The Ashes 2015: Power Ranking the England vs. Australia Teams

The phoney Ashes war is nearly over—it is time for the cricketers of England and Australia to start doing the talking on the pitch, rather than to the media.

The tourists go into the series as holders of the miniature urn, having thrashed their archrivals 5-0 on home soil in 2013/14.

England, though, has not lost a series to Australia on home soil since 2001.

To add a little more spice to the proceedings, they also now have an Australian in charge. Trevor Bayliss will be at the helm for the first time in the opening Test in Cardiff.

Ahead of the clash in the Welsh capital, we have revealed our opening Ashes power rankings for 2015.

We will update the standings after each match during the summer, so expect some changes, both in terms of positions and personnel, over the course of the next few months.

However, with the series yet to start, we have taken into account both recent form and each player's Ashes history to work out the order.

If you don't agree, feel free to have your say in the comments section.

England has to consider whether to hand Adil Rashid his Test debut in the opening Ashes encounter.

The leg-spinning all-rounder was selected in the home side’s 13-man squad, leaving him in a battle with Moeen Ali for the slow-bowling slot.

Rashid may not be quite as cultured with the bat as his rival for selection, but he does still boast a first-class average of 35.68.

However, his bowling is the main reason why he may get the nod. England could regret not blooding him during the tour to the Caribbean earlier this year.

Mitchell Marsh is knocking hard on the door for a place in Australia’s Test XI.

The 23-year-old, brother of fellow tourist Shaun and son of former opener Geoff, is an all-rounder with real potential.

He has shown his skills with the bat by hitting two hundreds on the tour of England already, following up his 101 against Kent with 169 in the win over Essex.

Marsh is breathing down the neck of Shane Watson for a berth in the side—it remains to be seen who gets the nod to play in the series opener in Cardiff.

Shane Watson was batting at three when Australia last faced England in Test cricket.

Now, though, the all-rounder finds himself down at six—and facing a serious threat to his place in the team.

Mitchell Marsh is waiting in the wings, meaning Watson must prove his worth, with both bat and ball, at the start of the series.

A serious talent whose body has let him down, the Queenslander’s bowling now lacks pace. What he can do, though, is block an end up. In the 2013 Ashes in England, he had an economy rate of 2.09.

Last year, Moeen Ali was knocking over some of the finest players of spin in world cricket during the home series against India.

Before then, he had registered his maiden Test century against Sri Lanka, proving his all-round talent.

However, pushed down to bat at eight against New Zealand earlier this summer, the Worcestershire player finds himself coming under scrutiny again.

Still, he averages 32.60 with the ball in Tests. He also picks up a wicket every 54 deliveries he sends down, a decent strike rate for someone who is going to be part of a five-man attack.

Overlooked for the tour to the Caribbean, Adam Lyth got his chance at the top of England’s order in the home series against New Zealand.

Although he failed twice on debut at Lord’s, the Yorkshire left-hander registered a maiden Test hundred in the second Test against the Kiwis at his home ground, Headingley.

His knock of 107 in England's first innings means he will start as Alastair Cook’s opening partner for the Ashes.

Australia may not have seen too much of him, though Mitchell Starc has played alongside Lyth during a spell in county cricket.

Mark Wood has not gone under the radar ahead of his Ashes debut.

Prior to the start of the series, per BBC Sport, he has admitted he will be targeting Shane Watson after the Australian had previously branded him a “net hero." 

The Durham paceman, 25, impressed in his two Test appearances against New Zealand, picking up nine wickets at an average of 33.22.

His injury history means England must take care of him, but he has the ability to bowl quick with his whippy arm action. It appears, judging by his words about Watson, he's also not going to back down from a fight.

Gary Ballance boasts a Test average of 52.19 yet is still under a bit of pressure going into the Ashes.

The batsman has mustered 77 runs in his last six innings for England. Even more concerning are the problems he had against New Zealander Trent Boult, the left-armer dismissing him four times earlier in the summer.

Australia are likely to field not one but two left-arm seamers, with Mitchell Johnson and Mitchell Starc both a yard quicker than Boult too.

Ballance’s trigger movement sees him go back deep in his crease, though that same technique has also seen him score four hundreds at the highest level.

