England on Friday announced a 12-man squad for the fifth and final Ashes Test in Sydney, with renewed confidence flowing through the camp after their morale-boosting win at the MCG. The victory, England’s first in Australia in 15 years, has opened the door for the tourists to finish with a respectable 3-2 scoreline.Go Beyond The Boundary with our YouTube channel. SUBSCRIBE NOW!The XII named for the Sydney Test includes Shoaib Bashir, keeping England’s options open over their frontline spinner, while Matthew Potts comes in as cover after Gus Atkinson was ruled out injured. Bashir, long labelled England’s “No.1 spinner”, is competing with Will Jacks for a place in the XI, having yet to feature in the first four Tests despite being prioritised for this Ashes cycle.
Opener Zak Crawley said the MCG win had injected belief into the group and promised England would continue with their aggressive batting philosophy, regardless of Australia’s bowling combination. With Todd Murphy in contention for his first Test of the series, Crawley made it clear England’s intent would not change.“Whoever plays, I think that’s the mantra of our team, is to try and put pressure on people,” Crawley said. “Todd’s a very good bowler, but I can envisage us trying to put some pressure on him, like we would all their bowlers. That’s going to come with some risks, and if it’s turning it’s definitely going to be a threat.”
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Will England secure a win and finish the series 3-2?
Crawley added that ending the series 3-2 would be a significant statement for the side. “I think there’s a big difference just internally in the group,” he said. “It just shows a lot about our group and how united we are if we can get a win.”Attention has also been on the SCG pitch after last week’s two-day Test in Melbourne, but chief curator Adam Lewis played down concerns, insisting the surface was on track to last five days.England XII for Sydney Test:
Ben Stokes , Shoaib Bashir, Jacob Bethell, Harry Brook, Brydon Carse, Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Will Jacks, Matthew Potts, Joe Root, Jamie Smith, Josh Tongue.
