England's next Ashes trip comes with a familiar question: can this group finally crack Australia at home? It's been more than a decade since England last tasted a Test win on Australian soil, and the build-up to the 2025-26 series once again revolves around this storyline.
Brendon McCullum's side arrives with a bold approach, renewed confidence, and a core that has spent years carrying England's hopes in red-ball cricket. Yet the reality is simple. Australia remains the hardest place for an English team to win, and the current squad carries a record that reflects that challenge.
THE ASHES 2025-26: Read all the latest news and build-up here
England's win record in Australia: No Test wins for the current core
No England player who debuted after the 2010-11 Ashes series has won a Test in Australia. That drought includes the current leaders of the squad.
- Joe Root has played 14 Tests in Australia, with 0 wins, 12 losses and two draws.
- Ben Stoke s has featured in 9 Tests in the country, also with 0 wins, alongside 8 losses and one draw.
These numbers underline how dominant Australia has been at home across the past decade and a half.
MORE: Injuries rock Aussies before Ashes opener
Joe Root's Australia record: Runs without a century
Root is already the second-highest run-scorer in Test history, but his numbers in Australia tell a different story. He is yet to score a Test century there and his average of 35.68 sits well below his career mark.
Reports highlight that his performances in Australia remain one of the few gaps in his decorated career. For England to push for the Ashes, Root will likely need multiple big scores.
MORE: Mark Wood hopes England can learn from Aussies
Ben Stokes and England's best chance to end the Ashes drought Down Under
Stokes enters this tour with the same winless history but also with the belief that this season might be England's best shot to break the streak. It is understood that this could be his final Ashes tour in Australia.
England's away record under Brendon McCullum sits at 50% (eight wins from 16 games). Their only away series against a top-tier Test side in that period was a heavy 4-1 defeat in India in 2024.
Australia will begin the series without injured quicks Pat Cummins and Josh Hazlewood, while the rest of the squad is among the oldest Australia has fielded in years. The home side also hasn't found a stable top order heading into the marquee series.
England will look to target that, especially with pacers Jofra Archer and Mark Wood fit, though both have recently faced injury concerns of their own. The Ashes start on November 21 in Perth, with England playing just one warm-up match in Australia before the opener.