Ashes villain’s career on knife’s edge after shock axing

Wicketkeeper-batter Jonny Bairstow and spinner Moeen Ali may have played their last games for England after being dropped in a shake up of the white-ball squads to face Australia.
England and Australia will play three T20 internationals — starting September 11 at Southampton — followed by five ODI games.
Matthew Mott was fired as head coach of the limited-overs side last month after disappointing title defences in the ODI and T20 World Cups and the appetite for change has continued with the removal of two senior players sharing more than 400 caps for the forthcoming series against Australia.
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Five uncapped players have been called up for Marcus Trescothick’s first assignment as interim coach, with left-arm seamer Josh Hull, all-rounder Jacob Bethell and pace bowler John Turner selected in both formats, while Dan Mousley and Jordan Cox come into the T20 squad.
Moeen has been an influential vice-captain to Jos Buttler in recent times but is now 37 and has acknowledged in the past that his international career was winding down. His role as a spin bowling all-rounder will be covered by his Warwickshire teammates Bethell and Mousley.
Travis Head speaks to Jonny Bairstow at Lord’s during last year’s Ashes. Getty
Bairstow turns 35 next month but there is no such sense that he is ready to bring the curtain down on his England days. He was an integral part of the white-ball revolution that carried the side to World Cup glory in 2019, and scored back-to-back centuries against India and New Zealand in must-win games at that tournament.
Chris Jordan has also been moved on while Liam Livingstone has retained his T20 spot but misses out on the 50-over matches.
One eye-catching T20 pick is that of Durham seamer Brydon Carse, who completes a three-month ban for historical betting offences on Wednesday. He has not played competitively since May 10 because of his suspension but has been offered an instant return by the England and Wales Cricket Board.
England T20 squad: Jos Buttler (captain), Jofra Archer, Jacob Bethell, Brydon Carse, Jordan Cox, Sam Curran, Josh Hull, Will Jacks, Liam Livingstone, Saqib Mahmood, Dan Mousley, Adil Rashid, Phil Salt, Reece Topley, John Turner.
England ODI squad: Jos Buttler (captain), Jofra Archer, Gus Atkinson, Jacob Bethell, Harry Brook, Brydon Carse, Ben Duckett, Josh Hull, Will Jacks, Matthew Potts, Adil Rashid, Phil Salt, Jamie Smith, Reece Topley, John Turner.