England are prepared to unleash their full pace attack in Friday’s Ashes opener in Perth, with Mark Wood confirmed fit for action. Wood has been included in a 12-man squad for the series opener and is the fastest among a five-strong arsenal of seamers which also includes Jofra Archer, Brydon Carse, Gus Atkinson and captain Ben Stokes.
Spinner Shoaib Bashir has been added as a precaution against a late change in conditions, but all signs suggest England will be focusing on speed. Despite undergoing elbow and knee surgery since his last Test appearance in August 2024, as well as a minor hamstring scare during last week’s warm-up match, Wood is considered a risk worth taking.
He holds an impressive record against Australia – reducing his career average from 30.42 to 27.48 against the old enemy – and unsettled them by reaching speeds of over 97mph in the 2023 series.
He had a brief practice session in the nets on Wednesday, bowling a couple of overs before fielding practice and later had a long look at the pitch. While the tantalising prospect of pairing the 35-year-old with Archer for only the second time in Tests has drawn plenty of attention, Atkinson has received relatively little scrutiny as he prepares for his first taste of Ashes cricket.
And the unassuming Surrey bowler is more than content to keep a low profile. Atkinson, who has claimed 63 wickets at 22.07 across 13 matches – including a hat-trick against New Zealand last winter and eight in his most recent outing against India – is happy to remain out of the spotlight.
“I’m not sure it’s a mistake…it’s been like that a bit so far in my career, in the background and I don’t mind that at all,” he said. “Jofra and Woody are amazing bowlers and they’ll be huge for us this series. You hear about it (Tests in Australia) in the past and it’s all ‘pace, pace, pace’ but we’re hearing lately a bit more seam movement. For me personally, it’s nice to hear that. That’s something I’m looking forward to.”
When questioned whether the tour represented the greatest challenge he has encountered in international cricket, Atkinson showed no hesitation.
“Yes, 100 per cent,” he said.”It feels like we’ve been building up to this series for a while, since I’ve been in the team, so this will be a huge test for all of us. I’m really excited. The build-up has obviously been big but it’s the Ashes: it’s huge. Growing up you’re always watching it, so to be here in Australia is a bit surreal.”
England remain hopeful of breaking a dismal run of form Down Under, having struggled to secure victory in any fixture during their previous three tours.
Yet Atkinson represents one of 11 players in the 16-man squad experiencing their maiden Australian campaign, unburdened by previous disappointments.
“I think there’s a few of us who haven’t played Test matches in Australia so there are no scars for me,” he said. “We’ve obviously got players who have played a lot, like Rooty and Stokesy and we can speak to them, but I do think it’s a good thing that a few of us are coming in with not too much experience here.”
England squad: Z Crawley, B Duckett, O Pope, J Root, H Brook, B Stokes (c), J Smith (wkt), B Carse, G Atkinson, J Archer, M Wood, S Bashir.