Watch The Ashes live and in full on Sky Sports Cricket. The series gets under way at Edgbaston on Friday June 16 with build-up beginning at 9.30am ahead of the first ball at 11am
Sunday 4 June 2023 11:14, UK
Josh Tongue has been named in England's Ashes squad for the first two Tests against Australia.
England have named an unchanged squad from the ongoing Test against Ireland at Lord's, meaning Ben Foakes will not feature in the opening two matches.
Worcestershire seamer Tongue has been included following an impressive debut with the ball against Ireland which proved enough to keep his spot in the group.
It's been a meteoric rise for the 25-year-old who was a late addition to England's squad for the one-off Test due to injury concerns over James Anderson (groin) and Ollie Robinson (ankle), who are both expected to be fit to face Australia at Edgbaston from Friday June 16.
Both captain Ben Stokes and head coach Brendon McCullum spoke glowingly before the four-day match about Tongue, who spent 15 months on the sidelines with a nerve problem in his shoulder before he returned to fitness in 2022 and last month dismissed Australia batter Steve Smith while in action for his county against Sussex.
The 25-year-old now finds himself in contention for the first two Ashes Tests alongside a group of talented fellow seamers Anderson, Stuart Broad, Matthew Potts, Robinson, Chris Woakes and Mark Wood.
Jack Leach remains the only spinner in the group and Essex's Dan Lawrence is England's only batting cover.
England's 16-man squad will report to Birmingham on Monday June 12 and are due to practice at Edgbaston on Tuesday June 13 before the Ashes get under way on June 16.
Sky Sports Cricket's Nasser Hussain:
"It's pretty much as we thought.
"You have to think of injuries. How is Jonny Bairstow? If he had been struggling through these first three days, they may have called Ben Foakes back in as cover - but they haven't, so that's good news.
"Ben Stokes with that knee issue, you may need to think of another all-rounder - I'm throwing the name out, Sam Curran - but again, they think no, Stokes is going to play.
"Dan Lawrence is the spare batter. He hasn't played Test cricket for a while, but he fits in with the brand and style they want to play.
"Now what they've got to do is pick from that squad an XI for the conditions at Edgbaston."
First Test: England v Australia, 16-20 June, Edgbaston, Birmingham
Second Test: England v Australia, 28 June-2 July, Lord's, London
Third Test: England v Australia, 6-10 July, Headingley, Leeds
Fourth Test: England v Australia, 19-23 July, Emirates Old Trafford, Manchester
Fifth Test: England v Australia, 27-31 Kia Oval, London
Watch The Ashes live and in full on Sky Sports Cricket. The series gets under way at Edgbaston on Friday June 16 with build-up beginning at 9.30am ahead of the first ball at 11am.