3 players born outside England & Australia who will play in The Ashes 2021-22

The Ashes 2021-22 will begin this Wednesday in Brisbane at 5:30 AM IST. Australia will open their ICC World Test Championship 2021-23 campaign in the upcoming five-match Test series.

Neither England nor Australia could qualify for the inaugural WTC Final despite performing well in the majority of the series they played. A series defeat against India ended the hopes of both teams.

England played four matches against India in the new WTC cycle earlier this year, where they managed to win only one game. The series is tied at 1-1 with one match yet to be played. It was postponed due to a Covid outbreak in the Indian camp and it is set to be played in 2022.

Joe Root and Co. will be keen to forget that series and make a fresh start to their campaign in The Ashes 2021-22.

The Ashes is one of the oldest rivalries in sports history. England and Australia have been arch-rivals since 1882. However, there are three players who were born outside these two countries but will play in the upcoming series. Here's a list of those three names:

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#1 Marnus Labuschagne | Australia - Born in South Africa

Marnus Labuschagne came into the limelight during the previous Ashes series. He played a huge role in Australia's successful defense of the urn. The 27-year-old scored 353 runs in seven innings at an average of 50.43.

Since then, Labuschagne has been an important member of the Australian Test squad. However, not many fans may know that Labuschagne was born in South Africa.

The right-handed batter hails from Klerksdrop, North West Province. However, Labuschagne never played an international game for South Africa. So far in his career, Labuschagne has represented Australia in 18 Tests and 13 ODI matches.

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#2 Michael Neser | Australia - Born in South Africa

Another South African-born cricketer who will turn up for Australia in the upcoming Ashes series is Michael Neser. The 31-year-old bowling all-rounder has played two ODI matches so far in his international career.

Neser is yet to receive his maiden Test cap. The right-arm pacer has the experience of playing 69 first-class matches. He has scalped 229 wickets, including six five-wicket hauls.

With the likes of Mitchell Starc, Jhye Richardson, Pat Cummins and Josh Hazlewood present in the squad, it is unlikely that Neser will play in Brisbane.

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#3 Ben Stokes | England - Born in New Zealand

Quite a few players born outside England have played for the England cricket team in recent years. However, there is only one born non-English player in the visitors' squad for the Ashes 2021-22. He is none other than Ben Stokes.

The 30-year-old was born in Christchurch. Stokes has played 71 Tests, 101 ODIs and 34 T20Is for the England cricket team. He played a huge role in England's 2019 ODI Cricket World Cup win against New Zealand. He scored 98 runs off 84 balls to take the match to Super Over which was eventually won by England in two attempts.

Overall, he has scored 7,944 runs and scalped 256 wickets in 206 international games.

The all-rounder took a break from the sport for mental wellbeing this year. However, just before The Ashes 2021-22, Ben Stokes made himself available to play for England again. It will be interesting to see how he performs in his first series after his mental health break.