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Kerry O'Keeffe asked to pick Australia-England combined XI, all Australians announced

Soumyajit Dutta

Joe Root, Ben Stokes and Kerry O'Keeffe in the frame [Source: @moriarty_200/X]Joe Root, Ben Stokes and Kerry O'Keeffe in the frame [Source: @moriarty_200/X]

Former Australia cricketer and current commentator Kerry O’Keeffe has hilariously picked an Australia–England combined XI that shockingly includes no English players. Kerry O’Keeffe was asked to select a combined XI after the Ashes 2025–26 series concluded on January 8, with Australia winning the contest 5–1.

In a tongue-in-cheek selection, the veteran went on to name an XI made up entirely of Australian players, with not a single England cricketer making the cut.

No Duckett, Archer in Kerry O’Keeffe’s bizarre combined XI

The 76-year-old selected Travis Head and Jake Weatherald as his opening pair, followed by Marnus Labuschagne at No. 3 and Steve Smith at No. 4. Notably, Smith was handed the captaincy, as O’Keeffe overlooked Pat Cummins for a spot in his combined XI.

Usman Khawaja was slotted in at No. 5, while Cameron Green followed, adding his all-round abilities and explosive batting lower down the order. Alex Carey was named as the wicketkeeper-batter at No. 7, while the bowling attack featured an all-pace lineup, with four seamers and no frontline spinner included.

All Aussie pace bowling attack for Keeffe

Beau Webster, Mitchell Starc, Michael Neser, and Scott Boland completed O’Keeffe’s Australia–England combined XI. As a result, prominent England players such as Ben Stokes, Ben Duckett, Joe Root, Harry Brook, and Jacob Bethell all failed to make the cut. The XI appeared to resemble Australia’s playing combination from the Sydney Test rather than a true combined side.

Kerry O’Keeffe’s combined Australia-England Playing XI

Travis Head, Jake Weatherald, Marnus Labuschagne, Steve Smith (c), Usman Khawaja, Cameron Green, Alex Carey, Beau Webster, Mitchell Starc, Michael Neser, Scott Boland.

Did England players deserve a spot?

Whether O’Keeffe selected the team out of sarcasm or simply overlooked the inclusion of England players remains unclear. However, based on performances across the series, several England cricketers had strong claims for selection in a combined XI.

Among the leading run-scorers, Joe Root finished second only to Travis Head in the Ashes 2025–26, amassing 400 runs across the series. Harry Brook followed closely in third place with 358 runs from 10 innings.

In terms of strike rate, Ben Duckett surpassed Travis Head, scoring at 91.40. On the bowling front, Brydon Carse ranked second among the top wicket-takers. While Mitchell Starc led the charts with 31 wickets, Carse claimed 22 wickets at an average of 30.31.

Nevertheless, the Ashes series ended with Australia bagging the tournament 4-1 at home as England’s dream of taking the urn home slips again after 15 years.