E-mail your reaction to the team.

Simon Jones and Steve Harmison got the nod over Cork and Tudor as England opted for youth over experience in their bowling attack.

Troubled batsman Graham Thorpe was also included, as were injury-hit fast-bowler Darren Gough and wicket-keeper James Foster.

Spinner Richard Dawson was the surprise inclusion, while all-rounder White may feel aggrieved at missing out after some good recent performances for England.

Could this squad bring back the Ashes?

This debate is now closed

Alex Tudor has two bad games out of nine Test matches and all of a sudden Harmison and Jones are better bowlers than him. Well, I hope that he comes back and proves all of those doubters wrong!
Ricardo Williams, UK

More batting practice and a chance to improve the averages, thanks Pommies.
Tom Pattison, Australia

The exclusion of Cork and Tudor is justified, as neither have performed with the ball recently. The 16 named are capable of causing the Aussies some problems, although I don't believe we will bring the Ashes home. The only disputable decision I think is Dawson being chosen ahead of White. What must the man do?!
Chris Curtis, England

I would think the best tactic would be to pick the strongest team, not the best known one. When was Darren Gough's last first class match? Is Andy Caddick one of the four best fast bowlers in the country? Is Rob Key's Test career over? Who did Craig White upset? Answers on a postcard to Nasser please.
Neil J., England

It is the normal Essex, Surrey, Middlesex, Lancashire, Yorkshire cartel with a few guest county selections. I wonder, do the selectors know where places like Canterbury are?
Adam Manktelow, England

Yes, England can win. On their day they are as good as any other side in the world. They have selected a mix of youth and experience, pace and guile, graft and flair, proven ability and raw talent.

And yes, Australia can lose - at times they have shown they can be as bad as the rest. But if the question is WILL England win? Can't really see it. We'd need our good days and Australia's bad days to coincide thirty times over the series.
Paul Shrimpton, UK

England should have taken both White and Tudor, in place of Dawson and Foster. These two will do little more than carry drinks for three months, which would be a second consecutive waste of a winter for both.

They should have been sent to the Academy in Adelaide, where they would have played and practised on a regular basis. Graveney expressing concern over Tudor's stamina is a total contradiction of the fact that they have picked Gough, who hasn't played Test cricket for over a year and whose injuries keep reoccurring.

Having picked Harmison and Jones, they should have the bottle to play them, I'm pretty sure that Australia would.
Stuart, England

Unless Nasser Hussain learns to trust his side and be a bit more positive England have no chance of even competing for The Ashes. Talking to the bowlers after practically every ball, and setting negative fields when you have a lead of over 450 won't get him anywhere. And if he is going to keep complaining about injuries he may as well stay home and hand over to someone who believes in the squad that has been picked.
Sanj, UK

Mark Ramprakash should be in the squad. If Thorpe, who has got in because of his average against Australia rather than current form, is selected, so should Ramps. He has a very good average against Australia; better than most in the squad.

Can anyone tell me why John Crawley is going? Unless the top four make runs, the matches will be over within four days.
Roy, England

Finally England may have a chance because the selectors have picked the right squad. The batsmen picked themselves, obviously you have to include Thorpe, he was our best player before Vaughan and Trescothick came to the fore.

On the bowling front Jones and Harmison are the right choices. Many of the Australian pitches are hard where the balls will bounce. We need real pace and wicket takers who can potentially change matches. Bring the Ashes home boys!
Elliot, UK

Awful decision to leave out Craig White - he must be gutted. White is a competitor, and takes some pressure off the middle order batting at eight. Dawson is picked for the sake of it rather than on talent, look at his first class record this season! I really respect Fletcher and would really like to hear his comment on this.
Jonathan, Northampton

I thought that Craig White was a certainty for Oz. He has performed brilliantly lately and did enough before his injury I feel to be selected. I don't think the Ashes will be coming home this time - but I feel we can give them a run for their money.
Ian Griffith, United Kingdom

As an Australian I am embarrassed by Derek Slayer's remarks, even if they may prove to be true. Is this the sort of chest puffing we need to be making before a ball is even bowled? I am very confident that Australia will win this series and I am also proud of the team, but we also need to have respect for our opponents.

