The 74th Ashes Test Series between Australia and England takes place in the southern hemisphere from November 21st, 2025, with five tests played over the course of seven intense weeks, as the two nations battle for the famous urn and bragging rights for another two years.
Key Dates
1st Test: Nov 21-25 – (Perth)
2nd Test: Dec 4-8 – (Brisbane)
3rd Test: Dec 17-21 – (Adelaide)
4th Test: Dec 26-30 – (Melbourne)
5th Test: Jan 4-8 – (Sydney)
Aussies to Dominate Again?
Since winning the Ashes in 2017-18, the Australians retained the urn in the last three series, including a 4-0 thrashing back in 2021-22. With home advantage once again, the Aussies will be huge favourites, but can England take what would only be their second Ashes win in Australia, since 1986-87?
Such is the Australian dominance in the Ashes, UK Bookmakers are in full agreement on the expected outcome, with the hosts currently odds on to win the series and England as high as 2/1 to pull off a surprise.
Fitness Issues Aplenty!
However, there is hope for the “Barmy Army” with an injury to Australian captain, Pat Cummins, likely to see him absent for the first test or two. The pace attack is another area where questions are being asked, with the main strike bowlers in Mitchell Starc and Josh Hazlewood now in their mid-thirties, which means the “Baggy Greens” may need to look to untried seamers to support the main strike bowlers, who will need to be managed over the gruelling series, to get the best out of them.
Despite the question marks over the hosts, it’s fair to say that England also have their issues too, with captain Ben Stokes not playing since July through injury (although expected to be fit for the opener), while a pace-heavy bowling attack is full of minor concerns over fitness, with Archer, Wood, Atkinson, Carse and Tongue all having issues over the last year and missing chunks of game time.
England Squad: Ashes 2025/26
- Ben Stokes (Durham) – Captain
- Jofra Archer (Sussex)
- Gus Atkinson (Surrey)
- Shoaib Bashir (Somerset)
- Jacob Bethell (Warwickshire)
- Harry Brook (Yorkshire) – Vice-Captain
- Brydon Carse (Durham)
- Zak Crawley (Kent)
- Ben Duckett (Nottinghamshire)
- Will Jacks (Surrey)
- Ollie Pope (Surrey)
- Matthew Potts (Durham)
- Joe Root (Yorkshire)
- Jamie Smith (Surrey)
- Josh Tongue (Nottinghamshire)
- Mark Wood (Durham)
Recent Records
Looking at the form of the last two years, the Australians have played sixteen test matches, winning 12 (75%), while England has also won twelve, but having played twenty-three test matches in that time, they have a win rate of just 55%.
In straightforward terms, England face an uphill task, and it gets even worse when you look at their recent record in Australia, losing 13 of 15 test matches played on Aussie soil over the last three series.
Final Thoughts
The build-up to the Ashes series has seen much bluster from former England players, such as Stuart Broad, pushing the narrative that this is the weakest Australian side since 2010. But even if that is true, this England side needs to improve massively to win a single test match in Oz, let alone take the Ashes back home!
As much as I hope to see the Ashes return to England, I can only see an Australian series win here, with a 4-0 or 4-1 scoreline on the cards.