The England & Wales Cricket Board (ECB) and Cricket Australia (CA) on Tuesday announced the Men’s and Women’s Ashes schedule for 2021-22 to be held in Australia.
Men’s Ashes Test Series
The first Men’s Ashes Test will commence at Brisbane’s Gabba from 8-12 December followed by a day-night Test at the Adelaide Oval from 16-20 December. The iconic Boxing Day and New Year’s Tests will be hosted by Melbourne Cricket Ground (26-30 December) and Sydney Cricket Ground (5-9 January) respectively. The final Test will take place at Perth’s Optus Stadium (14-18 January).
Women’s Ashes
The multi-format Women’s Ashes series will commence at Manuka Oval, Canberra, with the Women’s Ashes Test match scheduled from 27-30 January.
The limited overs games, which combine with the Test match to make for the multi-format series, will start off with three T20Is at the North Sydney Oval, Sydney (4 and 6 February) and the Adelaide Oval (10 February).
The multi-format series will conclude with three ODIs at Adelaide Oval on 13 February and the Junction Oval in Melbourne on 16 and 19 February.
After the conclusion of the Women’s Ashes series, England will head to New Zealand to take part in the ICC Women’s World Cup.
Tom Harrison, ECB’s Chief Executive Officer, said: “An Ashes series in Australia is a global highlight of the cricketing calendar and is always a focus series for England teams.
It’s a hugely exciting prospect that both men’s and women’s squads will be heading to Australia. It promises to be a highly competitive and close contest with teams in both series, evenly matched. I have little doubt that the rivalry and drama will once again capture the interest of sports lovers across the globe.
“2022 is going to be an amazing year for Women’s cricket. With an Ashes, a World Cup in New Zealand and a home Commonwealth Games in Birmingham, this could be a landmark year for our team. It represents a huge challenge, but one Heather Knight and her talented squad are very excited about.”
Nick Hockley, Cricket Australia’s Interim CEO, said: “We are absolutely thrilled to announce our men’s and women’s international fixtures for the 2021-22 summer of cricket. The lessons learned from successfully delivering a safe summer in 20-21 gives us confidence on what we’re able to achieve, and we’re all hoping for a summer of full crowds and an Ashes atmosphere we’re all accustomed to.
“The Ashes is one of the great global sporting rivalries and seems to grow ever larger with each series and generation. We cannot wait to host England Men over five Tests this summer. The most recent Men’s Ashes series was a remarkable contest that captured the imagination of the entire cricketing world and I expect this summer to be no different.
“In a perfect world, we would welcome England fans back to these shores for a summer of singing and sportsmanship. Of course, we will be guided by the Australian Government on all things related to international travel.”
