SerpApi.Org
Australia will warm up for next year’s Ashes at Old Trafford in sharp contrast to how England prepared for last winter’s series at a club ground in Perth.
The dates for the Ashes summer were announced on Thursday morning, along with confirmation that England will play a one-off Test against Bangladesh at Lord’s, and that the World Test Championship final has been awarded to the Oval.
Eight men’s Test matches will be played in England next summer, with none further north than Trent Bridge.
The decision to overlook Headingley and Old Trafford was criticised by Andy Burnham, then the mayor of Greater Manchester, when it was announced.
“There should always be a men’s Ashes Test in the North of England, in any series,” Burnham, now Prime Minister, said in 2023. “If we’re going to get the game to all parts of the country and really make sure that it’s connecting with people everywhere, we’ve got to have a men’s Ashes Test in the North.”
The women’s Test between England and Australia will be held at Headingley, with both Ashes series running concurrently through June and July.
In Australia last winter, England warmed up for the first Test on a low, slow club pitch at Lilac Hill, conditions that were far removed from the opening Test at the Perth Stadium, where Australia won in two days.
The previous year India trained at the Waca, attuning to the pace of the Perth Stadium pitch, and went on to win the first Test. England were told the Waca was not available, although a row developed between the two boards over the exact circumstances of their request. Australia claimed they asked too late and turned down opportunities to warm up in Adelaide instead.
It was announced on Thursday morning that Australia will play “a high-quality match” – a four-day warm-up against England Lions at Old Trafford from June 7 – and there is an agreement in place for this to be reciprocated for England on the next Ashes tour in 2029-30.
If Australia qualify for the World Test Championship final, which starts on June 9, they will use that as their warm-up.
The first Ashes Test will be held at Trent Bridge from June 18 in place of Edgbaston, which lost its reputation as an England fortress when Australia won there in 2019 and 2023. Nottingham has not hosted an Ashes Test since 2015, when Stuart Broad took eight for 15 and Australia were bowled out on the first morning for 60. England have won their last three Ashes Tests at Trent Bridge, which has also undergone redevelopment of the pavilion in time for the Australia Test.
The series will then move on to Lord’s, Edgbaston and the Utilita Bowl in Southampton, which is hosting its first Ashes Test after winning the nod before Headingley and Old Trafford. The series ends at the Oval, with the fifth Test starting on July 29, delaying the Hundred to August.
Bangladesh have not played a Test in England since 2010 and have stepped in after Pakistan declined the offer of adding a one-off Test to their white-ball tour of England early next summer.
The match was offered to Old Trafford, but sources indicated it had chosen to take a “fallow payment” from the England and Wales Cricket Board for not holding a Test, possibly amid fears of struggling to sell tickets, which handed Lord’s an opportunity to keep its two-Test summer. The International Cricket Council awarded the next three World Test Championship finals to the ECB earlier this year and Telegraph Sport reported last month the governing body had decided to shift it to the Oval from Lord’s amid concerns over the Lord’s pitch.
The Ashes venues were announced three years ago, and the dates were confirmed today for a packed summer schedule for the men and women. England men will play 10 one-day internationals against Pakistan and New Zealand as they prepare for the 50-over World Cup in South Africa, which takes place in October.
The women’s Ashes will again be played as a multi-format points-based competition, opening with a Test at Headingley from June 24 before three T20Is and three ODIs, all played at international grounds.
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