Ben Stokes has insisted that Shoaib Bashir and Mark Wood can still play roles for England in the rest of the Ashes series after missing out on selection for Thursday's day-night Test at the Gabba.
England have made a single change from the side that lost inside two days in Perth, with Wood ruled out and replaced by the allrounder Will Jacks. Wood has been wearing a brace over his strapped left knee in Brisbane this week but will remain with the squad, while Stokes said that Jacks' inclusion ahead of Bashir was simply a "tactical" decision for a pink-ball Test.
Bashir - along with Jacob Bethell - has been released to play for England Lions against Australia A in a four-day fixture at Allan Border Field, which starts on Friday, and Stokes stressed that he is still seen as England's "best spinner" ahead of the final three Tests in Adelaide, Melbourne and Sydney.
"We tried to look at how we thought spin was going to be used, and there was a bit of a tactical element to it," Stokes said on Wednesday evening, before England trained. "Obviously Jacksy's ability with the bat, to have that down the order for us is useful as well. [But] if it ever comes down to picking our best, number one spinner, selection would go the other way."
Stokes and Brendon McCullum explained the decision to Bashir before England named their team publicly on Tuesday afternoon. "It was pretty much that we thought that was the best XI for the conditions and the circumstances of the game," Stokes said. "But he knows that if it comes down to picking our best spinner, he's the man."
Bashir has not played a first-class match since the second Test of England's series against India in July, when he broke the little finger on his left hand attempting a return catch. He was expensive in England's internal warm-up match in Perth and, after being named in a trimmed 12-man squad for the first Test, was left out in favour of an all-pace attack.
England first picked Bashir for their tour to India in early 2024, when he had only taken 10 first-class wickets, and have backed him as their first-choice spinner for the last 18 months. He also now finds himself in the unusual position of having a contract with England but not with a county, after his Somerset deal expired at the end of last season.
Wood's setback after bowling only 11 overs in his first international appearance since knee surgery is a clear concern for England. At this stage, he appears unlikely to be fit in time for the third Test in Adelaide on December 17, but Stokes said that Wood will do "everything" possible to return later in the series.
"It's obviously a little bit of a setback," he said. "But he's doing everything that he can, and the medical group are doing everything they can to try to get him to potentially be available for selection in the last three [Tests]. But yeah, look, we've got a lot more time to go on this tour, and we'll just see how things play out with that."
Stokes said that the "incredibly talented" Jacks has a chance to establish himself as a more regular Test cricketer three years after winning his first two caps in Pakistan, and said that he had performed impressively since arriving in Australia.
"He's turned himself into the cricketer I always thought he could be," Stokes said. "He's incredibly talented, and I think he's gone from strength to strength since that Pakistan tour. He's been playing so well in the nets and the time he's been out here training. It's great for us that we've got someone who's looking in pretty good order coming into a big Test match."
England are 1-0 down heading into Thursday's second Test and have not won any of their last nine Tests in Brisbane, a run which dates back to 1986.