The Ashes 2025/26: Australia vs England – Betting, Schedule, Teams & Preview

England will head to Australia later this year bidding to end their recent dismal run of results in The Ashes series.

They have not won a Test match in Australia in 15 years, highlighting the size of the task they face in one of cricket’s fiercest battles. 

With that in mind, read on as we look at betting, schedule and teams for The Ashes, before previewing what promises to be a thrilling series.

The Ashes 2025/26 – Betting

Punters who bet on the Ashes will not be surprised to discover that Australia are the 4/7 favourites to win the series. England are priced at 11/5, while the draw can be backed at 13/2.

The Ashes 2025/26 – Schedule

The fixtures for the 2025/26 Ashes series in Australia are as follows:

• First Test: Friday, November 21 – Tuesday, November 25 (2.30 am) – Optus Stadium, Perth
• Second Test (day/night): Thursday, December 4 – Monday, December 8 (4.30 am) – The Gabba, Brisbane
• Third Test: Wednesday, December 17 – Sunday, December 21 (12.00 am) – Adelaide Oval
• Fourth Test: Thursday, December 25-Monday, December 29 (11.30 pm) – Melbourne Cricket Ground
• Fifth Test: Sunday, January 4 – Thursday, January 8 (11.30 pm) – Sydney Cricket Ground

The Ashes 2025/26 – Teams

There is still plenty of time remaining before the series gets underway, but several players are guaranteed their places in the England and Australia squads.

Ben Stokes will captain the tourists, while Joe Root, Zak Crawley, Harry Brook, Ben Duckett and Shoaib Bashir will also be in the line-up.

Jacob Bethell, Ollie Pope and Jamie Smith are among the other England players competing for positions in The Ashes series.

Mark Wood, Gus Atkinson, Jofra Archer and Olly Stone are likely candidates to fill the bowling spots, while Sam Cook, Brydon Carse, Josh Tongue and Matthew Potts are also in contention.

Warwickshire star Chris Woakes could miss out after suffering a shoulder injury in the recent drawn Test series against India.

Steve Smith, Mitchell Starc, Pat Cummins, Nathan Lyon and Josh Hazlewood should form the core of the Australian team in what is likely to be their final Ashes series.

The Ashes 2025/26 – Preview

England last won The Ashes courtesy of a 3-2 victory in 2015 and they have drawn two Test series at home against Australia since then.

However, since their 3-1 triumph in Australia in 2010/11, their record on foreign soil reads 0-5, 0-4 and 0-4. Their hopes of halting that run of defeats looks slim.

England have won 25 of their 41 Tests under head coach Brendon McCullum but they are yet to win a five-match series in the longer format of the game.

Former Australian bowler Glenn McGrath, who won The Ashes six times, has backed Australia to record a series whitewash this time around.

However, he admitted that England have players who could cause Australia problems if they can produce their best form.

“It’s very rare for me to make a prediction, isn’t it? And I can’t make a different one – 5-0,” McGrath told BBC Radio 5 Live.

“I’m very confident with our team. When you’ve got Pat Cummins, Mitchell Starc, Josh Hazlewood and Nathan Lyon firing in their home conditions, it’s going to be pretty tough.

“Plus, that track record England have had, it’d be interesting to see if they can win a Test.”

“This series will be a big one for Root. He’s never really done that well in Australia, he’s not even got a hundred over there, so he’ll be keen to get out there.”