Key events
Geoff Lemon will be following the Ashes for Guardian Australia, while Ali Martin and Simon Burnton are visiting from England to join the press pack in Perth and further into the series. To help us warm up, Geoff looks at whether age might now be more than just a number for Australia as injuries mount up and the ever-present cliff edges a year closer.
For two or three years there has been mounting fascination with the age of this team and especially the bowling attack. It is unusual to have almost every player near a Test side being over 30, aside from novelty-sized mascot Cameron Green and custody-weekend visitor Sam Konstas. But it didn’t logically follow that greater age was a problem: a Test team boasting a four-man attack with 1,568 wickets between them is hardly a disadvantage, and it stands to reason that all of those bowlers are deep into their careers.
Apologies to all the Seths out there, but one of my great Ashes memories, if you’ll allow me to indulge, is finishing my own milestone birthday dinner early and cramming my visiting father and approximately 20 friends into our typically tiny loungeroom in Streatham Hill, London to watch the first ball of … the 2006-07 Ashes. Roll the tape …
Seth Levine seems to be bearing the scars of Ashes past with a heavy dose of “Bah Humbug” (Seth’s words) thrown on the idea of a Happy Ashes Day. We have a new contender for the prestigious Most Exotic Ashes Viewing Platform award though.
“I was in the festive spirit, looking forward to a reasonably civilised 22.20 start here in Bermuda. Until my formerly good friend Jake sent me the following message, to recall this moment 4 years ago, when we were watching together at a late hour: ‘Old Fashioneds, hubris and Rory Burns being skittled first ball’ was his painful but wholly accurate summary.”
The all-too predictable pre-Ashes banter turned personal as former England spinner Monty Panesar went to relatively tame and tiresome lengths to inject himself into the conversation – and just like a medium-paced half-tracker drifting on to his pads, Steve Smith could not help but take the bait.
The back n’ forth unfortunately overshadowed the confirmation that Jake Weatherald would debut at the top of the order for Australia, and that Brendan Doggett would become just the third Indigenous cricketer to play in the men’s Test team.
Day one at Perth Stadium is sold out with limited tickets available for day two and the rest of the first Test. Dave Laybourne appears to be one of the lucky few thousand who have travelled from the Old Dart to join the fun and festivities.
“Day one of the first Test, in Perth and it’s my brother’s 50th birthday. Had to come out for it really. He lives here and tells me that his usually incredibly friendly work colleagues have definitely turned a bit chippier this week. They’re confident the Aussies will prevail but then again, they’re confident that Australia will win at pretty much everything, everytime. Guess we’ll see!”
T-minus two hours! More than enough time to reflect on cricket being an individual game played within a team environment. And to ponder the head-to-head battles that add spice to any Ashes contest and could define this series.
To Bradman v Larwood, McGrath v Atherton, Broad v Warner, and, urgh, Warne v Waugh, let us add the following:
-
Travis Head v Harry Brook
-
Pat Cummins v Joe Root
-
Jofra Archerv Usman Khawaja
-
England v five-match Test series
Phil Dean is on Bluesky dropping truth bombs.
“Interesting that Gus Atkinson seems to have gone under the radar. England’s best bowler for the last two years, 63 test wickets at 22. Reckon he’s gonna surprise a few Aussies.”
FWIW, I’m with you, Phil. For all the hype around Archer and Wood, their fragility remains a huge concern and I expect Atkinson to have as big, if not bigger, say across the five Tests. And Jamie Smith is another who is surely creeping up on us.
To help keep the mind limber, especially for those ticking over into the AM in the UK, it feels like a good time to test your cricket knowledge, vocabulary and jargon with a quick quiz on the positions in the field. Not sure if I proved, or otherwise, my OBO credentials with a score of 14/15.
Another Ben, this time Mimmack, wins the early nod for the most exotic place – and the ideal timezone – to be following along from, as he wishes us all “Happy Ashes Day!”. Right backatcha, Ben.
“There are many good things about living in Texas (yes, really) but right now, the best must be that the first ball will be bowled at 8.10pm and I can conceivably watch the whole first day and still get a few hours sleep. My boys have been promised they can stay up late to watch the first few overs. These are the good times before all the optimism gets crushed. Happy days.”
