010. Woakes is a similar type of bowler and was hardly impressive when he last played in SA (same ball and similar conditions). Moeen will be fodder on those pitches and Mason Crane is very raw and inexperienced.

They needed Wood or Plunkett for that extra oomph in the bowling.

 

[AFM]

And less said about Vince and Ballance, the better. May as well promote Bairstow up the order as a specialist bat and play Foakes as the keeper.

 

[Slog]

Australian side isnt all that either so laughable to predict 5-0 based on cricketing ability

However I would say this is perhaps the weakest set of Eng and Aus teams competing in an Ashes series for a while.

 

[AFM]

I agree but Australia in their own conditions are still very formidable. Usman, Warner and Smith are beasts in their conditions. Handscomb and Renshaw were also impressive in the debut series against us last year. Lyon knows how to bowl there and Hazelwood, Starc, Cummins and Pattinson have the extra pace that the English bowlers don't.

New Zealand under McCullum were thought to be a threat before their series and were thrashed. We were also considered to be a threat last year after the Eng tour and Australia going with a young team. We were whitewashed despite crossing 400 on a few occasions.

 

[MenInG]

England will thrash Australia.

 

[Markhor]

Confirmed - England are the new Pakistan.

Recycling TTFs (Vince/Ballance) - check.
Constant opening partnership changes - check.
Needless off-the-field scrapes - check.
Frequent batting collapses - check.
Mercurial talents - check.
Unpredictable results - check.

On what basis does Vince and Ballance make the squad I do not know. Vince only averages 34 this County season - perhaps Bayliss (who's admitted he hasn't) should actually watch County cricket.

Ballance's technical issues are there for all to see. Still not convinced on Malan either - he received several let-offs in the WI series that makes his numbers better than they are.

4-1 Australia is my prediction.

 

[Robert]

Stokes was always going to be in the squad. Things might change of course depending on how the investigation goes, but for now he's in.

Whether he plays or not, 5-0 Australia. I cannot see how England can take 20 wickets with the squad they have selected. Anderson and Broad wont be as effective with the Kookaburra unless conditions suit swing bowling ala Sydney 2010. Woakes is a similar type of bowler and was hardly impressive when he last played in SA (same ball and similar conditions). Moeen will be fodder on those pitches and Mason Crane is very raw and inexperienced.

They needed Wood or Plunkett for that extra oomph in the bowling.

Broad did well in his last Ashes tour. Stokes has a Michelle there. But yes, we need some pace from somewhere. I fear Woakes will just get whacked on the up.

 

[shaz619]

Confirmed - England are the new Pakistan.

Recycling TTFs (Vince/Ballance) - check.
Constant opening partnership changes - check.
Needless off-the-field scrapes - check.
Frequent batting collapses - check.
Mercurial talents - check.
Unpredictable results - check.

On what basis does Vince and Ballance make the squad I do not know. Vince only averages 34 this County season - perhaps Bayliss (who's admitted he hasn't) should actually watch County cricket.

Ballance's technical issues are there for all to see. Still not convinced on Malan either - he received several let-offs in the WI series that makes his numbers better than they are.

4-1 Australia is my prediction.

Hello Markhor:

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en-gb"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Should Jack Leach be in the <a href="https://twitter.com/englandcricket">@englandcricket</a> Ashes squad? Live on Sky Sports Cricket or follow it here: <a href="https://t.co/VLPYbVqyKC">https://t.co/VLPYbVqyKC</a> <a href="https://t.co/jsvkwaDKZ6">pic.twitter.com/jsvkwaDKZ6</a></p>— Sky Sports Cricket&#55356;&#57295; (@SkyCricket) <a href="https://twitter.com/SkyCricket/status/913001239805390848">27 September 2017</a></blockquote>
<script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

Most shocking omission in the history of cricket, no Adil Rashid in the Ashes squad [MENTION=865]Big Mac[/MENTION]

You know, Mo and the boys could have done with a pretty decent malish and pie after the end of play each day from Bradford's finest

 

[Big Mac]

It's almost like I was right all along when I said Adil Rashid is crap and shouldn't be anywhere near the test side.

 

[Amjid Javed]

Ballance vince

Both england and Australia have two good batsmen - CooK/Root vs Warner/Smith.. both teams have good pace bowling attacks. So series will be won by which ever teams back up players perform the best.

