Five players who were unlucky to miss out on England's Ashes squad

England announced the squad for the Ashes on Wednesday. While the majority of the side comprises of the usual suspects, there were a few surprises as well. Three uncapped players were included in the squad and while Joe Root's side are struggling to still find the right combination in the middle-order, they now have the pieces of the puzzle they need to solve in Australia.

Ben Stokes' arrest a couple of days prior to the announcement of the squad wasn't what the side required but the vice-captain retained his place in the side although he is under an internal investigation. Of the many faces that made it, there were some who deserved to be on the squad but failed to make the cut.

Here are five players who were unlucky to miss out on England's Ashes squad:

Alex Hales

Hales could have been the answer to their middle-order problems

The story of Alex Hales' Test struggles are well-documented. England's limited-overs opener struggled in his foray into the longest format of the game where he failed to score a century in the 11 Tests that he played since his debut against South Africa in the Boxing Day Test in 2015. However, the 2017 season has seen move to the middle-order for Nottinghamshire and be an impressive performer in their bid to earn promotion to Division One.

In the seven matches, that he has played this season, he is averaging nearly 50. That coupled with the goodwill that he has earned from his limited-overs performances should have been enough for him to earn a recall back to the Test side. Especially considering the fact that there were no real outstanding candidates for the middle-order slots and Tom Westley was on his way out. But unfortunately, the selectors went with James Vince and have placed their faith on Dawid Malan and Gary Ballance to come good Down Under ahead of Hales.

Jack Leach

England went with promise over proven performance by picking Crane over Leach

While Somerset teammate Craig Overton made the cut in the Ashes squad, despite another good season, Jack Leach found himself on the sidelines yet again. The 26-year-old left-arm spinner finished as the fifth-leading wicket-taker in Division One but with the most wickets by an English spinner. Yet, he was overlooked in favour of the leg-spinner Mason Crane.

With 113 Division One wickets in the last two seasons, Leach has certainly done more than enough to be given a chance. Last season, he was one of the biggest surprises as he finished with 65 wickets and put Somerset within touching distance of claiming their maiden County Championship.

Although his captain Steve Rogers said that he might not be ready to play for England last season, another impressive season which has seen him pick up 48 wickets and keep his side's hopes of staying in Division One alive, he has done more than enough to be considered for selection.

Rory Burns

Burns' consistency went unrewarded once again

For the past few years, Rory Burns has been the epitome of consistency at Surrey. While he has often been overshadowed by bigger names such as Kevin Pietersen and Kumar Sangakkara, the opening batsman has still gone about his business and continued to churn out the runs that he hoped would one day guarantee him a spot in the England line-up.

The respect he has engendered has only risen in the past few seasons. Four consecutive seasons in which he has scored at least 1,000 runs has helped become the vice-captain of Surrey and establish himself as one of the most integral cogs in the Surrey machine. this season as well, he finished with over 1,000 runs and only two batsmen in Division 1 have scored more.

With no one really impressing as an opening partner for Alastair Cook, this looked like his year, but the selectors went with his teammate Mark Stoneman, who had already played a few Tests this summer. With no reserve opener in the Ashes squad, the 27-year-old can consider himself very unlucky to not have been picked this time around.

Mark Wood

Injuries meant that Wood was overlooked

The 27-year-old fast bowler's biggest nemesis has been injuries. And that seems to have taken a toll on him yet again as one of England's fastest bowlers failed to make the cut for the Ashes. Great things were expected of Mark Wood ever since he made his debut in 2015 but a series of injuries have meant that in the two years since his Test debut, he has played just 10 Tests.

He has been struggling with a heel injury in the past weeks and although he is playing for Durham in the County Championship in their last game of the season, England decided not to risk him. Especially after he missed the last five Tests of the current English summer and given that his fitness is still a major concern, that might be exacerbated Down Under, the selectors have decided against the selection of the fast bowler.

A fully-fit Wood would have been just what the doctor ordered for England with his extra pace and his ability to reverse swing. However, after playing just five games for Durham in the County Championship, the decision was made to not risk a half-fit bowler or even one that could break down at any time during the arduous tour.

Jamie Porter

Porter has 180 first-class wickets to his name in the last three seasons

Ever since Jamie Porter turned his attention towards playing cricket full-time, he has simply been a revelation. The Essex fast bowler picked up 50+ plus wickets in 2015 and 2016 in Division 2 with brisk pace and an ability to do just enough to deceive the batsman and pick up wickets at regular intervals. This season saw him finish with 75 wickets, the leading wicket-taker in the County Championship and helped Essex claim the Division One title.

With 180 wickets to his name in the last three seasons, the 24-year-old looked to have done enough. Especially considering the fact that one of the brightest moments was when he picked up six wickets against the Australians in a tour match ahead of the 2015 Ashes, including the wicket of opener David Warner, who he identified as a target ahead of the match and then proceeded to dismiss him as well.

While the pacer himself admitted that he didn't think he would make the Ashes squad, lack of outstanding candidates might just have been enough to get him a spot in the side. With Toby Roland-Jones and Mark Wood having injury problems and none of the other capped fast bowlers having a great season, Porter could well have made it. But the selectors opted to go with another youngster in Craig Overton.