England have included Matthew Potts and Shoaib Bashir in their squad for the fifth Ashes Test as Brendon McCullum’s men look to end a disappointing series on a high.
Australia’s Usman Khawaja moreover revealed that he will retire from international cricket after the Sydney clash, which begins on Sunday.
Touring captain Ben Stokes, meanwhile, continues to insist that sacking McCullum would be the wrong response to their Ashes defeat.
England recall Potts, Bashir
With first-choice options Mark Wood, Jofra Archer and Gus Atkinson out injured, a depleted England have turned to fast bowler Potts and spinner Bashir for the series-ending Sydney showdown.
Potts is the most likely of the duo to make an appearance at the SCG despite last playing a Test in December 2024.
England opener Zak Crawley lauded the Durham quick’s record of 36 wickets in 10 Test matches at 29.44, saying: “I faced a bit of Pottsy and every time I face him he impresses me.
“He’s got the heart of a lion, a lot of skill and if he gets the nod this week he thoroughly deserves it.”
Should conditions appear spin-friendly, though, England could call on Bashir, who is yet to feature Down Under.
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Khawaja set to retire
Khawaja will bring down the curtain on an 87-Test career for Australia in Sydney, having amassed 6,206 runs and 16 centuries at an average of 43.39 in the baggy green.
“I’m here to announce that I’ll be retiring from all international cricket after the SCG Test match,” he told reporters in the build-up to the fifth Test.
“Cricket has given me far more than I ever imagined.
“It’s given me memories I’ll carry forever, friendships that go well beyond the game and lessons that shaped who I am off the field.”
The 39-year-old will, however, continue to play in the Big Bash League and Sheffield Shield.
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Stokes still backs McCullum
After the third Test in Adelaide confirmed a series loss for England, there was speculation that both Stokes and McCullum could be replaced in their respective roles, but Stokes continues to back the current set-up.
“There is no doubt in my mind that me and Brendon are the right people to carry on doing this for the near future. We’re both pretty keen on carrying on doing what we are doing,” he said ahead of the Sydney match.
“You talk about wanting to change things – if you do what we’ve done over the last four years, we’ll just end up back in the same situation.
“The results and the consistency hasn’t quite been there from the first two-and-a-half to three years that we were in charge, but when you have that time off between series like we do after this – from January to June – it’s a long time for us to get things going again in the right direction.
“We’ve obviously got some things to go away and speak about to try and get the boys pushing even further forward than we managed to achieve since me and Brendon first took over the job.”
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