Tough series to call but can see it 3-2 either way, there wont be any draws in this series.

 

[Abdullah719]

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Before bed, I have a comment on England's Ashes squad - it's horrendous! They may as well not go! <br>Night x</p>— KP (@KP24) <a href="https://twitter.com/KP24/status/913143443718852608">September 27, 2017</a></blockquote>
<script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

 

[kingusama92]

This should be a great series.

 

[The Googly]

That is a terrible England squad!! They would be whitewashed by India and Pakistan away.

Aussies are also poor.

Aussies 3 England 2

Should be a good series.

 

[Chief Destroyer]

The Aussie pacers are licking their lips seeing Balance in the squad.

 

[mak36]

That is a terrible England squad!! They would be whitewashed by India and Pakistan away.

Aussies are also poor.

Aussies 3 England 2

Should be a good series.

Good to see you active again- keep at it!

 

[Convict]

Having seen the footage of the fight I can't see how Stokes could possibly keep the vice captaincy.

 

[R0H1T]

Having seen the footage of the fight I can't see how Stokes could possibly keep the vice captaincy.

What footage?

 

[James]

Sticking with my prediction of 4-1 to the Aussies.

 

[R0H1T]

Like I said in the other thread, an airhead to say the least. The thing is England will tolerate him as long as he is a match winner, not unlike KP's return on 2012 India tour, but the moment he's dispensable he can just as easily be dumped.

 

[CricFan2012]

5-0 aussies, this is the weakest england ashes squad ive ever seen.

disgraceful stokes ruined his countries chances of beating aus in aus. smh

 

[Amjid Javed]

Having seen the footage of the fight I can't see how Stokes could possibly keep the vice captaincy.

Am sure hes looking forward to a few more punch ups in the bars in Australia when he gets there

 

[Bilal7]

Apparently, Stokes and Hales are no longer going to he considered for selection in the England squads.

 

[ask_analyse_act]

Looks like a Pakistani squad selection as people decide the results with the squad in paper. Terrible squad and will be smashed if ROOT and COOK doesn't do the scoring heavily. Will be shocked if Australia doesn't whitewash.

 

[Hasan123]

Australia should beat this England side comfortably. England's batting seems to reliant on Bairstow and Root.

 

[Abdullah719]

Ashes 2017-18: England bowler Steven Finn ruled out of tour with injury

Steven Finn has been ruled out of England's Ashes tour after scans showed he has torn his left knee cartilage.

The pace bowler, 28, who was added to the squad following Ben Stokes' arrest, was injured in training on Thursday.

He will return to the UK in the next 48 hours to meet with specialists and decide whether he requires surgery.

England say they will announce a replacement in due course. Their first Test against Australia begins in Brisbane on 23 November.

Before that, the tourists play two warm-up matches against a Cricket Australia XI, the first of which is on Wednesday.

Speaking to BBC Sport before the result of Finn's scan was revealed, coach Trevor Bayliss had positive news about Moeen Ali's fitness however.

He added Moeen would play the final warm-up next week in Townsville.

Mason Crane will again deputise for Moeen in Wednesday's warm-up game, which will be a day-night match as England prepare for the floodlit Test at the Adelaide Oval next month.

Stuart Broad is rested with Jake Ball and Craig Overton given the chance to press their claims for an Ashes start.

Dawid Malan is preferred to Gary Ballance at five with James Vince continuing at three.

http://www.bbc.com/sport/cricket/41897726

 

[Sherlock]

Steve Finn out of Ashes with knee injury.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Announcement: Steven Finn out of the <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Ashes?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Ashes</a><br><br> <a href="https://t.co/9HSzn8hiQg">https://t.co/9HSzn8hiQg</a> <a href="https://t.co/WpZTjTDT1n">pic.twitter.com/WpZTjTDT1n</a></p>— England Cricket (@englandcricket) <a href="https://twitter.com/englandcricket/status/927822940565131264?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 7, 2017</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

Steven Finn will miss the remainder of England’s tour of Australia after scans revealed that he has a torn left knee cartilage.

The Middlesex seamer sustained the injury during practice last week in Perth and will now return to the UK in the 48 hours where he will meet a knee specialist to ascertain whether he will have an operation.