Finally, I can't believe everyone is asking for White to be selected. If you remember back to the last English summer against Australia I am sure you would change your minds.
Luke Jecks, Australia

I find it incredible that there is any debate about whether to take Jones and Harmison. They are ahead of Cork and Tudor by miles in terms of being potential match winners this winter. Don't forget that Gough, Caddick, Hoggard and Flintoff should start as England's probable pace attack, so to take Tudor or Cork as back up would be ridiculous.

There is no point taking any further batsmen as there are none better. If any of those picked lose form then it is just too bad. Better to have a high-class player playing through bad form than risk a lesser player who has hit a bit of late summer form around the counties.
Mike, UK

If I were Craig White, I would be wondering what I had to do to keep my place. I appreciate that Craig is struggling with a side strain, however, his performances in his last five Tests for England would justify his inclusion as a batsmen!

His statistics show eight innings, two not outs, 358 runs at an average of 59.67. Many of his runs have been scored with tail-enders at the other end. In addition, his approach to playing spin - attack - would have given a positive aspect to playing Warne. I feel very sorry for the lad.
Neil, UK

Thorpe must be a huge doubt and he should appreciate the debt he owes Hussain, the selectors and his team-mates. If he has one iota of doubt about his mental state then he should do the honourable thing and withdraw from the squad.
Nick Newman, Wales

Batting-wise, the squad looks good - only Crawley looks a little suspect, but we shall see. And as for leaving out 'promising youngsters' like Key - his performance in the field as well as at the crease leaves a lot to be desired, and this really isn't a tour for him to start improving his skills.

The worry for me is our bowlers - or rather how Nasser uses them. We saw in the series against India that negative tactics get the results they deserve. We need to be aggressive and play to win. But we can do it. Fifteen years of hurt...
Chris, England

Nice to see Harmison and Jones included. Let's hope they get a game. There's not much point in taking them otherwise. I really can't see why Dawson is in the squad. Craig White would have been a much better choice.

Do the selectors really think that Richard Dawson is the man to tear out the Oz middle order? Also, James Foster...why? There are far better wicket-keepers in the country. If they were really going for young talent then Mark Wallace would have been the right choice.
Gareth, Wales

Right decision to stick with Thorpe, he is proven quality, especially against the Aussies. There is nothing we can do about the injuries, though it would have been a safer option taking White instead of Dawson as an all-round back up.

Dawson will only be considered for the final eleven if Giles is injured. All in all it should make for a better Ashes series. However, the key to success against the Aussies is being able to stand up to them mentally. Has Fletcher thought about selecting a travelling psychologist?!
Ben, England

Having seen some of the recent Indian series I cannot see how Ashley Giles is going to take wickets Down Under unless he bores the batsmen out. Where are the great English spinners of yesteryear?

A good spinner and a little more experience among the genuine quicks and they may have a chance.
Mark Taylor, Australia

Craig White should have been picked. He is in good form and his ability to reverse swing the ball will be missed in Australia. It is imperative that everyone is fit. I know a lot is expected of Flintoff and Dawson but they still have to deliver. We only stand a chance if both Caddick and Gough are fully fit.
Paul Haylock, England

Good squad, don't know why Craig White is omitted. Shame the selectors don't have the balls to pick the one slow bowler the Aussies actually fear slightly, Phil Tufnell. Giles is rubbish, why the management persist with him is a mystery.

People lambasted Tufnell for bowling down the leg side years ago, but at least Tuffers took wickets and always looked likely to!
Richard Mitchell, UK

Sure, you lot have heaps of potential, and maybe even one or two of your fellas will fire. But, the Aussies have a starting XI who all fire, every session, every day. Gough or Jones may have a great series. Gillespie, Lee, McGrath and Warne all will.

