Shane Warne has picked his Ashes XIs for both Australia and England ahead of next Thursday’s first encounter, with the king of spin backing Matthew Wade for selection but leaving out two recent century-makers.
Wade enjoyed his best season to date in the last Australian summer, finishing second on the Sheffield Shield run-scoring charts. Given that formline, Warne believes Wade warrants selection in a top seven that also features the returning David Warner and Steve Smith, and incumbents Marcus Harris, Usman Khawaja, Travis Head and captain Tim Paine.
The former legspinner posted both XIs on Twitter.
On the opposite side of the ledger, Warne backed World Cup winning opener Jason Roy to make his Test debut alongside 21-year-old Zak Crawley from Kent. Warne retained Jonny Bairstow at first drop, with captain Joe Root, Ben Stokes, Jos Buttler, wicket-keeper Ben Foakes and off-spinning all-rounder Moeen Ali rounding out a middle-order that stretches to No.8.
Warne named a pace trio of Stuart Broad, James Anderson and Jofra Archer, with Mark Wood to run the drinks. Archer is unlikely to play the early stages of the Ashes and Wood is expected to miss the first three Tests, with both men battling side strains.
Warne's England squad: Jason Roy, Zak Crawley, Jonny Bairstow, Joe Root(C), Ben Stokes, Jos Buttler, Moeen Ali, Jofra Archer, Mark Wood, Ben Foakes, Stuart Broad and James Anderson.
Warne's Australia squad: David Warner, Usman Khawaja, Steve Smith, Pat Cummins, Nathan Lyon, Mitchell Starc, Marcus Harris, Travis Head, Matthew Wade, Tim Paine(C), James Pattinson and Josh Hazlewood.
