Team of the Ashes (so far): allrounder

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As our Team of the Ashes (so far) continues, today we’re asking you to select your preferred allrounder from the four Tests to date.

Given his performances with the bat, and despite the fact he comes in at No.8, we felt it was only right to include Moeen Ali in this group, making the task of nominating just one player to fill what is essentially the No.6 spot all the more challenging.

That said, it’s shaping as a battle of the Brits, with Australia’s two candidates underwhelming through what’s been a tough series for the tourists.

AUSTRALIA

Shane Watson: 49 runs at 24.5; 0 wickets. HS: 30. BB: 0-23

Watson disappointed but not done with

Watson came into the Ashes under pressure for his position from the in-form Mitchell Marsh, who had turned heads with barnstorming back-to-back hundreds in the lead-up to the first Test.

As it unfolded, the first Test was his first and only opportunity to impress.

Whether it was simply a matter of form or more the fact that England’s lbw trap again worked perfectly against the batting allrounder, Watson’s contributions of 30 and 19, and 0-24 and 0-23, were deemed insufficient to warrant selection in the second Test.

“I am not exactly sure at the moment what my immediate future holds,” Watson said earlier this month.

“After the first Test I was very disappointed to miss out but in the end I only have myself to blame.

“I have been very lucky and fortunate through my career to have plenty of opportunities and I just didn’t score enough runs, it’s as simple as that.”

Mitchell Marsh: 45 runs at 15; 3 wickets at 21. HS: 27no. BB: 2-23

Marsh sinks captain Cook 

With Watson axed for the second Test, Marsh burst back onto the scene at Lord’s with key wickets and a breezy 27 not out, delivering capably in his role as Australia thumped England by 405 runs.

Between Marsh’s ‘arrival’ and the stunning result, all appeared rosy with Australian cricket once more.

Marsh ends cameo with a bang

What happened in the fortnight that followed was not part of the plan.

Marsh was unable to make an impact with the bat in Birmingham, along with the majority of his teammates, and struggled to make any inroads with the ball, going wicketless.

A disappointing match for the 23-year-old suddenly became much more than that when he was dumped for the fourth Test, selectors instead preferring the straight batting option of his brother, Shaun, who they believed would shore up a misfiring middle order.

Shaun made nought and two, and Mitch watched on as his English equivalent, Ben Stokes, bowled his side to victory with 6-36 in the second innings.

It remains to be seen if selectors recall the Western Australian for the fifth Test?

“I’m no less motivated than I was a couple of weeks ago,” Marsh said last week. “I’m still preparing for a Test match.

“At the end of the day, it doesn’t matter if we’re 3-1 down in the series, we still want to win this Test.

“We’re at a time now where there’s going to be some young guys come in, and I’m really excited to hopefully be one of those guys and lead this group moving forward.”

ENGLAND

Ben Stokes: 186 runs at 31; 8 wickets at 29.37. HS: 87. BB: 6-36

Stokes steps up at Lord's (Aus only)

With a century and a five-for in the 2013-14 whitewash, Stokes had already announced himself as an Ashes force to be reckoned with.

In Cardiff, he was out of the blocks in typically robust fashion, hitting a pair of sixes in his 52 and backing it up with the wicket of Adam Voges in Australia’s first innings.

The 24-year-old followed it up with 87 in England’s defeat at Lord’s – the scene of his record-breaking century against New Zealand only a couple of months ago – and was suddenly looking like England’s most reliable performer with the bat aside from Joe Root.

A couple of ducks and a shortage of wickets followed, but Stokes again grabbed the headlines with a stunning display of swing bowling in the second innings of the fourth Test in Nottingham.

Borrowing from the skill-set of the injured James Anderson, Stokes had the ball ducking both in and away from Australia’s batsmen, and the result was all too predictable: six wickets for just 36 runs, and the return of the Ashes urn to English hands.

Stokes claims five (Aus only)

“People kind of laugh at you when you say he can swing the ball both ways at nearly 90mph,” said former England batsman Paul Collingwood. “He’s pretty much a Jimmy Anderson.

“That competitive edge ‘Stokesy’ has, he just seems to up it a gear when there’s victory in sight.

“To have those kind of figures on such an important occasion under that kind of pressure was just what the team needed.

“It showed he’s one of the guys you can turn to when the team needs something special.”

The allrounder has also been a star in the field, pulling off some spectacular grabs.

Stokes' stunner highlights England's morning

Moeen Ali: 9 wickets at 49.33; 228 runs at 38. BB: 3-59. HS: 77

Ali outsmarts Smith on day two 

Prior to the first Test, the selection of Ali was widely considered a gamble, or at worst, a mistake by England’s selectors.

Within a couple of Tests, he was being hailed for not only his counterattacking batting in England’s lower order, but also for claiming the prized wickets of Steve Smith, David Warner, Michael Clarke and Brad Haddin.

And while in the full context of the series his contributions with the ball have been hit and miss, he’s made up for any spinning shortcomings by his performances with the bat.

The fifth-highest run scorer of the series, and remarkably, England’s second-highest despite coming to the crease at six wickets down, Ali’s 77 from 88 balls in Cardiff was a devastating blow to Australia’s hopes of reducing England to a mediocre first innings total, and ultimately contributed heavily to the home side taking a 1-0 series lead.

Ali's important Edgbaston knock (Aus only)

In Birmingham, he repeated the rear-guard effort, coming to the crease with England marginally ahead at 6-182 in reply to Australia’s 136 all out, and contributing 59 crucial runs that frustrated the tourists and again proved decisive in the outcome.

And while Ali has gone wicketless (0-33 and 0-34) in the third and fourth Tests, his lack of impact can largely be put down to the England pace attack’s complete dominance of their opposition.