LONDON – The England and Wales Cricket Board has officially locked in the full schedule and confirmed the opening venue for the highly anticipated 2027 men’s Ashes series against defending title holders Australia, a announcement that has already sparked debate over regional representation.
Trent Bridge, the iconic Nottingham-based cricket ground, will play host to the first Test of the five-match series, scheduled to run from June 18 to 22, 2027. The venue has emerged as a lucky ground for England in recent Ashes history, with the home side claiming victory in three consecutive Ashes Tests at Trent Bridge, most notably a 2015 win where Australia was bowled out for just 60 runs in one innings.
Following the opening clash, the series will move to London’s historic Lord’s ground for the second Test, held from June 30 to July 4. Just four days later, the third Test gets underway at Birmingham’s Edgbaston from July 8 to 12. The fourth Test will mark a historic milestone for the tournament: Southampton’s Rose Bowl will host its first ever men’s Ashes Test from July 21 to 25, becoming the 10th different English ground to host a men’s Ashes series match. The five-match series will wrap up at London’s The Oval from July 29 to August 2.
All five venues were shortlisted in 2023, but the selection drew immediate criticism for the exclusion of two major northern English grounds: Old Trafford in Manchester and Headingley in Leeds. While both venues were already confirmed to host matches in the 2031 Ashes series, their absence from the 2027 lineup made Nottingham the northernmost host venue for the 2027 tournament. Following the 2023 selection announcement, the mayors of Greater Manchester and West Yorkshire sent official letters of disappointment to the ECB. Even England men’s skipper Ben Stokes, who represents the northern county side Durham, called the lack of northern Test venues for the 2027 series “a shame” in comments made during England’s 4-1 Ashes defeat in Australia earlier this year.
To soften the impact of the exclusion, Old Trafford has been assigned a high-profile preparatory fixture: it will host a warm-up match between Australia and the England Lions from June 7 to 10, 2027. The schedule for this warm-up will be adjusted if Australia qualifies for the World Test Championship final, which is set to take place at The Oval from June 9 to 13 that same year.
Alongside the men’s fixture announcement, the ECB confirmed that the 2027 women’s Ashes series will run concurrently with the men’s tournament. The women’s series will open with a Test match at Headingley from June 24 to 27, marking the first women’s Ashes Test hosted at the ground since 2001, followed by three Twenty20 matches and three One Day Internationals concluding on July 20.
The announcement also included details of other upcoming home Test and limited-overs series for England’s national sides. In May 2027, the men’s team will host Pakistan for five One Day Internationals, followed by England’s first home Test match against Bangladesh at Lord’s since 2010. That September, New Zealand will tour England for three Twenty20s and five One Day Internationals as both sides prepare for the 50-over Men’s World Cup hosted in southern Africa that October. The England women’s team will also host Bangladesh for six white-ball matches in September 2027.