Who will defend the Ashes for England?

England will take an official party of 16, but in effect this will be doubled by the performance squad that will be in Australia not just to provide players who are match-fit and can be called up in case of injury, but to give alternatives should circumstances dictate that a different type of player is needed, writes Mike Selvey in the Guardian.

However, unless there is a catastrophic absence of form during the three warm-up matches in Perth, Adelaide and Hobart we can name the XI for the first Test in Brisbane as those who played the last Test of the summer at Lord's, with the inclusion of Ian Bell in place of Eoin Morgan, who will nonetheless be in the party.

That strategy for the first Test has been clear all summer and is spot on (it is the balance England should have fielded in Brisbane last time). However, for the rest of the series it will vary according to venue, pitch, weather and circumstance, as of course it should. Previous stereotyping of Australian pitches should not be taken as the norm now: Perth is no longer the fastest pitch in the world and Sydney is not the sand pit it once was. There is talk, too, of attempting to tickle pitches to suit Australia's attack and negate Graeme Swann, though this would only help England's seamers, while Swann gets wickets in all conditions.

In the Independent, Stephen Brenkley says: "Gone are the days when a batsman could make a late run on the rails by having a fertile August, or a fast bowler could emerge suddenly and force the selectors' hands. Continuity is the modern mantra and England have constantly demonstrated its value in the past 18 months."