England are set to lock horns with Australia in the AUS vs ENG 1st Test of The Ashes 2025 in Perth, starting November 21. However, one key name missing from the England Playing XI is batting all-rounder Jacob Bethell. The reason for his absence is due to England opting to continue with Ollie Pope at No.3.
There were questions surrounding Pope’s future after he was stripped of Test vice-captaincy in September, following a subpar series against India at home earlier in July. Pope averaged 34 in England’s last Test assignment against India, scoring 306 runs, with just one century across nine innings. This brought Bethell into contention for a possible spot in the Playing XI for the Ashes, given his promising display in his limited Test career so far, where he has managed three fifties in four games.
However, Pope’s recent form for England XI against the England Lions in a pre-Ashes 2025 warmup game, where he hit a 100 and 90, has made the management back him for the series opener.
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Apart from Bethell, Will Jacks also failed to find a place in the team for the first Test. Matthew Potts and Josh Tongue are the other two players of the travelling party not named in the 12-member squad for the opening match.
Coming back to Jacks, he was, anyway, a left-field pick in a squad that mostly picks itself. He last played a Test back in 2022 and has mostly been focused on white-ball cricket. The all-rounder is part of the England setup in mostly a backup role, essentially to allow England to operate with four pacers. With spin expected to play a limited role, England can slot him in place of Shoaib Bashir to get more batting depth or as a replacement for Ben Stokes if he needs to be rested or worst-case scenario, gets injured.
Ben Duckett, Zak Crawley, Ollie Pope, Joe Root, Harry Brook, Ben Stokes (captain), Jamie Smith, Gus Atkinson, Brydon Carse, Mark Wood, Jofra Archer, and Shoaib Bashir
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