The 2025-26 Ashes series begins next month and touring Australia is the ultimate test for any England cricket team.
Only five visiting England sides have won a Test series in Australia since the Second World War, with the most recent triumph coming in 2010-11.
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Since then, England have not even won a Test match Down Under.
Australia have held the urn since 2017-18. The last series between the sides was a thrilling 2-2 draw in England in 2023.
There is renewed hope among England fans however, that they can regain the Ashes under the leadership of Ben Stokes and Brendon McCullum.
When are the Ashes? 2025 series dates
First Test: November 21-25, 2025
Perth Stadium, Perth
Second Test: December 4-8, 2025
Gabba, Brisbane
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Third Test: December 17-21, 2025
Adelaide Oval, Adelaide
Fourth Test: December 26-30, 2025
Melbourne Cricket Ground, Melbourne
Fifth Test: January 4-8, 2026
Sydney Cricket Ground, Sydney
Test match start times
The following times are all Greenwich Mean Time
First Test in Perth: Play starts at 2.30am. Lunch at 4.30am to 5.10am. Tea at 7.10am to 7.30am. Close of play at 9.30am (or 10am if making up for lost overs).
Second Test in Brisbane (day-night): Play starts at 4.30am. Lunch at 6.30am to 7.10am. Tea at 9.10am to 9.30am. Close of play at 11.30am (or 12pm if making up for lost overs).
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Third Test in Adelaide: Play starts at 12am. Lunch at 2am to 2.40am. Tea at 4.40am to 5am. Close of play at 7am (or 7.30am if making up for lost overs).
Fourth Test in Melbourne: Play starts at 11.30pm. Lunch at 1.30am to 2.10am. Tea at 4.10am to 4.30am. Close of play at 6.30am (or 7am if making up for lost overs).
Fifth Test in Sydney: Play starts at 11.30pm. Lunch at 1.30am to 2.10am. Tea at 4.10am to 4.30am. Close of play at 6.30am (or 7am if making up for lost overs).
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How to watch on TV and streaming
TNT Sports has exclusive live coverage in the UK, and it is understood that they are sending their own team of presenters and commentators to Australia. The precise line up of pundits is yet to be announced. A sport-only subscription will cost you £30.99 per month. You can watch TNT Sports channels on EE TV, Sky and Virgin Media.
Cricket Australia sold the UK radio rights for Tests and the Big Bash from 2023-27 to BBC Sport who will be covering the series with ball-by-ball commentary on Test Match Special throughout the series.
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Who will be commentating on the coverage?
TNT Sports have confirmed their lead commentators will be Alastair Eykyn, best known as a key plank of TNT’s rugby coverage, and Rob Hatch, an award-winning cycling commentator.
The pair will be calling the game “off tube” through the night from a studio in London.
In Australia, Becky Ives, who works for TNT on football and boxing, will lead the on-the-ground team where she will be joined by former Ashes winners Sir Alastair Cook, Graeme Swann and Steven Finn.
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Former England player Ebony Rainford-Brent will also do commentary stints alongside Eykyn and Hatch in the UK and TNT say there could yet be input from other broadcasters in Australia.
Where are the Test matches being played?
England’s 2025-26 tour of Australia begins at a new Ashes venue, Perth’s state-of-the-art Optus Stadium.
As revealed by Telegraph Sport last July, England have been spared a series opener at the Gabba in Brisbane, where they have not won a Test since November 1986 and have so often got off to dreadful starts in the Ashes.
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Instead, the series will open at the 61,000 Perth Stadium, which hosts its first Ashes Test having replaced the Waca Ground as West Australia’s biggest venue.
Perth’s new Optus Stadium which will be a new Ashes venue – Getty Images/Antony Dickson
This will be followed by a day-night Test at the Gabba, the first pink-ball Ashes Test at the ground. The last two series have featured a pink-ball Test at Adelaide Oval, but that ground has been handed its preferred pre-Christmas slot for a daytime match.
The series continues at the Melbourne Cricket Ground on Boxing Day and concludes at the Sydney Cricket Ground.
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Are there any tour matches?
England’s preparation for the Ashes has attracted criticism, notably from former captain and coach Graham Gooch in an interview with Telegraph Sport.
Prior to the series, England play three Twenty20 internationals and three one-day internationals against New Zealand.
Their only red-ball cricket before the first ball is bowled in Perth is expected to come in the form of an intra-squad practice match.
It is a far cry from the 1936-37 Ashes tour for which England were away for around five months.
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Latest squad news
Australia were dealt a bitter blow with the news that strike bowler Pat Cummins will miss the first Test, and possibly a considerable chunk of the series, because of a back injury. In his Telegraph Sport column, Michael Vaughan says that the loss of Cummins presents England with a golden opportunity.
Travis Head, Steve Smith, Sam Konstas, Nathan McSweeney and Marnus Labuschagne have all been tried as openers alongside Usman Khawaja, and this uncertainty at the top of the order is another reason for England to feel confident. Australia’s No 3 is also far from set in stone.
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England named their 16-man squad for the Ashes last month with Shoaib Bashir selected as the specialist spinner and fast bowler Mark Wood recovering from a knee injury. England are expected to rotate their seamers, with Brydon Carse, Josh Tongue, Matthew Potts and Gus Atkinson other bowling options.
England’s Ashes squad
Ben Stokes (Durham) (C)
Jofra Archer (Sussex)
Gus Atkinson (Surrey)
Shoaib Bashir (Somerset)
Jacob Bethell (Warwickshire)
Harry Brook (Yorkshire) (VC)
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)
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What are the odds?
Odds to win the series:
Past Ashes winners
The first Ashes series was played in 1882-83. Since then, there have been 73 series with Australia winning 34 and England 32. Seven series have finished as a draw.
Australia have enjoyed the upper hand in recent times, with England not winning a series since the summer of 2015 on home soil.
England have won away series just twice since 1980, with those victories coming in 1986-87 and 2010-11. Those teams have passed into greatness, such is the difficulty of winning in Australia.
Should this series finish as a draw, Australia would keep the urn.
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