4 England players who might not be seen in Tests after Ashes 2025-26

England batter Ollie Pope (Source: AFP)

England have been through a miserable run of form in the ongoing Ashes 2025-26 in Australia. Australia took an unassailable lead of 3-0 in the five-match series to push the visitors to the wall. However, England displayed a bit of resilience in the fourth Test of the series with a four-wicket win at the Melbourne Cricket Ground. 

Meanwhile, there happened to be a few players in the England setup who didn’t live up to the expectations, which went on to cost England another Ashes series. That said, here’s a look at four players who may have made their last Test appearances for England in the Ashes 2025-26. 

Ben Duckett - A repetitive pattern of dismissals 

One of England’s leading run-scorers in 2025, Ben Duckett has been through a horrific run of form in the ongoing Ashes 2025-26. His dismissal pattern throughout the series has also been under the scanner. Duckett was dismissed either bowled due to a gap between bat and pad or edging out the deliveries between middle and off. 

He has scored just 160 runs in nine innings of the Ashes 2025-26 so far, with a below-par average of 17.77. England might drop him from their squad for the following summer, in favor of a better opening option. 

The Three Lions are expected to bank on the Surrey opener Dom Sibley, who was the leading run-scorer in the County Championship Division One 2025. He scored 1,274 runs in 24 innings, with an average of 60.66, hitting four centuries and six half-centuries. He could be a perfect fit to replace out-of-form Ben Duckett for the opening role. 

Ollie Pope - The inconsistency concern 

Ollie Pope didn’t have many impressive numbers with the bat in 2025, scoring 602 runs in 16 innings at a below-par average of 37.62, hitting a half-century and two centuries. In the ongoing Ashes 2025-26, he struggled in the first three Tests, scoring just 125 runs in six innings at an average of 20.83, without a century or a half-century. 

Furthermore, he was dropped from the fourth and fifth Tests of the series. Notably, England had also considered dropping Pope last year in the five-match home Test series against India. He had scored just 186 runs, with an average of 31.00 in the first against India. 

England roped in Jacob Bethell to replace Ollie Pope at number three for the last two Tests of the Ashes 2025-26. In his shorter career of six Tests, Bethell has scored 271 runs in eight innings at number three, with an average of 38.71, including all three of his Test half-centuries.

Mark Wood - Injury woes and age factor

The star has been grappling with the knee injury for almost a year, which forced him to sit out of the majority of the Test matches for England in 2025. He could play just two games and bowled just 11 overs, going wicketless. He bowled eight overs for the visitors in the first Ashes Test in Perth before getting injured and being ruled out. 

Injury and age factors are likely to push Mark Wood permanently away from the Tests for England. A ‘hit the deck’ option in Josh Tongue can replace the 35-year-old pacer. Notably, Tongue was the second leading wicket-taker for England in 2025. 

Josh Tongue has picked 34 wickets in 13 innings, including two four-wicket hauls and two five-wicket hauls since the start of 2025. He could be a perfect new-ball bowling option for England to fill the void in Wood’s absence. 

Will Jacks - A misfit as an all-rounder

Batting all-rounder Will Jacks has also been one of the poor performers for England in the Ashes 2025-26. He has failed to impress with the bat or the ball. The 27-year-old has scored just 145 runs in six innings, with an average of just 24.16, without a half-century. 

Speaking of his bowling performances, the Surrey-born has bagged just four wickets in four innings he has bowled against England in the current Ashes edition. Therefore, his Test credentials don’t seem to advocate his place in the squad for the longest format of the game. 

England can replace Will Jacks with Rehan Ahmed for the role of an all-rounder, as the latter has better numbers in red-ball cricket. Rehan Ahmed has scored 2022 runs in 62 First-Class innings, with an average of 33.70, compared to Jack’s 2709 First-Class runs in 89 innings, with an average of 33.86. Ahmed has six FC centuries, while Jacks has just four centuries, and that too as a batting all-rounder.