Ashes 2023: England announce 16-man squad for first two Tests

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England made no changes to their 16-man squad from the one-off Test against Ireland as the same side will feature in the first two Test matches of the Ashes 2023 against Australia starting at Edgbaston on June 16. The first Test match is at Birmingham's Edgbaston while the second Test is at Lord's from June 28.

No change in the squad means young pacer Josh Tongue will keep his side in the squad after making an impressive debut against Ireland in the one-off Test currently being played at the Lord's in London.

Worcestershire's Tongue is one of the eight pacers in the team, indicating that skipper Ben Stokes -- who played the IPL as a batter and retained the same for Ireland Test as well -- will continue to play as a bowler.

The other pacers, who are likely to find a place in the lineup are Mark Wood, Stuard Broad, Jimmy Anderson, Ollie Robinson. However, Mark Wood, Anderson and Robinson had fitness concerns. Stuard Broad, however, is bowling in full swing with a 20th Test five-wicket haul on Friday.

In the ongoing Test, Ollie Pope impressed with his maiden double century while Ben Duckett scored a big 182. England's star batter Joe Root became the fastest to 11000 runs in the Ireland game as he scored a half century.

England squad for the first two Ashes Tests: Ben Stokes (Durham), James Anderson (Lancashire), Jonathan Bairstow (Yorkshire), Stuart Broad (Nottinghamshire), Harry Brook (Yorkshire), Zak Crawley (Kent), Ben Duckett (Nottinghamshire), Dan Lawrence (Essex), Jack Leach (Somerset), Ollie Pope (Surrey), Matthew Potts (Durham), Ollie Robinson (Sussex), Joe Root (Yorkshire), Josh Tongue (Worcestershire), Chris Woakes (Warwickshire), Mark Wood (Durham)