Ben H from Worcestershire is the first to get in touch and I suspect, for the most part, he’s saying what we’re all thinking. I can assure you, Ben, that the excitement levels are similarly off the scale here in Sydney …
“I’m so excited, staying up determined to watch the first hour until I fall asleep on the sofa and wake up to the blur of the Australian habit of presenting the score the wrong way around. However, I can’t help but feel that this is not only the Ashes, and everything it brings, but also the culmination and final baddie test of Bazball. They’ve been deliberately building to this series for 3.5 years, while Australia have had the WTC and India at home. I really don’t want to think about what it might mean for the experiment if we lose the series. Come on England!”
The current cricketers have done well to keep quiet and give past players and the punditariat plenty of room to have their say – and, oh my, haven’t they filled it. The Guardian has been no exception, and we’ll get to much, much more of that soon, but to kick off here are nine writers’ thoughts and predictions on everything from the series winner and score, to the most memorable moment and the biggest flop.
We also asked what the keen observers are most looking forward to – which is where you, dear reader, can also jump in …
Weather check: A typical day is forecast in Perth with a relatively cool morning – it is 20C at 7.30am AWST – and mostly sunny conditions expected on the way to a high of 28C. The wind will pick up in the afternoon. Though England players and onsite fans might be surprised to learn that the famed Fremantle Doctor – the sea breeze that rolls across the city most afternoons – has limited impact at Perth Stadium. A petition for a plaque at the Waca commemorating the best of the game’s swing bowlers starts here.
Preamble
Martin Pegan
Good morning, Australia. Good evening, England. Hello to everyone checking in from other parts of the globe. Because, finally, it is time to end the jibes and banter and contentious countdowns. To put the squad analysis and injury news and tasty press conference nuggets to one side. To give the rewritten histories space to evolve and fresh origin stories room to grow. To put the pre-series speculation out of sight and the bold predictions out of mind. For the phoney war has been declared a nil-all draw. The build up is all but done. And after 844 days without the oldest rivals in the game flinging a red sphere at each other across 22 yards, we have reached day one of the first Test of the 2025-26 Ashes.
Seven weeks of storylines that are yet to be written. Countless controversies that are yet to be dissected and debated. New heroes and villains that are yet to be created, celebrated and, quite possibly, farewelled. It will begin, where it hasn’t already, when the first ball is bowled at 10.20am in Perth / 1.20pm AEDT / 2.20am GMT.
For all the talk there has been leading into this eagerly anticipated series – and there could hardly have been any more – there has been next to none about how the Ashes might save Test cricket. The longest form of the game is well and truly alive and kicking. Yet the Ashes always breathes fresh life into the game, at least across the four-year cycle when it is played in England and the two teams meet on more even terms. That is usually far from the case when the arch-rivals meet in Australia, where the hosts are undefeated across three series and have won 13 of the past 15 Tests. But, dare we say, this time it could be different.
An emboldened England with an express-pace attack that complements their aggressive batting and general approach to the game faces its greatest test – and opportunity – of the Stokes-McCullum era as they come up against a weakened Australia. It is, after all, “the biggest series of all of our lives”, at least according to England head coach Brendon McCullum.
Fast bowlers Jofra Archer and Mark Wood will, presumably, play in the same Test team for just the second time. Harry Brook can show just why we should believe the hype. Joe Root might, finally, cement his legacy as one of the greats of modern batting. And Ben Stokes can confirm his place as not just an all-rounder – but also a leader – for the ages, by becoming just the second captain to lead England to an Ashes series victory in Australia in almost four decades.
For Australia, the stakes feel as high as they always do for an Ashes series, if not necessarily life changing. The expectation is for the hosts to deliver more of the same. For a side that has found success in all formats through knowing when to play slow and steady, and when to turn the screw, to again prosper on home soil. The absence of captain Pat Cummins would be a blow to any team, for his leadership as much as his ability to change a game with the ball and occasionally with the bat. Josh Hazlewood’s injury is another huge hit that will take away Australia’s greatest strength – their bowling attack – and test their depth. A pair of debutants in Jake Weatherald and Brendan Doggett give the side a fresh look, but it is the familiar faces – Mitchell Starc, Travis Head, Marnus Labuschagne, Nathan Lyon, and stand-in skipper Steve Smith – who are more likely to determine whether or not Australia retain the urn.
With a few hours still to go before the toss and confirmed teams, we have more than enough time to hear and share your thoughts and predictions – drop me an email or find me @martinpegan on Bluesky or X. And we’ll delve deep into the Guardian archives to remember what our writers and the key Ashes protagonists – the actual cricketers – have had to say in the recent days and weeks leading into what feels like Cricketmas morning. Yes, it is now no more sleeps – happy Ashes day one to all those who celebrate.