Ashes 2019: World Cup stars Jofra Archer and Mitchell Starc set to miss Edgbaston opener

England fast bowler still recovering from side strain, while Australia considering resting leading paceman

England fast bowler Jofra Archer, left, may need more time to recover completely from a side strain. Lindsey Parnaby / AFP

England have left Jofra Archer out of their team for the first Ashes Test at Edgbaston starting on Thursday, while Mitchell Starc will be surprised if he finds his name in the Australian XI when it is named ahead of the toss.

This means both fast bowlers, who were their respective sides' highest wicket-takers at the recently-concluded Cricket World Cup, will not be seen in action during this week's series-opener.

Archer, who took 20 wickets in 11 matches at the game's flagship tournament, will have to wait for his Test debut given the Barbados-born quick has been struggling with a side injury. With Ashes 2019 comprising five Tests in six weeks, England have opted for caution in how they handle Archer, even though he made a sooner-than-expected return to action with Sussex in a Twenty20 match last week.

"Jofra is coming back from quite a serious injury and we looked at the conditions, about a team that can take 20 wickets here, and it allows him time to get absolutely fit," England captain Joe Root said on Wednesday.

James Anderson, England's all-time leading Test wicket-taker, returns to the side following a calf injury. The 37-year-old will again team up with regular new-ball partner Stuart Broad. All-rounders Chris Woakes and Ben Stokes will provide seam-bowling support.

England had already settled on their top seven, with Root going back up to No 3 and Joe Denly dropping down to four as the hosts look to shore up their struggling batting order. Jos Buttler and Stokes, rested against Ireland, return to a side in which off-spinner Moeen Ali is the main specialist slow bowler.

Australia fast bowler Mitchell Starc is unlikely to figure in the first Test at Edgbaston. Andrew Boyers / Reuters

Meanwhile Starc, who topped the bowling chart as Australia reached the semi-finals of the World Cup, is said to have slipped in the pecking order. The Ashes holders are considering picking James Pattinson, Peter Siddle and one of Pat Cummins or Josh Hazlewood as their three frontline fast bowlers.

The reason for Starc's reported omission is simple: Australia have sought to break up their fast-bowling "big three" by persuading the left-armer, Cummins and Hazlewood to spread the workload among more seamers so they can extend their own careers.

Captain Tim Paine, who has said his team have been "way too reliant" on trio, nonetheless was glad about the strength in depth of their bowling unit.

"We are in a really good situation at the moment where we have a number of quality fast bowlers in particular," the wicketkeeper-batsman said. "We are lucky that we feel we have a lot of bases covered.

"It's up to us to come up with the best combinations to take 20 wickets.

"Our quicks that have been here before, have learnt lessons from being here before. It's important that we learn from them and put what we've learnt into practice in this series."

Paine also said he had no fears about losing his own place in the side.

The wicketkeeper found himself unexpectedly thrust into a leadership position in the fall-out from last year's ball-tampering scandal in South Africa. Then-captain Steve Smith and David Warner, his deputy, were stripped of their positions by Cricket Australia after the incident and both were banned from international cricket for 12 months.

Australia's squad for the Ashes includes another wicketkeeper in Matthew Wade, who has already played 22 Tests. Wade has been in fine form with the bat during the recent Australia A tour of England, scoring three hundreds. By contrast, Paine has managed just one first-class century in his entire career.

Asked if he felt under pressure to justify his place, Paine replied: "No, I do not at all. I'm 34 years old, I don't really care about my place in the side any more. I'm here to do a job.

"I've been put in this team to captain and wicket-keep to the best of my ability and I've said before, at 34 years of age, if you are looking further ahead than the next Test match you are kidding yourself. I'm not going to waste time looking over my shoulder.

"I'm enjoying the job that I'm doing."

Australia hold the Ashes but have not won a Test series away to England since 2001.