Where is the Ashes 2025/26 series? Full list of stadiums and locations
Your complete guide to the Ashes 2025/26 stadiums in Australia, including stats, facts and pictures of every ground.
There is no tougher challenge in English cricket than an Ashes tour to Australia.
England have won just five series down under since World War II and have not even won a Test there for the best part of two decades.
Indeed, the combination of the scorching Southern Hemisphere skies and hostile hosts usually see the Poms torn apart in Australia's great sporting cauldrons.
Each of the five Test venues for the Ashes 2025/26 will pose a different challenge for Ben Stokes' side as they battle to ensure things play out differently this winter.
A shake-up to the usual schedule and the introduction of a new ground could be just what the tourists need to succeed where so many past England teams have failed.
RadioTimes.com brings you full details of the five Ashes 2025/26 stadiums in Australia.
Ashes 2025/26 stadiums
1st Test: Optus Stadium
- City: Perth
- Capacity: 61,000
The Optus Stadium will make its Ashes debut in the first Test of the 2025/26 series. The ground, which was opened in 2018, has taken over from the WACA as Perth's Test venue.
While not quite as quick as its predecessor, the Optus Stadium is thought to have the fastest pitch in Australia, and there is expected to be a green tinge, which should make things tougher for the batters.
The winners of all five of the Tests at the ground have been the team batting first, which will be food for thought for chase-happy England as they search for their first win in Perth since 1978.
2nd Test: The Gabba
- City: Brisbane
- Capacity: 37,000
It's called the Gabbatoir for a reason. The Brisbane Test ground, which has hosted cricket since 1895, has been a fortress for Australia and a place of nightmares for visiting teams.
The Gabba usually hosts the series opener, an effective way to break the tourists' spirit, but it has been shifted to the 2nd Test and will be a day/night match. The pink ball is expected to hoop around in Brisbane as a result, which means a difficult five days for the batters.
3rd Test: Adelaide Oval
- City: Adelaide
- Capacity: 53,500
Traditionally, the most batter-friendly of the five Ashes stadiums, the Adelaide Oval, could be where Joe Root and co. pile on the runs and keep its iconic scoreboard busy.
Chasing teams struggle at the Adelaide Oval; teams that win the toss and field lose 70 per cent of matches, which may be food for thought for Ben Stokes.
4th Test: Melbourne Cricket Ground
- City: Melbourne
- Capacity: 100,024
The MCG is Australia's most iconic and the home of the Boxing Day Test. If England can make it to Melbourne with the series still alive, something the tourists have not done for nearly 15 years, Ben Stokes' side could be on course for something special.
The massive outfield could prove an issue for the visitors' boundary-hitters like Harry Brook but the MCG is a ground where the Aussies have struggled at times.
5th Test: Sydney Cricket Ground
- City: Sydney
- Capacity: 48,000
As so many before them have, the Ashes 2025/26 series will close out at the SCG. England have enjoyed playing in front of its famous green-roofed pavilion over the years – winning more Tests there than at any other ground.
Sydney is the most spin-friendly of any of the five Ashes venues, which may give Australia and Nathan Lyon an advantage, while rain is often a factor and could have an unwanted influence on the series result.
TNT Sports and discovery+ have exclusive live TV coverage of the Ashes, which can also be watched through Amazon Prime Video, while fans can listen to every ball of the series via Test Match Special on BBC Radio 5 Live and BBC Radio 5 Live Sports Extra.
Check out more of our Sport coverage or visit our TV Guide and Streaming Guide to find out what's on. For more TV recommendations and reviews, listen to The Radio Times Podcast.
Authors
