Broad left out as England elect to bat

Joe Root won the toss and opted to bat first in the first Vodafone Ashes Test at the Gabba, with England omitting veteran paceman Stuart Broad from their final XI.

After new Test captain Pat Cummins named Australia's team on Sunday, attention turned to the make-up of the tourists, who have surprised by excluding legendary duo Broad and Jimmy Anderson.

It is the first time England have gone into an Ashes Test without either Broad or Anderson since the 2006-07 Boxing Day Test. 

“It was a very difficult decision to make,” visiting skipper Root admitted at the toss, where Cummins also said he would have batted had he been given the option.

Anderson is being prepared for the day-night Test in Adelaide, where he created havoc four years ago with the pink ball under lights, while long-time Gabba villain Broad has been overlooked in favour of Ollie Robinson, Mark Wood and Chris Woakes.

That trio – among whom only Woakes has Test experience in Australia – will be supported by left-arm spinner Jack Leach, who is also playing his first Test Down Under, and superstar allrounder Ben Stokes.

The selections leave 315 Tests' worth of fast-bowling experience on the sidelines for the visitors, who had forecast in the build-up to the series that they would be using a rotation policy among their high-quality pace cartel. 

In the middle order, 23-year-old Ollie Pope won the battle over Jonny Bairstow for a starting berth, with the highly-rated right-hander, who has 20 Tests to his name, set to make his Ashes debut.

Australia meanwhile, are handing a Test debut to new wicketkeeper-batter Alex Carey, who was presented with his Baggy Green by Adam Gilchrist – who debuted on this ground 22 summers ago – this morning.

Carey has 83 white-ball caps to call on, including the big-game experience of a World Cup, in which he was named in the Team of the Tournament in 2019, while the South Australian also has five first-class hundreds to his name.

Image Id: 1FD71D3F46504EC297660365B6456875 Image Caption: Big shoes to fill: Carey receives his Baggy Green from Gilchrist // Getty

The other key talking point for the hosts leading into the series was the number five position, with Travis Head getting the nod ahead of local boy Usman Khawaja.

Australia will be fielding the same four-bowler attack – Cummins, Josh Hazlewood, Mitchell Starc and Nathan Lyon – that won the Ashes four-nil four years ago, though this time around they will be supported by young allrounder Cameron Green instead of his state teammate Mitchell Marsh.

Green only has four Tests to his name but the 22-year-old looms as a long-term middle-order man for Australia.

Lyon is one wicket away from becoming just the third Australian behind Shane Warne and Glenn McGrath to reach 400 in Tests.

The off-spinner has taken 38 wickets at 31 at the Gabba. 

Vodafone Men's Ashes

Squads

Australia: Pat Cummins (c), Steve Smith (vc), Alex Carey, Cameron Green, Josh Hazlewood, Marcus Harris, Travis Head, Usman Khawaja, Marnus Labuschagne, Nathan Lyon, Michael Neser, Jhye Richardson, Mitchell Starc, Mitchell Swepson, David Warner

England: Joe Root (c), James Anderson, Jonathan Bairstow, Dom Bess, Stuart Broad, Rory Burns, Jos Buttler, Zak Crawley, Haseeb Hameed, Dan Lawrence, Jack Leach, Dawid Malan, Craig Overton, Ollie Pope, Ollie Robinson, Ben Stokes, Chris Woakes, Mark Wood

Schedule

First Test: December 8-12, The Gabba

Second Test: December 16-20, Adelaide Oval

Third Test: December 26-30, MCG

Fourth Test: January 5-9, SCG

Fifth Test: January 14-18, TBC