The Ashes 2025 Starts But Can England Upset The Odds To Win Down Under?
The 2025/26 Ashes Series gets underway later this week with England facing the daunting prospect of trying to win back the Ashes on Australian soil.
Since England’s 3-1 victory in the 2010/11 Ashes series, they have played in Australia three times, losing on all three occasions and they have failed to win a single test, losing 5-0 in 2013/14, 4-0 in 2017/18 and most recently 4-0 in 2021/22.
That means, Australia have won 13 of the last 15 tests on home soil, with two matches drawn.
The task facing England could not be more clear. The last two Ashes series in England have been drawn, so England have not won an Ashes series since the dramatic 2015 Summer Ashes in England, when they eked out a 3-2 victory.
Australian Ashes Squad
Steve Smith (C)
Sean Abbott
Scott Boland
Alex Carey (W)
Brendan Doggett
Cameron Green
Josh Hazlewood*
Travis Head
Josh Inglis (W)
Usman Khawaja
Marnus Labuschagne
Nathan Lyon
Michael Neser
Mitchell Starc
Jake Weatherald
Beau Webster
*Injury has ruled Josh Hazlewood out of the first test match.
Last Three Australian Test Series
- V India (A) – W 4-1
- V South Africa (N) – L 0-1 (ICC Final)
- V Sri Lanka (A) – W 2-0
- V West Indies (H) – W 3-0
England Ashes Squad
Ben Stokes (C)
Harry Brook (VC)
Jofra Archer
Gus Atkinson
Shoab Bashir
Jacob Bethell
Brydon Carse
Zak Crawley
Ben Duckett
Will Jacks
Ollie Pope (WK)
Matthew Potts
Joe Root
Jamie Smith (WK)
Josh Tongue
Mark Wood
Last Three England Test Series
- V New Zealand (A) – W 2-1
- V Zimbabwe (H) – W 1-0
- V India (H) – D 2-2
2025/26 Ashes Test Series & Venues
- First Test – 21st to 25th November – Perth Stadium, Perth
- Second Test – 4th to 8th December – Brisbane Cricket Ground, Brisbane (D/N)
- Third Test – 17th to 21st December – Adelaide Oval, Adelaide
- Fourth Test – 26th to 30th December – Melbourne Cricket Ground, Melbourne
- Fifth Test – 4th to 8th January – Sydney Cricket Ground, Sydney
Current Ashes Betting at Bet365
To Win Outright
- Australia – 8/13 favourites
- Draw – 9/1
- England – 2/1
To Win First Test
- Australia – 8/11 favourites
- Draw – 11/1
- England – 6/4
The current betting for the Ashes 2025/26 reveals a common feeling amongst cricket experts that this may be England’s best chance to land a test match win, if not a series win, for the first time in three visits Down Under.
The perception is that the Australian squad, while talented, is very much an older team with a number of players pushing into their 30s. They also showed they were fallible, losing the ICC Final to South Africa in England earlier this year.
If Australia’s abilities have declined a little since the last Ashes series, which ended in a 2-2 draw in 2024, then England’s test results have improved in 2025. A good win over New Zealand was followed by an expected win over Zimbabwe and then a 2-2 draw with India. Widely regarded as the best test team in the world at present.
As always, the first Test in Perth will be crucial to set the tone for the series and there’s plenty of questions to be answered here. Can Joe Root land a first test century for England in Australia? How will Josh Hazlewood’s absence in the first test affect Australia? How will the Aussies respond if England take the lead in the series and how will England react if Australia go 1-0 ahead?
It promises to be an exciting and dramatic series throughout November and December and into the New Year and there’s plenty of great action and betting to enjoy on all five test matches.
