The 2025/26 Ashes series is almost upon us. England’s brief preparations are over and it is now nearly time for the talking and mind games to end and the cricket to begin. The first ball will be bowled at Perth’s WACA-replacement, the boringly named Perth Stadium, on the 21st of November.
Despite the injury concerns they have coming into the first Test – they will be without captain and key bowler Pat Cummins, plus Josh Hazlewood and Sean Abbott, cutting their attack of three pace bowlers – the hosts are the warm favourites to win the opener and also the series. They are priced at odds of around 4/5 to triumph in Perth and the even shorter price of 8/13 for The Ashes.
That is a reflection of the benefit of home advantage, plus the strong lead that Australia have over England in the ICC Test rankings. The Aussies are top of the pile and while England are second, they are some distance back. However, the odds are also so weighted in Australia’s favour due to the very good record they have at home against England in recent years.
Ashes Relatively Even Over Last 20 Years
Between 1989 and 2002/03, England and Australia met in eight Ashes series and the Aussies won them all! England scored a famous and hugely memorable win on home soil in 2005, delivering their first Ashes success since back in 1986/87 when they won Down Under.
Including their win in 2005, England won five out of seven series between 2005 and 2015. It is well worth noting, however, that four of those five wins came in England, with only one away from home. Overall we can say that since England ended that long run of wins for the Baggy Greens, the Ashes have been evenly contested. In general, the home team has had the upper hand, with away wins thin on the ground.
Australia Unbeaten Since 2015 and Dominant at Home
On the one hand, we can view the record as being quite even but there are two alternative ways of considering the head-to-head that paint a very different picture. Australia are unbeaten in the last four Ashes series and have lost just one of the past five. The two previous Ashes contests to have taken place in England have both ended in exciting 2-2 draws.
But perhaps the overview that is more relevant to the upcoming series is when we consider only the results in series that have taken place in Australia. The hosts have been well and truly dominant. Glenn McGrath famously predicts a 5-0 win for his nation every time these teams clash and much as it is often at least partly tongue in cheek, it is generally far too accurate for the liking of England supporters.
The 2025/26 Clash
The 2025/26 clash will be the seventh of the 21st century to be played Down Under. The current record is five wins for Australia and just one, in 2010/11, for England. In that rare English victory, outstanding performances from the likes of Alastair Cook, Ian Bell and Andrew Strauss, plus James Anderson, helped the tourists to a very rare win by a margin of 3-1.
England drew the first game, in Brisbane, then won in Adelaide with ease, were beaten at the WACA, and then reeled off the final two Tests in Melbourne and Sydney to clinch a famous series win. However, that success aside, the 21st century has offered them very little to savour in Australia.
Key Players
In 2002/03, they lost 4-1 and the result was even worse next time around. England travelled south confident after victory in the brilliant 2005 home Ashes. However, the Aussies clearly had a point to prove. And in 2006/07, they certainly proved it. Ricky Ponting was skipper for the hosts, going up against Freddie Flintoff, and it was the former who came out on top.
Across the series, the Australian captain scored 576 runs at an average of more than 82. Mike Hussey had an even better average of 91.60, recording 458 runs. In contrast, Flintoff averaged just 28.22 and while Keven Pietersen and Paul Collingwood both scored more than 400 runs, England were outclassed and just as McGrath predicted, the home team won 5-0. The individual Tests were not even close either, Australia winning by 277 runs, then six wickets, then 206 runs, before mammoth wins by an innings and 99 runs, and 10 wickets.
England Win Three in a Row
England then won three series in a row, including the 3-1 success of 2010/11 mentioned above. They backed that up with a 3-0 home win but then, once again, Glenn called it right! In 2013/14 the Aussies, this time captained by Michael Clarke, annihilated Cook’s England 5-0 once again. Fast bowler Mitchell Johnson, derided in the past, was fearsomely unplayable and took an astonishing 37 wickets.
Australia Dominate Recent Years
England’s last two trips to face the Australians have both ended in 4-0 defeats, with one Test drawn each time. In 2017/18, Steve Smith performed heroics, making 687 runs across the series at a Bradman-esque average of 137.40. No Englishman got over 400, while all four of Australia’s big-name bowlers took more wickets than England’s main man, Anderson.
The last time the rivals faced off came in 2021/22, and this time Aussie Travis Head won the Compton-Miller Medal for Player of the Series. The clash has something of an asterisk against it, though, with games taking place in a Covid bubble. Australia dominated a low-key series, with reduced crowds and restricted travel.
2025/26 will be the first “proper” Ashes Down Under since 2018, therefore. Excitement will be at fever pitch. And much as we would love to see England win, history shows what they are up against.