Watch England take on Australia in the first Ashes Test, live on Sky Sports The Ashes (channel 404) and Main Event from 10am on Thursday
Wednesday 31 July 2019 22:08, UK
England have picked all-rounder Chris Woakes for the first Ashes Test against Australia at Edgbaston, with paceman Jofra Archer missing out.
Woakes, 30, gets the nod to play at his home ground - where England have not lost an Ashes Test for 18 years - after taking 6-17 against Ireland at Lord's last week and will now team-up with prolific pairing James Anderson and Stuart Broad.
Archer missed the one-off Test after suffering from a side strain during England's World Cup win earlier in the month and will be closely monitored as he continues his rehabilitation.
All-rounder Sam Curran and fast bowler Olly Stone are the other two players to miss out from the 14-man squad named by England on Saturday.
Asked if he was confident the team selected could beat Australia in the opening Test, captain Joe Root said: "I wouldn't have named it if I wasn't confident!
"We're very excited as a group. It's a great opportunity for us to play the first Test here at Edgbaston. We've got a very good record here as a team but it counts for nothing as tomorrow starts. It's very important that we're very focused, very clear on how we approach this series - the first day in particular.
"Jofra is coming back from a very serious injury. We looked at the conditions and we made a decision on what we best thought was going to take 20 wickets here. It also allows him time to get absolutely ready and fit, and make sure his work-load is ready to go for later in the series if he needs to make an impact."
England had confirmed earlier in the week that Root will bat at three, where he averages 40, behind inexperienced openers Rory Burns and Jason Roy, and ahead of Joe Denly at four.
Explaining the decision, the 28-year-old said his promotion one position up the order would help bolster a top-three that has consistently under-performed.
"I think it's important that we spread the experience out," said Root. "It gives me an opportunity to lead from the front as well.
"I also feel now that I'm in a place where I've get my head around dealing with the captaincy and my batting - being able to separate the two.
"I think it is a very exciting top-order. I want Jason to go out tomorrow and play in his own way, his own manner; I think that naturally he has the ability to put any bowler under pressure at any given time. I think that is very exciting."
Australia captain Tim Paine, meanwhile, said the tourists would not name their team until Thursday morning.
Mitchell Starc, the leading wicket-taker at the Cricket World Cup, could be left out in favour of Peter Siddle or Josh Hazlewood according to reports, but Paine would not be drawn.
"I have (settled on a team) but I don't get the final say, so we'll have a team tomorrow at the toss," he said.
"Our quicks that have been here before have learned lessons from being here before. It's important that we learn from them and put what we've learned into practice in this series."
England team: Rory Burns, Jason Roy, Joe Root (c), Joe Denly, Jos Buttler, Ben Stokes, Jonny Bairstow, Moeen Ali, Chris Woakes, Stuart Broad, James Anderson.
Watch England take on Australia in this summer's Ashes series, live on Sky Sports The Ashes (channel 404) and Main Event from 10am on Thursday. Click here to upgrade now.