Vaughan and Trescothick may keep hitting them sweet. Hayden, Ponting, Gilchrist, Martyn and Langer will hit twice as many. It is a quite simple equation. For every quality player you have we have two. For every match winner you have, we have four.
Derek Slayer, Sydney, Australia

Er...where is Craig White? Like a good wine he gets better with age. England will need Flintoff at seven and White at eight against the Aussies - it shouldn't be a case of taking one but not the other. Does this mean that we will have Ashley Giles - a man whose batting and bowling are inferior to White's - batting at eight? Oh dear.
Jacko, Colchester, UK

I think England have made multiple blunders. The chances of Crawley making runs is non-existent and Tudor has done well pretty much every time he's played us. The obsession with playing five bowlers is unhealthy for English cricket.
Leo, Australia

I am happy with the make up of the squad, especially the bowlers, and if everyone is fit we should be competitive, with Jones providing bac-up to Caddick, Gough and Hoggard. My only problem is that I would definitley have selected White over Flintoff. I can't believe he has been left out, his recent Test record is outstanding.
Mark, UK

The selectors have picked a team that may not be good enough to win the Ashes, but at the very least will cause the Aussies a lot of trouble on quicker wickets. The only addition I would make would be to include Craig White, who could be a valuable asset at number eight if we needed to bolster the batting.
CT, UK

A tremendous choice by Nasser and Fletch. Definitely the best 16 that could have been picked - good blend of youth and experience. There could be no place for Tudor and Cork, because at the end of the day, the consistent pace required is just not there from either.
Edjimundo, England

We now have a legitimate pace attack in Harmison, Gough and Jones. With Caddick or Hoggard at first change I believe we have a chance of causing an upset. It would be a miracle if we beat the Aussies but at least we are heading in the right direction.

Without doubt this will be useful experience for Harmison and Jones and hopefully they can produce like Daffy Defreitas did many moons ago on his first tour of Oz! Come on, let's get behind the boys, not slag them off!
Paul Coplen, England

I would have liked to have seen Craig White included in the squad, possibly at the expense of the still-raw Jones. White would have made the batting even stronger, something we need if we are to avoid defeat, let alone win, and I cannot see that Jones is (yet) a better bowler.

However, given the history of injuries to most of the squad, I expect White to be going out there anyway!
Philip Lewis, England

The question is not whether England can win the Ashes with this squad but whether this is the best team we can send. On that score it looks about right. The two quicks are good to see but it's one steep learning curve.

Dawson is an odd choice since England can't seem to use spinners in an attacking role. And whilst I've long been a fan of Crawley's, I can't help thinking that maybe it was time to take a youngster - Key must be feeling a touch narked.

And lastly, I hope Thorpe's head is right - if it's not, that's a waste of an airfair. Let's be honest though, England are improving and this is a pretty good squad but the Aussies are head and shoulders above everyone else in the world and we're going to get it again!
Rich, England

If Hussain asks Giles to bowl wide of the leg stump at the WACA then God save England! Gods can never save the English blushes Down Under!
Vijay, India

It's the tour party I wanted to see, but I'm not overly optimistic that it's going to cause Australia much trouble, let alone bring back the Ashes. Remember, the Aussies completely demolished South Africa over six Tests home and away (5-1) last season, and with the likes of Kallis and Pollock, the South Africans have got an equivalent batting line-up and superior bowling attack.

On that basis, I'll be pretty pleased with England just winning a Test. And make no mistake, we'll only remain competitive if we continue to play our recent brand of disciplined, containing cricket. All this fighting fire with fire talk is sheer lunacy. Anyone remember Gough's fiery opening over to Slater in the first Test at Edgbaston last year? I seem to recall it went for 18 runs...
Matthew, UK

A few strange selections have been made for this squad in the light of recent matches. Firstly, John Crawley does not make runs against good quality fast bowling and lately not against spin either!

Also, Richard Dawson has taken his wickets at an average of well over 40 runs this summer in county cricket. Not the kind of player to put any fear into Australian batsmen. Giles could have bowled all week against India and not took any wickets. Instead, why not taken Robert Croft who has a reasonable overseas record and also take Craig White as a back up all-rounder to the injury-prone Flintoff?
Danny, England

I am pleased to see Jones and Harmison in the squad and can also see the reasons for leaving out Tudor and Cork. The only two suspect selections in my view are Dawson and Foster. We appear to have decided to pick two spinners regardless, when the only Test in which we might conceivably play both is at Sydney.

We have also stuck with a reserve wicket-keeper whose Test performances to date have been well below the standard required at international level. On his showing at The Oval, Michael Vaughan could act as a secondary spinner if required, and I would have taken another reserve keeper - Warren Hegg probably.

