Picking a combined playing 11 of England and Australia after Ashes 2023

Ashes 2023 was a tactical slugfest. England with their Bazball approach tried to be aggressive not in fours and sixes but in how they approached every innings, and how every batter tried to stay busy. Australia didn't wilt in the first two Tests, sticking to their methods and showing that their polished approach still worked.

However, Nathan Lyon's injury scruffed up that polish. They didn't trust Todd Murphy enough and the spinner himself couldn't prove them wrong when it mattered the most. Confusion and hesitancy is Bazball's favorite meal and England pounced on the opportunity to make it 2-2, and almost 3-2.

However, at the center of back-to-back enthralling Tests were some individual performances. Almost all players stepping up brilliantly for each team also played a role in making the rubber so special.

So, what if we combine both squads and pick one 11 based on the performances in this series? Here's how that'll look:

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Openers: Zak Crawley and Usman Khawaja

The easiest two picks in this team. England's Zak Crawley and Australia's Usman Khawaja opened for their respective teams and were the top scorers in Ashes 2023. While Crawley racked up 496 runs at an average of 49.60 from 10 innings, Khawaja played an innings less, scoring 480 runs at an average of 53.33.

The right-hand and left-hand combination and their contrasting styles - Crawley had a strike rate of 88.72 (one of the highest) and Khawaja struck at 39.27 (one of the lowest) - would form an entertaining yet effective opening pair.

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Middle order: Joe Root, Steve Smith, Ben Stokes (c), and Harry Brook

England experimented a lot with their No. 3 position in Ashes 2023 but none encouraged confidence. Australia's Marnus Labuschagne scored a fifty and a century in the fourth Test but apart from that had a series to forget.

So, we have gone with Joe Root, who batted at No. 4 but is a capable No. 3 batter, followed by Steve Smith at No. 4. The two greats and former captains didn't show their best form in this Ashes.

Root got out cheaply quite often while Smith failed to convert most of his starts, sometimes throwing his wicket in key situations. It looked like both teams came best prepared for them and the plans seemed to work more often than not.

Still, Root collected 412 runs at an average of 51.50 while Smith scored 373 runs at 37.30. Both batters scored two half-centuries and a century each and were among the best for their teams.

Ben Stokes will easily take the No. 5 spot. He once again showed that despite not being able to contribute with the ball, he's good enough to be a part of England's 11 as a specialist batter. The left-hander is there in this team because he was the fourth-highest run-scorer with 405 runs.

His magnificent century in the second Test came in a losing cause but his 80 at Headingley was match-winning, 51 at Old Trafford enhanced England's already strong position while 42 in the last Test from No. 3 was crucial. Stokes is also the captain of the combined XI.

Now comes the most difficult choice - Harry Brook versus Travis Head for the No. 6 spot. There's not much to separate the two: Brook scored 363 runs at an average of 40.33 while Head amassed 362 runs at an average of 36.20. Both played similar aggressive roles in the team and both batted equally consistently throughout the five Tests.

In the matches that England won, Brook shone, and in matches that Australia won, Head did well. Both did equally well in the drawn Test. Head's lacking in average can also be made up by the fact that he picked up two wickets as well. So you can pick either and it probably won't make any difference.

We have picked Brook, just because he scored one extra half-century, taking him to four fifties in the five Tests, the most for any player in the Ashes.

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Wicketkeeper: Jonny Bairstow

Australia's Alex Carey was certainly the better wicketkeeper than England's Jonny Bairstow for the Ashes as a whole. But he was much behind his opposite number with the bat, scoring just 200 runs at an average of 22.22 compared to Bairstow's 322 runs at an average of 40.25.

Carey didn't go past 50 after the first innings of the series while Bairstow had three half-centuries. The latter was the epitome of Bazball and helped England's cause in multiple situations and improved behind the stumps as well.

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Bowlers: Moeen Ali, Chris Woakes, Mark Wood, and Mitchell Starc

Although all top wicket-takers in Ashes 2023 were fast bowlers, you just couldn't go with four pacers, as proved by Australia's troubles in the rain-marred third Test. So we have picked up the only spinner who played more than two Tests in the series - Moeen Ali.

Before you ask, no, Root can't be asked to bowl dozens of overs while also being the team's best batter. He's best when he comes on as a part-timer and the batters try and steal runs against him.

Admittedly, Moeen wasn't great with the ball but he did the job in his last Test series. He picked up nine wickets, with three of them coming at the most crucial time in the final innings of the fourth Test. He held one end well for the rest of the series, despite fighting injuries. Not to forget his 180 runs at 25.71 in the rubber.

Chris Woakes and Mark Wood didn't lose a single Test in Ashes 2023. Since they came to the team, England became a different side altogether. Woakes bowled with a beast-like accuracy, taking 19 wickets at an average of 18.16 while Wood showed some serious pace, breaking partnerships for fun to claim 14 wickets at an average of 20.21.

Stuart Broad (22 wickets), Pat Cummins (18), and Josh Hazlewood (16) all put forward their case but with worse averages.

Mitchell Starc (courtesy of being the worst batter in this attack) is the No. 11 in this combined Ashes 2023 team. However, the left-arm seamer was superb in the four Tests he played, picking up the most wickets (23), two four-wicket-hauls and one fifer. His left-arm angle, new ball movement, and reverse swing will go well with Wood and Woakes.