Which players could England turn to for 2027 Ashes?

ByMatthew Henry

BBC Sport Journalist

Another Ashes series in Australia has come and gone, meaning England's wait for a win down under goes on.

By the time the next series against Australia starts in summer 2027 it will be 12 years since England last won the urn.

Moments of cheer - Jacob Bethell's first Test century, Josh Tongue's efforts and Joe Root's long-awaited Australian ton - were few and far between, leaving plenty of questions over the future.

As it stands, it appears the wish to change England's leadership, one unafraid of picking youngsters, is limited. If so, do not expect sweeping changes in playing personnel.

But if there is to be new blood then who is in line? Who are the youngsters who could apply the pressure by 2027?

The Rew brothers

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Thomas Rew (left) made his Somerset debut in white-ball cricket last summer aged 17. His brother, James (right), is a regular across formats

England's next big hope?

Aged 21 years and 114 days, Somerset's James Rew became the youngest Englishman to score 10 first-class hundreds last year and was given a first England call-up soon after for the Test against Zimbabwe though he did not play.

Some say his 18-year-old brother Thomas, who scored England Under-19s' fastest 50-over century last June, is even more talented.

Both were part of the England Lions squad that toured Australia this winter.

James made 92 not out against a Prime Ministers' XI in the Lions' day-night match in Canberra.

Thomas scored 55 against England in their Lilac Hill warm-up before the first Test, and 47 in a thrashing at the hands of a strong Australia A in Brisbane.

Both could become options as top-six batters, or apply pressure to wicketkeeper Jamie Smith should his slump continue.

It should not be forgotten Thomas, who will lead England Under-19s at their World Cup later this month, is still yet to play a first-class match for Somerset.

Do not expect too much too soon.

Fast-rising Tribe takes his chance

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Asa Tribe has played 31 times for Jersey but hopes to play for England

Other than Root and Bethell, the only player to make a century in an England shirt this winter was 21-year-old Asa Tribe - the Glamorgan right-hander who has also played international cricket for Jersey.

Tribe, who scored 129 not out against the Australia A attack that featured five full internationals, is making a name for himself with a rapid rise.

He was still playing university cricket for Cardiff last year but earned a spot on the Lions tour with a run for Glamorgan that included three straight 50-over centuries, two more fifties and was followed by a double hundred in the County Championship.

Currently at the SA20 after being picked up by Paarl Royals, Tribe will get a shot at Division One of the County Championship next season after Glamorgan's promotion.

Though the Lions ton came at number five, he is primarily an opener. Durham's Ben McKinney, 21, and Sussex's Tom Haines, 27, are other top-order players who have been on the fringes.

Farhan or Rehan the next spinner?

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Farhan Ahmed took 13 wickets in eight County Championship matches for Nottinghamshire last season

The Rews are not the only brothers it is hoped will have big futures.

Rehan Ahmed was the youngest man to play Test cricket for England when he featured in Pakistan in 2022, while his 17-year-old brother Farhan, an off-spinner rather than leggie like Rehan, became the youngest bowler to take a five-wicket haul in first-class cricket in Britain when taking seven for Nottinghamshire against Surrey in 2024.

Rehan was another on this winter's Lions trip. Many thought he should have been in the full Test squad after a strong season for Leicestershire.

Farhan has played for the Lions this year and will be part of the Under-19 World Cup group.

After Shoaib Bashir's tour as drinks carrier, England appear back at square one in their search for a frontline spinner.

Having scored five centuries and taken 23 wickets in the 2025 County Championship Division Two, it may be that Rehan's future is more as an all-rounder.

Lancashire left-arm spinner Tom Hartley, who has not added to his five Test caps since the 2024 tour of India, was with the Lions in Australia, and do not forget Somerset's Jack Leach.

He was the leading wicket-taker among spinners in the County Championship last season and, aged 34, is still desperate to regain his Test place.

Hull, Jack, Baker and the young seamers

This is perhaps the most worrying area, given the struggles in Australia.

England picked a relatively inexperienced pace attack for the Ashes and only Josh Tongue and Jofra Archer emerged with their reputations enhanced. Those further down the analysts' 'depth charts' have even less experience.

Leicestershire's 21-year-old left-armer Josh Hull, brought in from relative obscurity for one Test in 2024, Hampshire's Eddie Jack, 20, and Warwickshire recruit Nathan Gilchrist, 25, are part of the group below the Test side the current management are trying to develop.

There is also Sonny Baker, for whom a Test call-up appeared possible before a one-day international debut that returned figures of 0-76 and a subsequent injury, and Matthew Fisher.

Fisher, 28, was with England from the third Ashes Test after Mark Wood's injury. Despite injury issues of his own, he at least has experience built from 10 years on the county scene at Yorkshire and more recently Surrey, while his sole Test cap came against West Indies in 2022.

Between them, Jack, Baker and Hull have played 36 first-class matches.

Could England change course?

But what if England's Ashes defeat forces them to change course - to look more often from the county scene?

There could, of course, be a change in management entirely, which may result in the net being cast wider.

Sussex seamer Ollie Robinson, 32, said this week he is keen to add to his 20 Test caps, having been set aside by the current regime.

At his best, he is undoubtedly one of England's most skillful seamers but his fitness and reliability remains a concern.

Openers Dom Sibley, 30, and Haseeb Hameed, still only 28, were the leading scorers in last year's County Championship. Neither have played a Test in the Bazball era.

Yorkshire seamer George Hill took 51 wickets at 16.72 last summer, though does not bowl at a pace currently fancied.

Essex seamer Sam Cook has not been picked since his underwhelming debut against Zimbabwe. He would be another more experienced option.