Matthew Potts, unused for the first four Tests of this Ashes tour, is expected to slot straight into England’s XI at the SCG on Sunday after Gus Atkinson’s hamstring strain ruled the Surrey quick out of the series finale. England have trimmed the travelling party to a 12-man squad, with off-spinner Shoaib Bashir again the likeliest to sit out.
The bare bones are simple enough. Atkinson joins Mark Wood (knee) and Jofra Archer (side strain) on the casualty list, leaving Ben Stokes with only two fit specialist seamers in Sydney: Potts and late call-up Matthew Fisher. The captain normally names his side 48 hours out, yet has parked that habit on this trip while groundsmen, weather and pitch inspectors keep shifting the goalposts. A green-tinged surface greeted the players on Friday, but with rain forecast for the opening two days, England still expect a flatter, slower SCG wicket than the two-day MCG minefield.
All this points towards a seam-heavy attack and Will Jacks handling any spin duties, which is why Bashir, a classical No. 11 and second off-spinner, is braced for more drinks-carrying. England employed the same logic before the Perth opener, naming a 12 then omitting Bashir on the morning of the match.
Potts has waited patiently in the wings since landing in Australia. Every one of his ten caps to date came under the Stokes-Brendon McCullum regime, starting with that lively 2022 debut summer when he bagged 20 wickets at 28 apiece. He has drifted in and out since — Ollie Robinson’s late-summer return in 2022 pushed him aside; Jamie Overton’s red-ball retirement and Chris Woakes’ shoulder trouble nudged him back ahead of this tour. Stokes and McCullum value his tireless lengths and refusal to leak runs, traits that travel well even when the Kookaburra ball goes soft.
His net sessions have not gone unnoticed. “Every time I face him he impresses me,” Zak Crawley said on Friday. “He’s got the heart of a lion, a lot of skill, and if he gets the nod this week, he thoroughly deserves it.” The opener added that a 3-2 scoreline, rather than 3- or 4-1, would mean more than outsiders might guess. “I think there is a big difference, just internally in the group,” he said.
Whether that internal lift arrives may hinge on England’s ability to repeat the controlled aggression that earned a four-wicket win in Melbourne. Potts would almost certainly share the new ball with Robinson, leaving Stokes and Fisher — a late arrival from the Lions camp — to plug away in support. Should the surface behave as predicted, reverse swing could become a factor from around the 35-over mark; Potts’ upright seam and unrelenting pace-off-the-pitch might prove handy then.
From a selection perspective, the only alternative to dropping Bashir is benching Jacks, but the Surrey all-rounder’s extra batting buffers a line-up already missing Harry Brook. Stokes appears reluctant to mortgage that safety net, particularly with thunderstorms hanging over the opening sessions. A draw would secure the series for Australia, so England want every run in the bank before the weather meddles.
Potts himself has been publicly quiet, although those close to the camp say he arrived fitter after a diligent Championship season at Durham. Critics sometimes question whether he is either quick enough or skiddy enough on the flattest Australian tracks; the counter-argument is that line, length and stamina still matter, and Potts offers plenty of each.
Should he play and England prevail, the 27-year-old will finish the trip with the same number of Tests as Jimmy Anderson managed on his first Ashes tour in 2002-03. That is trivia, not prophecy, but Potts knows a strong finish here could shape his place in England’s seam hierarchy over the next 18 months.
Team (probable): Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Ollie Pope, Joe Root, Jonny Bairstow (wk), Ben Stokes (c), Will Jacks, Ollie Robinson, Matthew Potts, Matthew Fisher, James Anderson / Shoaib Bashir (one to miss out).