England will announce his replacement for the rest of the tour in due course.​

 

[Abdullah719]

Ashes 2017: Tom Curran called up to replace Steven Finn as Liam Plunkett and Mark Wood are overlooked

Tom Curran has been called up to England’s Ashes squad. The 22-year-old Surrey all-rounder will fly out to Australia in the next 24 hours as a replacement for Steven Finn, after the Middlesex fast bowler was ruled out of the rest of the tour with a torn left knee cartilage.

Curran is yet to play a Test match for England. However, he broke into the white-ball side during the 2017 season, making his debut in Twenty20 and one-day international cricket, and impressed the England management with his attitude.

Coach Trevor Bayliss is known to be a fan, and so Curran has been preferred to the likes of Liam Plunkett, Tom Helm, George Garton and Mark Wood as England seek to bolster their ailing pace-bowling reserves ahead of the toughest series of them all.

He was due to fly into Brisbane next week with the England Lions, but will now join the senior squad, and given the unique demands of Ashes cricket on fast bowlers, history suggests that there is at least a decent chance that Curran will feature at some point during the series. It is also now likely that Curran will have to cancel his deal with the Hobart Hurricanes, with whom he had signed up to play in this season’s Big Bash.

Curran’s first-class record for Surrey last season was admittedly modest – 24 wickets at an average of 35 – but his record still compares favourably with the likes of Plunkett, who played just two County Championship games for Yorkshire last season, and Helm, who played just five.

Besides, Curran has been a consistent performer at Championship level over the last few seasons, and his fiery three-wicket international debut against South Africa at Taunton in June suggested that he is a player who relishes the biggest stage.

The luckless Finn will return to England within the next 48 hours after the freak injury he suffered while batting in the nets in Perth last Thursday. He will see a knee specialist to determine whether he needs surgery. Either way, it is a cruel twist of fate for a bowler who has only ever shown glimpses of his true potential, and whose last Ashes tour also ended in disappointment, flying home without playing any of the five Test matches.

http://www.independent.co.uk/sport/...-injury-liam-plunkett-mark-wood-a8042016.html

 

[James]

Finn is useless. Made of glass.

 

[Nikhil_cric]

Anything less than 5 zip should be embarrassing for Australia. England don't have the firepower in the bowling or batting to put Aussies under the pump .

 

[Abdullah719]

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Thank you again everyone!! I'm excited for this challenge, I'm ready to take it on, keep learning and keep improving. Let's do this <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Ashes?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Ashes</a>&#55357;&#56908;&#55356;&#57340;</p>— Tom Curran (@_TC59) <a href="https://twitter.com/_TC59/status/928377624627474432?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 8, 2017</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

 

[Junaids]

The Aussie batting is hugely dependent upon Warner and Smith.

I just want Ben Stokes back ASAP. The mooted two match (Brisbane and Adelaide) suspension is insane.

1 Cook
2 Stoneman
3 Vince
4 Root
5 Malan
6 Stokes
7 Bairstow
8 Moeen
9 Woakes
10 Broad
11 Anderson

 

[wrongun]

The Aussie batting is hugely dependent upon Warner and Smith.

I just want Ben Stokes back ASAP. The mooted two match (Brisbane and Adelaide) suspension is insane.

1 Cook
2 Stoneman
3 Vince
4 Root
5 Malan
6 Stokes
7 Bairstow
8 Moeen
9 Woakes
10 Broad
11 Anderson

As in insanely lenient? Warner got 2 matches for no quite punching Joe Root once.

 

[Junaids]

As in insanely lenient? Warner got 2 matches for no quite punching Joe Root once.

Let the Police deal with that.

If there has to be a cricket sanction, ban him from playing IPL.

 

[kingusama92]

Let the Police deal with that.

If there has to be a cricket sanction, ban him from playing IPL.

Ban him from a random foreign competition but let him wear your national colors?

 

[Convict]

The Aussie batting is hugely dependent upon Warner and Smith.

I just want Ben Stokes back ASAP. The mooted two match (Brisbane and Adelaide) suspension is insane.

1 Cook
2 Stoneman
3 Vince
4 Root
5 Malan
6 Stokes
7 Bairstow
8 Moeen
9 Woakes
10 Broad
11 Anderson

A two match suspension is absolutely pathetic. A lot of young men die in bars and clubs from those sort of hits.

https://thewest.com.au/news/wa/one-punch-death-toll-is-much-higher-ng-ya-126952

And Stokes went after a guy who was backing away and no longer a threat.

