Forget rugby league, the real Ashes starts in just over six weeks.
Not that you’d know.
Rather than building steadily towards the latest five-test contest between cricket’s oldest enemies, a not insignificant portion of Australia’s biggest test stars will be playing white ball cricket until barely a fortnight out from the first over being bowled in Perth on November 21.
Instead of honing their long-form games in the opening round of the Sheffield Shield, Josh Hazlewood, Alex Carey and Travis Head have all just featured in an instantly-forgettable T20I series across the ditch in New Zealand.
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The trio along with several more test stars are also likely to feature in at least some of the eight upcoming home T20I and ODI matches against India, starting in Perth on October 19.
Heaven forbid any of them get injured.
Now to be fair, England will also be in limited overs mode playing six T20Is and ODIs against New Zealand in the next month, such is the ever deepening congestion of the international cricket calendar.
But is this what the most treasured test series in world cricket deserves?
No Ashes warm-up matches against state sides
Long gone are the days of a tense and expectation-filled Ashes build up with tour games against state sides and just as many mind games being played out between leather and willow.
In fact, England has just one red-ball warm up match on the 2025/26 Ashes tour, and even that will be an in-house affair against an ‘England Lions’ squad at Lilac Hill in Perth.
With so many competing tours, formats and agendas, is it any wonder cricket fans are more than a little jaded?
It’s hard to keep up, and sometimes almost as hard to care.
Ashes, indeed.
ODI Series v India
- October 19: Perth (D/N)
- October 23: Adelaide (D/N)
- October 25: Sydney (D/N)
T20I Series v India
- October 29: Canberra
- October 31: Melbourne
- November 2: Hobart
- November 6: Gold Coast
- November 8: Brisbane
2025-26 Ashes Series v England
- November 21-25: 1st Test, Perth
- December 4-8: 2nd Test, Brisbane (D/N)
- December 17-21: 3rd Test, Adelaide
- December 26-30: 4th Test, Melbourne
- January 4-8: 5th Test, Sydney