Finally, after his efforts at Lord's and Trent Bridge v India, Craig White can feel particularly aggrieved at not being on the plane.
Roy Pinney, England

This is a squad to be excited about. Fitness is going to be key, but we have a mix of raw talent, in-form players and experience. On the dry, quick wickets of Australia, Gough, Hoggard, Caddick and Jones would form an awesome attacking quartet.

Undoubtedly our batting faces the best bowling line up in the world in McGrath, Gillespie, Lee and Warne, but I really do feel we have the out and out quality in numbers one through six that we can always amount a respectable score.

Flintoff remains the only question England needs an answer to - an effective and consistent all-rounder would provide a balance in the side and maybe the key to the Ashes. Either way, we now have a first choice XI capable of challenging for the Ashes. It has been some time since that could be said with some confidence.
Matt Steward, Greece

The inclusion of Jones and Harmison is a step in the right direction. The only two worries are Crawley and Flintoff. Crawley never makes runs when it really matters, only when the team is not really under pressure.

As for Flintoff, he's now played more than 20 Tests and his record is very poor: he only averages 19 with the bat and 45 with the ball. White would have been a safer and more reliable option.
Steve , England

Looks a good squad, but we always seem to struggle to bowl the Aussies out twice (who doesn't?!). Hopefully, with the two pace bowlers, we can shake them up a bit. The batting looks good also...just hope we have the bottle to withstand the barrage of abuse that they'll give us, and can hold our nerve.
Craigy, England

I cannot believe England are going on a five Test series with just six specialist batsmen, that too with Graham Thorpe in this frame of mind and Vaughan, Butcher and Crawley struggling with crumbling knees.

On the morning of a Test match, with one batsmen totally out of form (very much possible with five Ashes Tests) and another injured, what will Hussain do? Go into a Test with four batters?

To top it all Flintoff is not fully fit and England have chosen to drop Craig White, who is in supreme batting form, in favour Dawson who really has no chance of making it into the playing 11 for any of the Tests, bar injury to Giles.
Avinash, UK

If Graham Thorpe wanted to take time off when he was at home this summer, what's the likelihood that he'll be completely focused when he's on the other side of the world for three months? Standing in the middle in the first Test in Australia is no place to start looking for form.
Mark, England

I'm pleasantly surprised with the squad! I'm disappointed White didn't go, but think both Tudor and Cork should not have gone and that Harmison and Jones are better prospects.

I would not have taken Dawson as I cannot honestly see him being selected unless Giles is injured, and so why waste the space when White could have gone? I think Tudor is a terrific prospect and another season at Rod Marsh's finishing school is the best place for him.

I am also glad Monty Panesar has gone to the Academy, as he is England's best hope of a quality spinner, our bery own 'Turbanator!' At last the selectors listened to Botham.
Simon, UK

What a way to start an Ashes tour. We have picked the sick/lame (Jones, Gough, Flintoff, Foster) and the failed (Crawley). Why leave out White, Key and other promising youngsters?

As only highlights are to be shown on TV I guess we will see plenty of Austalian batting feasting on our under-prepared and unfit bowlers! C'est la vie!
M Brown, England

Having seen England pick bowlers who are nothing but cannon fodder on Australian pitches for 30 years, the selectors have to get it right this time. England need to pick a battery of fast bowlers backed up by a couple of medium-fast types.
Robert Large, Australia

Tudor and Cork are not up to the mark so for once they have been dropped. This is the best 16 we can take. Congrats to Fletcher and Nasser, you have got it spot on.
Jon Roworth, England

No disrespect to Corky, but with England's young seamers coming through he really should not have been picked. I think he is way past his best days and if he had tried to show the sort of attitude against Austrailia that he did against India, then he would have got slaughtered.

Alex Tudor never looked like getting a wicket, although he has big heart. Harmison and Jones have great pace and this could be the start of a new era of bowlers for England. Great choice and a great chance against the Aussies. BRING THEM ON!
Dully, UK

Harmison will provide spark, effort and the right attitude. Every Ashes tour, I get heaps of unsubtle flak from my Aussie friends and colleagues. While hope springs eternal, I can't see Australia having too many sleepless nights about this tour. But on local wickets, a really quick bowler can always disconcert, and for once we have some batsmen who can give our bowlers enough runs to work with.

A negative attitude will go nowhere - the Australians seek to dominate every session, and you have to fight fire with fire.
Faustino, Australia (ex-pat)