Following England's 1-4 Ashes series defeat against Australia, a BBC Sport poll for a combined Ashes XI resulted in the selection of six English players and five Australian players.
Australia secured the series victory with a five-wicket win in the fifth Test. England's single positive result was a two-day fourth Test win in Melbourne, which ended a 15-year victory drought in Australia.
Prior to the series, BBC had received criticism for a fan-voted XI that included more English than Australian players, such as Jamie Smith over Alex Carey as wicketkeeper. The fan-selected combined XI after the series continued to feature a majority of English players, despite the series outcome.
Notable selections and percentages included Travis Head, who scored 629 runs and was selected by 91 percent of readers, despite being the highest run-scorer. Joe Root, who finished second in run-scoring with two centuries, was selected by 94 percent. Zak Crawley, who averaged 27.30 in the series, was a near-unanimous choice for opening batsman, and Ben Stokes, whose captaincy was a point of discussion and who averaged under 20 (while taking 15 wickets), was also included. Michael Neser, who took 15 wickets at an average of 19.93, was not selected in the fan team.
BBC's Test Match Special indicated that players were voted on in head-to-head matchups. Australian acting captain Steve Smith was selected at No. 3, despite batting at No. 4 during the summer, suggesting potential adjustments to the voting process. This makes the non-selection of Neser and the number of English players notable.
Reactions from fans on social media varied, with Australians expressing amusement and others noting the unexpected ratio given the 4-1 series loss. In contrast, Fox Cricket's Kerry O'Keeffe's combined team, revealed during the fifth Test, was described as more reflective of the series performance.