Pope pips Bethell in England’s 12-man squad for Perth

Pope pips Bethell in England's 12-man squad for Perth

England have named a 12-man squad for the opening Test of the Ashes, with former vice-captain Ollie Pope retaining the No. 3 spot and Mark Wood declared fit after suffering hamstring soreness.

12-man squad for Ashes opener: Ben Stokes (c), Jofra Archer, Gus Atkinson, Shoaib Bashir, Harry Brook, Brydon Carse, Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Ollie Pope, Joe Root, Jamie Smith (wk), Mark Wood

Pope firmed up his place after knocks of 100 and 90 in England's warm-up game against England Lions at Lilac Hill. This means Jacob Bethell will have to wait for his Ashes debut.

Notably, spinner Shoaib Bashir is included in the 12, ahead of all-rounder Will Jacks, though the tall off-spinner's playing spot is not guaranteed. On what is expected to be a grassy Perth pitch, the visitors retain the seam-heavy option by picking all four of Wood, Jofra Archer, Brydon Carse and Gus Atkinson.