 

[Convict]

Ban him from a random foreign competition but let him wear your national colors?

English cricket's moral high ground quickly evaporates when it impacts their performance.

 

[hadi123]

London - England suffered another injury scare on their Ashes tour when seamer Jake Ball was forced off the field with an ankle injury during second day of the four-day day/night tour match against a Cricket XI in Adelaide on Thursday.

Ball fell awkwardly after bowling the fifth delivery of his fourth over during the home side's first innings.

The Nottinghamshire bowler initially got treatment on the field from England physio Craig de Weymarn but was forced to leave the playing area.

The tourists later confirmed that Ball suffered an ankle sprain and will play no further part in the day's play.

An England statement on Twitter read: "Jake Ball a sprained right ankle. He won't play any further part today and will be assessed today and overnight."

England have already lost Steven Finn after the fast bowler injured his knee in training with Tom Curran being called up as a replacement.

Spinner Moeen Ali is also still struggling with a side strain and has not yet played any cricket on tour.

The first Ashes Test gets underway on 23 November at the Gabba.

http://m.sport24.co.za/sport24/Cricket/Ashes/ball-gives-england-another-injury-scare-20171109

 

[MMHS]

Ban him from a random foreign competition but let him wear your national colors?

I think, his point was to hurt his pocket so that damage is done only to him. Banning him for 3 Lions is a coleteral damage for a pub brawl. It wasn’t like an issue of fixing, doping or anything related to teams’ discipline.
[MENTION=132916]Junaids[/MENTION] wording could have been better without mentioning IPL, but I guess for such issues I probably also would have said that, fine him severely & let police do their job, but won’t have banned him from Ashes - it doesn’t help anyone in zoom side. In club football, they hardly ban players for drink driving or traffic police ticket, rather fines 3 to 7 weeks wage (that’s often comes as million!!).

 

[Junaids]

Ban him from a random foreign competition but let him wear your national colors?

I think, his point was to hurt his pocket so that damage is done only to him. Banning him for 3 Lions is a coleteral damage for a pub brawl. It wasn’t like an issue of fixing, doping or anything related to teams’ discipline.

[MENTION=132916]Junaids[/MENTION] wording could have been better without mentioning IPL, but I guess for such issues I probably also would have said that, fine him severely & let police do their job, but won’t have banned him from Ashes - it doesn’t help anyone in zoom side. In club football, they hardly ban players for drink driving or traffic police ticket, rather fines 3 to 7 weeks wage (that’s often comes as million!!).

An ECB prohibition from playing IPL would cost Stokes a lot of £££££.

Banning him from playing The Ashes just harms his team.

I don’t see why this is a cricket matter anyway - it’s a criminal justice matter.

 

[MMHS]

An ECB prohibition from playing IPL would cost Stokes a lot of £££££.

Banning him from playing The Ashes just harms his team.

I don’t see why this is a cricket matter anyway - it’s a criminal justice matter.

I agree - police should deal with it not ECB. My office isn’t going to sack me if I punch my wife to hospital ....

I feel, ECB and it’s century long old traditional brigade felt the moral obligation to put their hand in this, otherwise it's no issue.

 

[James]

Looks like England are set to win their four day game against the CA XI with a relatively strong performance. The standard rearguard action from Bairstow lifted England to a defendable total and Woakes then ripped through CA with the new ball.

This depleted England squad seems to be rising above the negative press and putting a lot of effort in at the moment. Most batters have got at least one half-ton on tour so far and all of the bowlers have tasted a few wickets.

Whether this will count for anything come Brisbane is another matter though!

 

[Boi]

Cook's lack of form must be worrying. He need to turn up.

 

[wrongun]

Both teams pace reserves looking thin now with recent injuries.

 

[Chief Destroyer]

England are hoping Clouderson pays off their trust in him despite his age and lack of performances outside home. If he is taken apart, this tour will be a disaster.

 

[Chief Destroyer]

Both teams pace reserves looking thin now with recent injuries.

It's at home. You guys have enough B bowlers to fill in, as long as two of the main three are playing.

 

[wrongun]

It's at home. You guys have enough B bowlers to fill in, as long as two of the main three are playing.

It's keeping two of our mains going for 5 tests I'm worried about!

 

[Chief Destroyer]

It's keeping two of our mains going for 5 tests I'm worried about!

3 would be enough. If England are 3-0 at that point you can play your C bowlers and still win. They are mental midgets.

