Australian Newspaper Fires New Bizarre Dig At Ben Stokes Ahead Of Ashes

An Australia newspaper has fired the first of what is likely to be many digs at England captain Ben Stokes ahead of the Ashes - but it has left fans baffled.

The first Test of the highly-anticipated series Down Under gets underway on November 21 in Perth.

There have already been various back-and-forth comments in the press, with former Australia opening batter David Warner claiming that England are playing for a 'moral victory'.

Legendary England seamer Stuart Broad, meanwhile, described the current Australia side as 'probably the worst Australian team since 2010' - when England last won an away Ashes series.

England announced their 16-man travelling contingent in September, with the only major selection dilemma appearing to surround who they would take as their second spinner.

Will Jacks won that race over the likes of Rehan Ahmed and Jack Leach, with the Surrey star's batting likely to be as important as his part-time spin in the event that England opt to play him over first-choice spinner Shoaib Bashir.

Australia's squad selection has carried with it more uncertainty, with question marks over who would open the batting alongside Usman Khawaja and who would bat at number three.

Captain Pat Cummins has also been ruled out of the first Test after failing to recover from a back stress fracture, with Steve Smith taking over.

In the hosts' media, there have regular attacks on England's attacking brand of cricket known as 'Bazball', with England opener Zak Crawley going as far as to claim that it 'really winds them up'.

Of course, it isn't an away Ashes series in Australia without some hostility towards the visiting team as soon as they step off the plane.

And Perth-based outlet The West Australian have already gone after England captain Stokes - without the Durham all-rounder having spoken a word since arriving Down Under.

Their front page on Wednesday morning carried the headline 'Baz Bawl' alongside a photo of Stokes stepping off a plane in Perth, with reporter Aaron Kirby writing that the England captain has 'sauntered into Perth confident the crazed brand of carefree and careless thrash batting ... will reclaim the Ashes'.

He claims that talk of England's style has been 'overshadowed by their persistent whingeing', with Stokes himself dubbed as the 'Cocky Captain Complainer'.

In more extensive coverage of his arrival, the outlet claimed that he touched down 'under storm clouds and amid huge peels of thunder in a potential dark Ashes omen'.

While the outlet reported that Stokes had arrived early in Perth, Thursday's edition then notes that 'only a couple of his no-name mates bothered to turn up' to their first training session.

Stokes - who, unlike Ben Duckett and Mark Wood, is at least named in the article - is described as 'under-the-pump', with reporter Mitchell Woodcock adding: "England's under-performing Bazballers are either complacent, arrogant or too scared of what will confront them at Optus in a couple of weeks."

The majority of England's travelling squad are due to begin training in Australia imminently, having played in the white-ball tour of New Zealand which ended on Saturday.

Who is in Australia's squad?

Cricket Australia announced their squad selection for the first Test on Tuesday - with some surprise inclusions and exclusions.

Tasmania's Jake Weatherald, 31, could be in line to make his Test debut in Perth, having impressed on bowler-friendly wickets during the opening weeks of the Sheffield Shield season.

He hit 94 against West Australia in Hobart last month, and scored a pair of half-centuries against Queensland in Brisbane.

Marnus Labuschagne, meanwhile, has earned a recall to the squad after effectively barging the selectors' door down with five centuries in eight innings to start the season.

The selectors' dilemma will revolve around whether both Weatherald and Labuschagne bat in the top three in Perth, or whether all-rounder Cameron Green, who was pushed up the order to three in the summer as he was unable to bowl, keeps his place and Beau Webster bats at six.

In the bowling department, Scott Boland will likely play as the third seamer alongside Mitchell Starc and Josh Hazlewood, with Sean Abbott and Brendan Doggett providing alternative options.