Just five of the 11 who lost in Hobart return for series opener against the Windies with England placing renewed emphasis on 'team-first' focus they say was lacking in Australia
England eyeing 'bigger picture' for first post-Ashes Test
England want previously unchecked egos to be put aside for their first Test since the Ashes, with just five members of the team that finished their disastrous tour down under named to face West Indies in Antigua this week.
Already set to lead a markedly new-look outfit for the first of three Tests in the Caribbean from Friday morning (Australian eastern time), Joe Root has a further change to contend with after Ollie Robinson suffered a recurrence of the same back injury that sidelined him during the final Ashes Test in January.
The absence of Robinson, whose fitness was publicly questioned by the team's bowling coach during that match, leaves England without three of their four leading wicket-takers since the talented seamer's debut last year having already axed legendary double-act Jimmy Anderson and Stuart Broad.
Two of their four leading run-makers over that same period (Rory Burns and Dawid Malan) have also been discarded, as have batter Ollie Pope and wicketkeeper Sam Billings to round out the omissions from the three-day defeat in Hobart that sealed a 4-0 series loss.
Opener Alex Lees will make his debut and Sydney Thunder quick Saqib Mahmood could join him in earning his maiden Test cap if England go with an all-pace attack, with Dan Lawrence, Ben Foakes and Craig Overton all receiving recalls.
England's best bowler during the Ashes, Mark Wood, vice-captain Ben Stokes, promising opener Zac Crawley and veteran Chris Woakes, along with skipper Root, are the five to hold their spots in a 12-man squad for the series opener.
England's 12-man squad for first Test against West Indies: Joe Root (c), Jonny Bairstow, Zak Crawley, Ben Foakes (wk), Dan Lawrence, Jack Leach, Alex Lees, Saqib Mahmood, Craig Overton, Ben Stokes, Chris Woakes, Mark Wood
Along with Pope, Buttler, Billings and Burns, Haseeb Hameed and Dawid Malan both missed selection for the series also featuring Tests in Barbados and Grenada.
Root is eager to draw a line under a campaign in Australia that has seen their director of cricket, head coach and batting coach lose their jobs and left a question mark over the long-term futures of their all-time leading Test wicket takers.
Both Broad, 35, and Anderson, 39, have expressed their disgruntlement; the former articulated dismay at losing his spot after "world-class" returns over the past eight years, while the latter was left frustrated by a "five-minute phone call" from interim cricket director Andrew Strauss.
England have insisted it is not necessarily the end for the pair, though permanent replacements are yet to be made for cricket director Ashley Giles and coach Chris Silverwood (Paul Collingwood has taken the reins in the Caribbean).
Root, who criticised his Broad-and-Anderson-led bowling attack following their defeat in Adelaide for bowling too short, has refused to say whether he played a role in the pair not being picked for the Windies tour.
They will be 38 and 42 respectively by the time England’s next Ashes tour arrives in 2024-25, but Broad has said he wants to play in next year’s Tests against Australia at home.
In their stead for the first Test at the Sir Viv Richards Stadium, England are expected to give the new ball to Woakes and Overton who have collectively taken 38 wickets at 50.53 from 20 Tests outside the United Kingdom.
The side has a renewed focus on players putting the team first with Woakes suggesting that had not been the case in Australia over the summer.
"In Australia, we maybe got into a place where people were thinking more internally, thinking on personal levels rather than thinking fully about the bigger picture and about how to win games of cricket as a team," he said.
"We're trying to focus on that in particular, the last week or so we've tried to focus on how we can get better at doing things as a unit rather than individually.
"Naturally it's a game that produces individual performances but we still need to be better as a collective, we can't just rely on certain individuals to always step up and put their hand up."
Qantas Tour of Pakistan 2022
Pakistan squad: Babar Azam (c), Mohammad Rizwan (vc), Abdullah Shafique, Azhar Ali, Fawad Alam, Haris Rauf, Iftikhar Ahmed, Imam-ul-Haq, Mohammad Wasim, Naseem Shah, Nauman Ali, Sajid Khan, Saud Shakeel, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Shan Masood, Zahid Mahmood.
Australia Test squad: Pat Cummins (c), Ashton Agar, Scott Boland, Alex Carey, Cameron Green, Marcus Harris, Josh Hazlewood, Travis Head, Josh Inglis, Usman Khawaja, Marnus Labuschagne, Nathan Lyon, Mitchell Marsh, Steve Smith (vc), Mitchell Starc, Mark Steketee, Mitchell Swepson, David Warner. On standby: Sean Abbott, Brendan Doggett, Nic Maddinson, Matthew Renshaw
March 4-8: First Test, Rawalpindi
March 12-16: Second Test, Karachi
March 21-25: Third Test, Lahore
Australia ODI and T20 squad: Aaron Finch (c), Sean Abbott, Ashton Agar, Jason Behrendorff, Alex Carey, Nathan Ellis, Cameron Green, Travis Head, Josh Inglis, Marnus Labuschagne, Mitchell Marsh, Ben McDermott, Kane Richardson, Steve Smith, Marcus Stoinis, Adam Zampa
March 29: First ODI, Rawalpindi
March 31: Second ODI, Rawalpindi
April 2: Third ODI, Rawalpindi
April 5: Only T20I, Rawalpindi
All matches to be broadcast in Australia on Fox Cricket and Kayo Sports