The Ashes 2025-26: Australia and England combined XI - Joe Root, Steve Smith, captain and wicket-keeper decisions made

England are preparing to face their old foes Australia in the 2025-26 Ashes series, with the latest edition of the storied rivalry set to get underway in Perth on Friday.

As the series hosts, Australia are looking to keep hold of the urn that has been in their possession ever since hammering England 4-0 in the 2017-18 series.

Meanwhile, England are bidding to reclaim the famous little trophy by beating their bitter rivals down under for the first time since 2010-11.

Ahead of the highly-anticipated series, Sports Mole have been playing the role of a selector to pick a combined XI from the English and Australian squads.

Usman Khawaja (Australia)

This was a 50-50 decision between the experience of Khawaja or the care-free exuberance of England's Zak Crawley.

Khawaja is a more dogged and gritty opener compared to Crawley, but he has forged a strong Test career at the top of the order despite going through tricky periods.

An average of 43.86 across 84 Test matches should be appreciated, and he has enjoyed success in the Ashes, having scored four hundreds and six fifties against England.

Ben Duckett (England)

The decision to include Duckett was a much simpler decision than the one between Khawaja and Crawley.

Duckett has developed a reputation as one of the best multi-format openers, with his style of play epitomising the aggressive 'Bazball' ethos.

Boasting a strike rate of 86.14 in Test cricket, Duckett has all the attributes to get our combined XI off to an electric start, and his reluctance to leave the ball will certainly provide entertainment.

Joe Root (England)

Root and Smith are generational players, and as a result, they both have to feature in the combined XI

However, both players thrive at number four, so the inclusion of the pair has left us with the conundrum as to which star batter should move up to number three in our lineup.

After some deliberation, we have moved the former England captain up to number three, which should not be too much of a challenge for a batter who boasts a Test average of 51.29.

Root has scored four centuries and 18 fifties against England's bitter rivals, although he is still waiting for his maiden Ashes ton on Australian shores.

Steve Smith (Australia)

Smith has proven to be a thorn in England's side over the years, with Australia's star batter boasting an average of 56.01 over 37 Ashes Tests.

That is basically equal to his overall Test average, demonstrating that he usually rises to the occasion when the pressure is at its highest.

Smith is currently in joint-second in the all-time list of Ashes hundreds, having scored 12 tons against England, leaving him seven centuries away from Don Bradman's record total in Ashes cricket.

Harry Brook (England)

Another tough call in our lineup was whether to pick Harry Brook or Travis Head as our man at number five in the batting order.

Brook's impressive average of 57.55 across 30 Tests has tipped the balance in the Englishman's favour, especially as he already boasts 10 Test hundreds to his name.

Ben Stokes (England)

Stokes possesses the ability to win a game with bat and ball, making him one of the easiest picks in the lineup.

The all-rounder boasts four Ashes hundreds to his name, including that memorable 135 not out to guide England to an unimaginable victory at Headingley in 2019.

Stokes may only have a bowling average of 38.95 in his Ashes career, but he has the potential to break open a stubborn partnership with his skill set.

Jamie Smith (England)

The battle for the wicket-keeper spot is between Australia's Alex Carey and England's Smith.

Perhaps controversially, we have gone for the Surrey gloveman due to the fact that he has made an impressive impact in the opening stages of his Test career.

Smith may be a fine wicket-keeper, but he could get into the England side based on his batting alone, having averaged 48.86 across his first 15 matches in Test cricket.

Pat Cummins (Australia)

Cummins will miss the first Test in Perth with a back issue, but when fit, Cummins is an obvious choice for the combined XI.

The Australia captain is in eighth spot in Australia's all-time leading Test wicket takers list, having racked up 309 dismissals across his 71 Test matches.

Cummins' impressive combination of speed and accuracy has made him one of the best Test bowlers of the modern era.

Mitchell Starc (Australia)

For us, Starc gets chosen over the likes of Mark Wood and Jofra Archer, even if he can lack the consistency of a Cummins or Josh Hazlewood.

As a quick left-armer, the 35-year-old will provide variety to the attack, plus he has the ability to produce game-changing spells.

The Australian paceman is three away from a century of Ashes wickets, having recorded 97 dismissals in 22 Tests against England.

Josh Hazlewood (Australia)

Like Cummins, we are assuming all players are fit and firing for our combined XI, ignoring the fact that Hazlewood is another first Test absentee due to injury.

Hazlewood is in ninth place in the all-time list of Australian Test wicket takers, with the seamer just five away from reaching 300 dismissals in his illustrious Test career.

The 34-year-old has taken 76 Ashes wickets at an average of 25.97, making him an obvious choice for our lineup.

Nathan Lyon (Australia)

This was comfortably the easiest decision of our selection, with the experienced Lyon an obvious pick as our spin option ahead of England's Shoaib Bashir and Will Jacks.

The 38-year-old is just one wicket away from moving level with Glenn McGrath as Australia's second-highest Test wicket taker of all time.