19 February 2023 , 14:49
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Ben Stokes has admitted he will face an ‘absolute selection nightmare’ for the Ashes with competition for places reaching fever pitch.
The Test side completed a 267-run win over New Zealand, their 10th Test win in 11 matches with Stokes at the helm, with more and more players producing performances worthy of Ashes inclusion.
But with the likes of Jonny Bairstow, Jofra Archer and Mark Wood all set to be ready for action come Edgbaston in June, there will be some major casualties when the team is announced.
“It's great to have so many world class players to have to choose from,” said Stokes. “It's probably going to end up being an absolute selection nightmare at some point.
“But you’d much rather have that for myself as captain and for Baz as coach. It's a great thing to be thinking about going forward.
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“The amount of world class players that we've got, not only here at the moment, but also sitting at home recovering from injuries or whatever it may be, getting the workloads up and stuff like that. I don’t like to look too far ahead but I think it will be a good crop of players to choose from by the time we come to the Ashes.”
England still have the likes of Mark Wood and Jonny Bairstow set to return for the Ashes (Stu Forster/Getty Images)
Jofra Archer could also feature in the Ashes, having last played Test cricket in 2021 (Alex Davidson/Getty Images)Stokes continues to win in all conditions and situations with a variety of players, all of whom would love a crack at the Aussies this summer. And yet he knows there are several players such as Bairstow, Wood and Archer who will demand inclusion if fit.
In the bowling department there are also the likes of Matthew Potts, Chris Woakes, Saqib Mahmood and Jamie Overton, all of whom have played Test cricket in the last year, not to mention Rehan Ahmed who might just provide the spinning X-factor for an Aussie side that is struggling to cope with it right now in India.
Pat Cummins' team had high hopes for their sub-continent adventure ahead of the Ashes with hopefully a World Test Championship final sandwiched between. But after going 2-0 down in Delhi with Ravindra Jadeja picking up 10 wickets in the match, they are battling to avoid a whitewash and having their final spot nabbed by Sri Lanka.