Chris Rogers will be hoping he has shown enough in the past to be pushed back into Australia’s side for the start of the Ashes. 

The left-handed opener was a regular selection at the top of the order, only to then miss the two-match series in the Caribbean due to a concussion.

Shaun Marsh took over for the matches against the West Indies, and he has already scored a century on the trip to England.

However, now over the blow he sustained after being struck in the nets, the experienced Rogers was picked for the warm-up wins over both Kent and Essex.

A latecomer to Test cricket, Adam Voges made an immediate impact with 130 not out on debut against the West Indies in June. 

The batsman was 35 years and 242 days when he reached three figures in Roseau, making him the oldest player to ever hit a century in his first Test.

His previous experiences in international cricket had come in limited-overs action. He made his ODI debut in 2007, though has only played 31 games in total.

What will benefit Voges in England is his county cricket experience—he has previously played for Nottinghamshire and was due to captain Middlesex this year before his Ashes call-up.

Jos Buttler will get his first taste of an Ashes series when he plays in the opening Test in Cardiff.

Nothing seems to fluster the wicketkeeper-batsman. At 24 he is a promising talent who has settled in quickly to England’s XI in the longest format.

The right-hander averages 52.66 with the bat—if England’s top-order players do their jobs, he will have the platform to attack the opposing bowlers.

His handling behind the stumps is improving, and it should be remembered he has still only played in eight Tests.

Established as Australia’s first-choice spinner, Nathan Lyon knows his role in the side. 

In the early stages of matches he is there to do a job to keep the three front-line seamers fresh. However, when the pitch begins to wear, he can step up and take centre stage.

The 27-year-old had an excellent Ashes series in 2013/14, picking up 19 wickets. 

Lyon bowled around the wicket to the right-handers at times, a tactic that paid off at times. He is a reliable option for his skipper, Michael Clarke, but a bowler the opposition should not underestimate.

When Ben Stokes is performing well, it is hard not to get carried away with what you see.

An all-rounder who strikes the ball hard and who can also bowl quickly, he has the natural talent to become an international star. 

He showed his desire for a battle, as well as his technical abilities, with a superb maiden hundred on the disastrous Ashes tour of 2013/14. 

His form dipped after that, though Stokes started the English summer by hitting the fastest-ever Test ton seen at Lord’s. He took just 85 balls to reach the landmark against the country of his birth, New Zealand.

Seamer Josh Hazlewood has made an impressive start to his Test career.

In five matches he has picked up 24 wickets, and he was named man of the series as Australia secured a 2-0 sweep over the West Indies in the Caribbean. 

He had played against England in limited-overs cricket but is yet to experience the Ashes.

Tall and able to consistently hit a probing line and length, Hazlewood has drawn comparisons to another New South Welshman who bowled a bit, Glenn McGrath.

Since making a century in the first innings against West Indies in Jamaica back in April, Ian Bell has endured a rotten run of low scores.

In his last eight knocks for his country he has managed a total of 55 runs, including bagging a pair in the final Test in the Caribbean.

But the batsman did make 111 in his one and only first-class knock for Warwickshire since the end of the home series against New Zealand.

He also has fond memories of the last time he played an Ashes series on home soil—Bell hit three tons against Australia in 2013 to help England retain the urn.

An experienced Ashes campaigner, Brad Haddin will surely be embarking on his last tour of England at the age of 37.

He had a highly productive series the last time the rivals met in the Test arena, scoring 493 runs at an average of 61.62 as Australia secured a 5-0 whitewash.

His batting at seven can be a pain to opponents—he will always look to attack, with a particular fondness for hitting square of the wicket on the off side.

Haddin is an excellent wicketkeeper who is never shy in having a word—he recently said, per Paul Newman of the Daily Mail: “We’re not New Zealand, we won the World Cup final. We’ll play the way we play and if you like it, you like it.”

Stuart Broad will be glad to have the crowd on his side during this Ashes series, having been cast in the role of pantomime villain in Australia in 2013/14.

Despite being booed anytime his name was mentioned, the bowler still had a solid tour. He finished with 22 wickets at an average of 27.52

He picked up 13 scalps in the two Tests against New Zealand in May and June of this year.

His new-ball partnership with James Anderson will be crucial to deciding the outcome of the series.

