Athers and Bumble include Malan; all three opt to include Vince
Saturday 27 July 2019 11:00, UK
England will name their Ashes squad on Saturday morning - but who would you have in your team for the first Test?
That's what we asked Sky Sports pundits Michael Atherton, Nasser Hussain and David Lloyd ahead of the series, which begins on Sky Sports Cricket on Thursday at 10am.
Click on the video above to check out their selections and make sure you have your say with the Sky Sports Ashes squad selector below.
We want you to pick your XIs below - and we don't mind you being a bit liberal!
"This is almost an impossible selection in some degree because we don't know about the fitness of people like Jofra Archer, who is going to play for Sussex on Friday.
"But taking it as read that Mark Wood is not fit and Archer will be, this is my team. I don't think there's too much argument about the bowlers. Stuart Broad and James Anderson have been brilliant for a long time and remain so.
"From what I saw in the World Cup you would want Archer in your team - he is quick and will be a handful. He bowls particularly well at left-handers, where David Warner is at the top of the order.
"All of the questions are at the top of the order. Joe Root doesn't want to bat at three and won't - but if I was a selector I would put him there.
"Dawid Malan is an interesting player. He's got 800 runs this year at over 60 all be it in Division Two of the County Championship. He's got an Ashes hundred and he got it at the WACA; if you score an Ashes hundred there, you can play.
"I've taken a flyer on the openers. Jason Roy is clearly inked in by the selectors and got runs in the second innings against Ireland but Rory Burns doesn't look in any sort of form for me.
"In the Test matches that he's played, he hasn't exactly nailed down the position and he doesn't look in good enough form at the moment. Clearly if he plays, I hope he does well, but I've gone for James Vince.
"It's a complete flyer but in the absence of real solid options, I've said to myself two things: who do I think looks the best player of that lot and has the best chance of getting runs? Vince got runs in that series Down Under, and I've taken note of the bowlers.
"Who looks the best batsman from a bowler's perspective? Michael Holding, in our commentary box, thinks Vince does."
"I'm not willing to name two openers who I can say with any kind of certainty will get runs against Australia's attack. We've got to such a bad state, that you can play whoever you want.
"I've gone through the list of people we have tried; Rory Burns, Joe Denly, James Vince, Haseeb Hameed, Ben Duckett, Mark Stoneman, Moeen Ali, Ben Stokes, Jonny Bairstow, Tom Westley, Gary Ballance, Adam Lyth, Sam Robson, Keaton Jennings - they've all had a go in the top three and none of them have had any kind of success.
"When pundits pick their teams, they mention Zac Crawley, Dom Sibley and all these lads. But I've seen it now year in, year out; don't kid yourself that there is any guarantee from first-class runs.
"Sibley got six first-class hundreds in six games, but there will be no guarantee that he'll score runs against Australia. I saw it with Stoneman, Westley, Lyth and Ballance - who is averaging 55 this season. Hameed started the season well. I don't know about the lad Crawley, but it might just come a little bit early for him.
"Burns, in the last three seasons, has been phenomenal for Surrey. It's not a case of them not getting runs domestically. It's that step up in level.
"If Burns is out of nick, with that technique he has got, with so many moving parts, I would be worried going into the first Test. It's a very difficult technique to unravel and find form by Thursday.
"Some people are saying move Bairstow up into the top three, but I'm not willing to take away from my strength. And England's strength is still in that middle order.
"If you're pushing me, I'd choose Vince and Denly to open, because I think Vince - if you look at the way he played in Australia - has looked a very good player, and Denly looks composed.
"I would have Joe Root at No 3, definitely. He has to bat there. Jason Roy, for me, looks perfect in the middle order, to counter attack. I think Dawid Malan is a good cricketer, but I prefer Roy there.
"I think they're going to play on green pitches, and Chris Woakes - on his home ground, Edgbaston, and then Lord's - is more suited. If it is flatter, I would absolutely go with Jofra Archer.
"My thing with Archer is he is used to bowling four overs, 10 overs, but what will he be like in his second or third spell? I would bring him in once he is rested, he can come in and give you short bursts. I'm not fussed if he plays instead of Woakes.
"I reckon my openers are better than Nasser's - Harry Houdini and the Invisible Man!
"Can Roy do it at Test match level as an opener? I'm saying that he can; he has played well against Ireland, getting a 70.
"Like the selectors, I'm at sixes and sevens, but I've gone on a punt, with a similar team to Athers, though I've opted to keep Root at number four.
"Malan scored that century for Middlesex in T20 cricket and is in great form, though I could have picked Gary Ballance, who is also in wonderful form.
"As for the bowlers, Broad and Anderson have obviously got to play and then you could easily pick Sam Curran or Chris Woakes, but I just can't get them in the team.
"I've brought Archer in, though if he doesn't play you could also make an argument for Olly Stone."
Watch every ball of the 2019 Ashes live on Sky Sports Cricket and Sky Sports Main Event from Thursday, August 1.
