England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) is set to name the England squad for the upcoming Ashes on Sunday. According to Sky Sports, the team is likely to consist of 17 or 18 members. A separate squad will also be named to provide injury cover to England for Ashes. All-rounder Ben Stokes, who has taken a break due to mental health, is unlikely to be named in the England squad, reported Sky Sports. Over the last few weeks, the ECB made excellent progress in moving forward on the men’s Ashes Tour, and as a result, conditional approval has now been given to the series to go ahead later this year.

“To facilitate further progress and allow a squad to be selected, The ECB Board has met today and given its approval for the tour to go ahead. This decision is subject to several critical conditions being met before we travel,” the ECB said in an official statement on Friday.

“We look forward to the ongoing assistance from Cricket Australia in resolving these matters in the coming days,” the statement added.

Meanwhile, Stokes has undergone a second operation to address ongoing issues with the finger that he injured in the Indian Premier League (IPL) while playing for Rajasthan Royals in April.

Stokes had two screws and scar tissue removed from the index finger of his left hand.

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The Ashes between England and Australia is set to commence on December 8 in Brisbane.

Earlier, the fate of the series had been thrown into uncertainty due to COVID-19-related restrictions in Australia.