England and Australia will not play a Test in the north of England as Old Trafford and Headingley were not selected as hosts.
Published July 23, 2026
There will be no Ashes matches in the north of England next year, when Australia joins as their oldest rivals in Test cricket.
Leeds’ Headingley and Manchester’s Old Trafford both produced some of the most dramatic showdowns in the long history of Ashes cricket.
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Don Bradman, perhaps the greatest batsman in cricket, scored two triple centuries at Headingley in the 1930s.
Both grounds hosted notable individual feats by England hero Ian Botham during the 1981 Ashes series.
Headingley was also the venue where England’s Ben Stokes completed an incredible unbeaten run with a one-wicket win during the 2019 series.
However, both venues were removed from the 2027 Ashes schedule, and when it was announced that the event would be held in 2023, new British Prime Minister Andy Burnham, who was then Mayor of Greater Manchester, criticized the decision.
The England and Wales Cricket Board on Thursday confirmed the exact fixture list for next year’s Ashes, with all five matches confined to the Midlands and south of England.
The fourth and first Ashes Test of the series will be held from July 21 at the Rose Bowl in Hampshire, near Southampton.
It will be the 10th stadium in England to host a men’s Ashes Test.
The series begins on June 18th at Trent Bridge in Nottingham, with the second Test at Lord’s traditionally held on June 30th and the third Test at Edgbaston in Birmingham on July 8th.
The Ashes will conclude with a Test at the Oval in south London from July 29th to August 2nd.
Old Trafford and Headingley are both due to host Ashes Tests in 2031.
Australia won the 2025-26 Ashes 4-1 on their home ground. The last Ashes series in England ended in a 2-2 draw in 2023.
England’s last successful Ashes series was a 3-2 home win in 2015.
They are also scheduled to play a one-off Test against Bangladesh at Lord’s starting May 28.
The 2027 World Test Championship final will be held at the Oval from June 9, marking the second time the title match has been held at this venue.
