The one player who could shift Ashes narrative for England

All eyes will be on Canberra this weekend for a pink-ball tour match between an England XI and the Australian Prime Minister's XI.

For a handful of Aussie players, it's an opportunity to keep their names at the front of the selectors' minds in case injury or other circumstances arise during the Ashes.

But for the second-string English crop, it's a perfect chance to possibly force their way into the Test team for the day-night fixture at the Gabba next week.

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The decision not to select batters - most notably opener Zak Crawley - who failed in Perth in a match that only lasted two days has raised plenty of eyebrows, especially with preparations for a pink-ball Test so crucial on Australian soil.

Three players from the wider England squad have been released to play in the match, which begins on Saturday - and there's one of them who has plenty to gain.

Jacob Bethell, a young prodigy with a handful of Tests to his name already, is expected to play at Manuka Oval as he pushes for a recall to the side.

The 22-year-old was already applying pressure from underneath before the Ashes even started, with top-order batter Ollie Pope seen as a possible casualty.

Pope returned scores of 46 and 33 in the series opener and was one of the rare English batters who batted sensibly and patiently, which goes against their entire ethos but did make him a difficult player for the Aussie bowling attack to dismiss.

Given the way he started the series in a game where runs were hard to come by, Pope has likely done enough to keep his position for the time being.

The dilemma now centres around Crawley, who has copped a hammering since being dismissed for a duck in both innings by Mitchell Starc.

A strong showing with the bat against the PM's XI could allow the Barbados-born Bethell to force his way in and bring about a reshuffle to England's order.

Across his eight Test innings to date, Bethell averages in the high-30s and has scored three half-centuries, with a career-best score of 96 against New Zealand last year.

Bringing a player like Bethell into the side would also add another string to England's bow from a bowling perspective, with his left-arm spin capable of taking key wickets.

Another outside chance of edging closer to the Test team is keeper-batter Jordan Cox, who was knocking on the door for a debut a year before injury struck.

While he's highly unlikely to replace Jamie Smith unless something strange happens, Cox could play a role as a batter, having averaged in the low-40s in first-class cricket.

From a bowling standpoint, both of England's reserve quicks Josh Tongue and Matthew Potts will play in Canberra and whoever performs better would likely poke their nose in front when it comes to featuring later down the track in the Ashes.

Mark Wood has already confirmed he won't play every Test this summer, which would open a spot up for Tongue or Potts to potentially play a role, while the chances of Jofra Archer backing up for all five games range somewhere from slim to none.

Australia's team for the pink-ball tour game has plenty of interesting stars to watch, from veterans Peter Siddle and Peter Handscomb to some brilliant young talent working their way up the pecking order and into the Aussie set-up moving forward.

Sam Konstas will open the batting alongside fellow rising star Campbell Kellaway, while forgotten man Nathan McSweeney will also be keen to impress.

Since being axed from the Test team before the Ashes, the 20-year-old Konstas has continued to go about his business in both Shield and grade cricket.

Should he come up with a big score in the nation's capital, it would give Konstas plenty of confidence after a rollercoaster 12 months since his debut against India.