Ashes 2025-26 Showdown: Exciting updates to the historic cricket rivalry between Australia and England have been provided by Cricket Australia (CA), which has officially revealed the itinerary for the eagerly awaited 2025–26 Ashes series.
One of the main highlights is that after the Perth opening, the second Test will be played at Brisbane’s Gabba as a pink-ball day-night match. Under a new seven-year arrangement for pre-Christmas Tests, Adelaide, which has historically hosted day-night Test matches, will host the third Test as a day match.
Under a new deal to hold the pre-Christmas Test for the next seven years, Adelaide will play the third Test as a day match, while the Gabba will host the day-night second Test. Cricket Australia has announced the dates for the 2025–26 Ashes series in Australia.
According to CA, the first Ashes Test will take place in Perth from November 21–25 of next summer, followed by the second Test, which will be played in Brisbane from December 4–8 under lights with a pink ball. Before the customary Boxing Day Test starts on December 26 at the MCG, the third Test will be a day match in Adelaide from December 17–21. The fifth Test will be held in Sydney from January 4–8.
Following CA’s announcement of new fixturing contracts with the individual state governments in August, there had long been predictions that the customary Ashes rota would be altered.
Since its inception in 2015, Adelaide has served as the primary location for the day-night Test. It has also hosted the two previous Ashes day-night Tests in 2017–18 and 2021–22, which were the second Test in the rotation in those Ashes series after the customary Gabba opener.
However, considering the Test’s appeal from a tourism perspective, the government of South Australia and CA were eager to offer Adelaide a major vacation window, and it is currently third in the rotation.
Three prior day-night Test matches have been held at the Gabba, including the historic victory of the West Indies in January of this year. However, it will be the first time since 1982–83 that Brisbane did not host the Ashes opener, with Perth hosting the first Test and Brisbane hosting the second.
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Uncertainty surrounding the stadium’s renovation plans in advance of the 2032 Olympics has cast doubt on the Gabba’s future. As there are no tests planned there for 2026–2027 and beyond, and the stadium in its current condition won’t be usable by 2030, there’s a probability that the Ashes Test next year will be the final Gabba Test ever.
Former Australia all-rounder Shane Watson is one of many people who have criticized CA for not keeping the Gabba as the first Test of the summer for at least the next two seasons. However, considering Australia’s flawless record at Optus Stadium in Perth, it was known that the team is quite pleased to play the first Test of the summer there, as has been the case in the last two summers.
Given that Australia’s bowlers have previously stated that the pink ball is more appropriate for the Adelaide Oval pitch than the Gabba, there might be less excitement about using it there. In the Gabba pink-ball tests, there have been times when the ball has gotten extremely soft, which has caused the game to stall.