No Cummins, Head to open; Stokes, Root in: The Ashes 2025-26 team of the tournament

Soumyajit Dutta

Joe Root beside Travis Head and Ben Stokes [Source: @ImTanujSingh/X]Joe Root beside Travis Head and Ben Stokes [Source: @ImTanujSingh/X]

The Ashes 2025-26 tour has come to a conclusion on January 8, 2026, and Australia have won the series with a 4-1 lead. While the tournament was full of thrilling battles between players, the team game was the motto that persisted.

Individual performances brightened the days, and as we come to the end of the oldest cricket rivalry in the world, here’s a look at the ‘Team of the Tournament’ for Ashes 2025-26 featuring the standout performers who deserve their spot.

Playing XI for Team of The Tournament - Ashes 2025-26

Openers and Top Order - Travis Head, Zak Crawley and Steve Smith (c)

The opening pair of the Team of the Tournament for the Ashes 2025-26 must have Travis Head from Australia and England’s Zak Crawley.

While Travis Head was an outrageous monster with the bat this series with 629 runs from 10 innings, his exclusivity with the bat and aggressive nature will be countered by Crawley.

Crawley, more of a conventional batter, had a decent Ashes tour with 273 runs and two fifties in his bag as an opener for England and will do a fine job at the position he plays the most in Test whites.

Meanwhile, Steve Smith, who is also the captain of the Team of the Tournament, will be playing at No. 3. Smith played 4 matches this Ashes series and gathered 286 runs.

While Smith is more comfortable batting at No. 4, he should make way for Joe Root, as at no. 3, Steve Smith still averages 65.22 from his 30 appearances, underlining his impact at the top.

Middle Order and All-Rounders - Joe Root, Harry Brook, Ben Stokes, Alex Carey (wk) and Brydon Carse

Who is better than the modern-day great Joe Root at No. 4! Root averages 52.10 at No. 4 in Tests and has also gathered 400 runs in the Ashes 2025-26 with 2 centuries to his name.

Harry Brook, the England prodigy, is to follow at No. 5, where he masters with the bat. He averages 57.43 in this position, in Tests, and playing in this series, he accumulated 358 runs with two half-centuries.

Ben Stokes, the English all-rounder can follow Brook. The gritty all-rounder who is known to dismantle both bowling and batting attacks have 184 runs in this series, but with two significant 50s. With the ball, he has 15 wickets to his name.

Alex Carey, the gun wicketkeeper batter from Australia will be a great anchor at No. 7 as seen in this series. Alongside his world-class wicketkeeping skills, Carey was instrumental with the bat with his 323 runs from 8 appearances.

Brydon Carse, the English bowling all-rounder, was more inclined on the bowling unit in Ashes 2025-26. The seamer however, will be a good addition at No. 8 as he chipped in 99 runs from his 10 appearances with the bat. With the ball, he boasts 22 wickets at a bowling average of 30.31 this series.

Bowlers - Mitchell Starc, Scott Boland and Nathan Lyon

Mitchell Starc had a dream Ashes 2025-26 tour and respecting his 31-wicket haul in the series, he will be leading the pace attack alongside Scott Boland, Carse and Stokes.

Scott Boland is the third-highest wicket-taker of Ashes 2025-26 with 20 wickets to his name and a strike rate of 47.9. He also maintained an economy rate of 3.12 from 159.5 which further underlines his importance in the pace lineup.

Last but not the least, Nathan Lyon will be the sole frontline spinner for the dream team. Though he had limited experience in this series, his experience with the ball cannot be underestimated. From his three appearances in this series, Nathan Lyon packed 5 wickets while bowling at 2.85.

Playing XI for Team of the Tournament - Ashes 2025-26 - Travis Head (AUS), Zak Crawley (ENG), Steve Smith (c)(AUS), Joe Root (ENG), Harry Brook (ENG), Ben Stokes (ENG), Alex Carey (wk)(AUS), Brydon Carse (ENG), Mitchell Starc (AUS), Scott Boland (AUS, Nathan Lyon (AUS)