James Anderson is still the leader of England’s bowling attack, though he is a little undercooked going into the Ashes series.

He was underwhelming against New Zealand and, having not been involved in England’s one-day squad, has not bowled competitively since.

Still, the Lancastrian did pick up 22 wickets at an average of 29.59 the last time Australia visited to play Test cricket, in the summer of 2013.

At 32, there are signs that Anderson is mellowing. He told the Sun (h/t Sporting Life) that his sledging days are over: "It was something I used effectively for a few years and it helped my game. But I'm at a stage in my career where I'm not keen to engage opponents in wars of words as much as I did."

David Warner may be better known for his batting exploits in limited-overs cricket, but he has a healthy Test average of 46.82.

His aggressive intent at the top of the order can quickly put opposing teams on the back foot. Even in the longest format he still scores at a strike rate of 74.37.

The left-hander missed the start of the 2013 Ashes after aiming a punch at England’s Joe Root, though by the end of the series he had been recalled.

The fiery Warner has made 12 Test tons, two of them against England as Australia whitewashed their rivals in the 2013/14 series.

A star of Australia’s Cricket World Cup triumph, Mitchell Starc still has to prove he can have the same level of success in Test cricket.

The left-arm paceman did, however, play a key role in his side’s success in the West Indies. He took 10 wickets at an average of 16, including four for 28 in the first Test in Roseau.

Still, Starc has picked up just two five-wicket hauls in his 17 Test appearances.

Tall and quick, the New South Welshman has the ability to swing the ball back into right-handed batsmen.

In 2013 he was a peripheral figure in the Ashes series—in 2015 he will want to play a much bigger role.

Alastair Cook knows things can hardly get any worse than the last time England faced Australia in Test cricket.

A series whitewash in their opponents' backyard was followed by the England and Wales Cricket Board's decision to sack Kevin Pietersen.

The opening batsman goes into an important Ashes series having made two hundreds and four half-centuries in his last eight Test knocks.

His captaincy will come under scrutiny, though he will hope to build on the positive vibes created by England’s performances in one-day cricket under the leadership of Eoin Morgan.

Joe Root averaged 97.12 in Test cricket in 2014, making three hundreds in 11 innings.

This year the Yorkshireman—who moved up to three in the last Ashes series, after Jonathan Trott returned home due to a stress-related illness—has already scored 541 runs at an average of 67.62.

Despite being only 24, the batsman has previous history with Australia, particularly their opening batsman, David Warner.

The pair were involved in an incident prior to the start of the 2013 Ashes series in England. While Root was cleared of any wrongdoing, Warner was banned for the first two Tests.

Old wounds, literally, not physically, have recently been reopened, with Root defending himself via Twitter (h/t the Guardian) after Warner talked about the incident in an interview with the Sydney Morning Herald.

Initially selected in Test cricket as a leg-spinning all-rounder, Steve Smith is now ranked as the best batsman in the world by the International Cricket Council. 

The right-hander scored 1,146 runs at an average of 81.85 in 2014. This year could yet be even better—to date he has 471 runs at 117.75.

He made his maiden Test ton against England on the previous Ashes tour, hitting 138 not out at the Oval in August 2013.

Smith—now Australia’s vice-captain and the obvious heir apparent when Michael Clarke calls it a day—has been promoted to bat at three in the order.

Michael Clarke has had his ups and downs against England.

He has been on the losing side in four Ashes series’, but has also twice been part of Australia sides that have whitewashed their oldest rivals on home soil.

The batsman was captain for the 5-0 result in 2013/14, meaning the Australians had possession of the miniature urn for the first time in seven years.

Injury meant he played just one Test in the home series against India, though he returned to fitness in time to lead his country to glory in the Cricket World Cup.

The Barmy Army’s favourite target, Mitchell Johnson will want to carry on from the last time he faced England in Test action.

The paceman picked up 37 wickets in the 2013/14 series, helping his country regain the Ashes with a 5-0 whitewash.

His performances in England down the years, however, have been mixed. He averages 37.73 in seven Tests, well above his career mark of 27.58. 

Johnson was not part of the squad for the 2013 series and, at 33, this could be his last chance to beat the old enemy in their own backyard.