 

[JattMaula]

English team on this tour is Ship of Theseus.

 

[MenInG]

https://www.sport24.co.za/Cricket/Ashes/anderson-replaces-stokes-as-england-vice-capt-20171110

Adelaide - England's record bowler James Anderson was named as vice-captain for the Ashes series against Australia on Friday, replacing Ben Stokes who is suspended and under investigation over a nightclub brawl.

Anderson, 35, who has 506 Test wickets, was promoted as understudy to captain Joe Root ahead of fellow paceman Stuart Broad and ex-skipper Alastair Cook.

Coach Trevor Bayliss previously said he was planning for an Ashes series without Stokes, who is running out of time ahead of the first Test in Brisbane from November 23.

Stokes remains at home awaiting the outcome of a police probe into his involvement in the brawl outside a Bristol nightclub on September 25.

Lancashire bowling great Anderson is embarking on his fourth Test tour of Australia, and he looks likely to play a key role as England's bowlers hit injury problems.

Nottinghamshire speedster Jake Ball is to have a scan after he injured his right ankle on Thursday during England's warm-up game against a Cricket Australia XI in Adelaide.

It follows a knee injury which ruled paceman Steven Finn out of the tour.

Surrey all-rounder Tom Curran has arrived as Finn's tour replacement, while all-rounder Moeen Ali continues to recover from a side strain.

 

[James]

Good result for England in the warm up game, margin of victory near 200 runs. One more match before the opening Test.

 

[Convict]

Good result for England in the warm up game, margin of victory near 200 runs. One more match before the opening Test.

Funnily enough the Aus media is talking up this result as a big positive.

 

[Markhor]

Both teams pace reserves looking thin now with recent injuries.

Finn and Ball shouldn't even have been named in the England squad. Finn never turns up in pressure situations and Ball is more a traditional English seamer whose ability to make an impact in Australian conditions is doubtful.

This English attack needs an injection of pace. Not having Mark Wood is a blow but they've called up George Garton who has impressed with his pace in county cricket and in net sessions.

 

[James]

Funnily enough the Aus media is talking up this result as a big positive.

Out of interest, why's that?

 

[MMHS]

Out of interest, why's that?

They got 20 wickets and look at the names of AUS XI bowlers - and this was not at WACA (usual tour opener), it was at Adelaide. That too, after bowling first.

I also actually think it's more positive for AUS than ENG. ,

 

[MenInG]

England pace bowler Jake Ball is expected to be fit for the first Ashes Test against Australia despite sustaining ankle ligament damage in a warm-up match.

Head coach Trevor Bayliss says he is confident Ball will be fit for the rest of the tour.

The 26-year-old is likely to miss the final warm-up match in Townsville but Bayliss said "he feels pretty good".

"We want to make sure he is right and available for selection," Bayliss said.

'We were sledged by the aeroplane captain' - the perils of an Ashes tour

England were dominant in their penultimate warm-up match against a Cricket Australia XI but Bayliss said "60s were not enough" to win the Tests and he has urged "big hundreds" from his batsmen.

England begin their Ashes defence in Brisbane on 23 November and Bayliss said all-rounder Craig Overton was in contention for a starting place after helping the team complete a 192-run win on Saturday.

"He bowled very well and he's very consistent," Bayliss said.

"He moves the ball around a bit which puts pressure on the batter. We'll have to do a lot of that through the Test series."

Bayliss said England have got a way to go to reach their best in Brisbane but his team selection will remain as expected.

"It's pretty much what we were thinking beforehand. There are still one or two positions, whether it's injury or not, we won't really know until that final game is concluded," he said.

One player who will "definitely" play is all-rounder Moeen Ali, who missed the four-day floodlit match because of a side injury.

Bayliss was also quick to play down doubts over skipper Alastair Cook's form, saying he had looked better each time he had played,

"I'm sure he would have preferred to have scored a few, but a guy with that experience has been through periods [like that] before," he said.

http://www.bbc.com/sport/cricket/41953978

 

[Convict]

Out of interest, why's that?

The team is a composite team of randoms not good enough to play for their state and England collapsed against the pink ball at night.
So the logic is that Starc and Hazlewood are going to have a field day.

I must admit to genuine embarrassment about the quality of sides we serve up for tour matches.

 

[James]

Another six wickets for Woakes today, looks to be on top form.