Bairstow left out England's first Test XII

England have opted for Ollie Pope ahead of Jonny Bairstow in their batting line-up for the first Vodafone Ashes Test, and included left-arm spinner Jack Leach alongside five seamers in a 12-man squad to be finalised at tomorrow morning's coin toss.

The starting XI is likely to be decided by the state of the Gabba pitch, with England keeping afloat  the prospect of fielding front-line quicks Mark Wood, Ollie Robinson and Stuart Broad as well as seam-bowling allrounders Chris Woakes and Ben Stokes.

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England XII: Joe Root (c), Stuart Broad, Rory Burns, Jos Buttler (wk), Haseeb Hameed, Jack Leach, Dawid Malan, Ollie Pope, Ollie Robinson, Ben Stokes, Chris Woakes, Mark Wood.

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However, the most significant inclusion for the tourists is Stokes, who has not played a Test since March this year having taken a break from the previous England summer and the subsequent T20 World Cup in the UAE on injury and then mental health grounds.

Jos Buttler, who regains the keeping gloves from Bairstow, said today the inclusion of Stokes not only added to the team's firepower with bat and ball but brought a steely edge with his unwavering combativeness.

"Ben's fit to play," Buttler said today when asked if the 30-year-old had enjoyed sufficient preparation to bowl for as long as needed in the Test arena.

"He's been performing very nicely in the nets, and in that warm-up game he looks fit, he looks strong and he's hitting the ball well as well.

"It's a massive plus for us as a side with Ben being available to play.

"He brings so much to the team, not just with his skills set, but on the field his character we all know about as well.

"So to have him back amongst the ranks is a big lift for everyone in the dressing room."

Buttler was England's keeper in the first three Tests of the home series against India earlier this year, but was unavailable for the fourth match as his wife was due to give birth to the couple's second child.

He was expected to return to the England line-up for the series finale at Manchester, but that Test was called off due to COVID-19 concerns within the India touring party which meant Bairstow technically remained incumbent gloveman.

But Bairstow had been replaced at number five in England's batting order by Ollie Pope in England's most recent Test outing, and had been tipped to lose his place in the starting XI altogether had the Old Trafford Test gone ahead last September as planned.

As reported earlier today, James Anderson wasn't named in England's squad although claims the veteran quick was suffering a calf injury were refuted by team officials.

Buttler reaffirmed the statement released by England earlier today the 39-year-old was fit to play at the Gabba but was rested as a "precautionary measure" given the length and nature of the five-Test series, with an expectation he's setting himself for the pink-ball Test in Adelaide starting December 16.

Anderson played in all of England's six home Tests last northern summer – two against New Zealand and four against India – and finished with 18 wickets at an average of 32 with a best return of 5-62 against India at Lord's.

It was a calf injury that kept Stuart Broad, Anderson's long-time bowling partner and the most successful new-ball pairing Test cricket has seen, out of the final three Tests of the recent England summer.

However, Buttler confirmed the 35-year-old was fit to play despite the interrupted preparation for the Ashes opener caused by the wet weather that has plagued Brisbane over the past week or two.

"He's good to go," Buttler said of Broad.

"Obviously he had an injury at the end of the summer in England, but he's been coming back well from that.

"The build-up's been here, it's been a bit challenging in certain ways so he didn't have that time playing warm-up games as much as he could.

"But he bowled well in the nets yesterday, I faced him there and he looks pretty good.

"Broad and Anderson have been brilliant performers for a long period of time and they're going to play a huge part in this series as well."

Vodafone Men's Ashes

Squads

Australia: Pat Cummins (c), Steve Smith (vc), Alex Carey, Cameron Green, Josh Hazlewood, Marcus Harris, Travis Head, Usman Khawaja, Marnus Labuschagne, Nathan Lyon, Michael Neser, Jhye Richardson, Mitchell Starc, Mitchell Swepson, David Warner

England: Joe Root (c), James Anderson, Jonathan Bairstow, Dom Bess, Stuart Broad, Rory Burns, Jos Buttler, Zak Crawley, Haseeb Hameed, Dan Lawrence, Jack Leach, Dawid Malan, Craig Overton, Ollie Pope, Ollie Robinson, Ben Stokes, Chris Woakes, Mark Wood

Schedule

First Test: December 8-12, The Gabba

Second Test: December 16-20, Adelaide Oval

Third Test: December 26-30, MCG

Fourth Test: January 5-9, SCG

Fifth Test: January 14-18, TBC