The Ashes

Marc Higginson
BBC Sport Senior Journalist

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Australia legend Glenn McGrath has suggested England's attacking batters may struggle down under for one very simple reason: the grounds are much bigger out there.

McGrath, writing in his BBC Sport column, said: "How will England play Bazball on the big Australian grounds? English grounds are smaller.

"If you're going to try to hit sixes in Australia, make sure you hit them a long way, otherwise you'll be caught."

Does he have a point? BBC Sport, working with CricViz, has crunched the numbers to find out...

First of all, the grounds in Australia are much bigger. For example, the smallest in Australia (Sydney Cricket Ground) is still almost 2000m² larger than the biggest in England (Old Trafford).

It won't surprise anyone to know the MCG (Melbourne Cricket Ground) is the biggest of all Australia's huge grounds, with a surface area of 18736m², ahead of the Gabba (18405m²).

In layman's terms, a batter must hit it further to get a six while the vast open spaces often mean more opportunities for runs.

So, while the average number of runs scored by six hits is 5% in Australia and 5.2% in England (since 2020), at Melbourne that figures drops to 3.3%.

But does that translate to more twos and threes as fielders chase leather? Yes, it does: 16.1% of scoring shots are twos here, with only Sydney (16.2%) and, interestingly, Old Trafford (16.9%) having a higher percentage of the usual Test grounds here and down under.

Read more analysis of the 2025-26 Ashes venues in this dedicated grounds guide.

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All eyes will be on Perth in the early hours of Friday morning when the Ashes series finally begins.

The first delivery of previous contests has produced some iconic moments - think back to Rory Burns' first-baller, Steve Harmison's wide or Zak Crawley driving Pat Cummins for four.

England have enlisted the help of former New Zealand All Blacks mental skills coach Gilbert Enoka, who first started working with Ben Stokes' side during the summer.

"There is more weight on that moment and we just want people to free themselves from the tension," he told BBC Radio 4 about how he is helping players prepare for the opening moment.

"They will have a structure or a system that allows them to direct their attention to where it needs to be. If you are a batsman that will be on the ball and if you are a bowler you will have a target or something you want to achieve.

"There is no escaping the tension other than getting excited, reminding yourself where else would you want to be.

"When your mindset is directed with that intent your intention creates the intensity required to execute well."

Enoka and England coach Brendon McCullum first met when McCullum was in the New Zealand academy system.

The former Black Caps international first brought his compatriot into the England camp in the summer during the Test series against India.

"I have known Brendon for many years," Enoka said.

"When I finished with [the All Blacks] after the Rugby World Cup, Brendon had been in this job two or three years, came knocking and said 'I am keen to take this team the next level. Will you help me?'

"He has got players playing a certain style, he has a vision for him and where he wants to take it.

"My job is to help them be clear about that and deliver the structures that enable them to get there.

"If you want to be great you don't chase motivation you have got to build a system. That is my job."

Follow every moment of the Ashes with our rolling page of news, views and updates.

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England great Sir James Anderson says England's bowlers will have to be "relentlessly good" if they are to win The Ashes in Australia.

Anderson was speaking on the Tailenders Ashes preview on iPlayer, with England embarking on their first trip Down Under without him since the 2002-03 tour.

"The pitches will have a little bit of movement in them, they have done in the last two tours we've been there. So you do need accuracy, as well as pace," said Anderson.

"I think one of the question marks for England will potentially be Ben Stokes - out of that group of bowlers, he is the one bowler that could churn out those spells of accuracy and skill.

"But he's also got that injury record hanging over him, so that could be a big part of the series as well."

Stokes is not the only member of the England attack with a lengthy injury record and Anderson expects England to rotate Jofra Archer and Mark Wood, who are both capable of bowling consistently over 90mph.

"I think if you're going to play them together, potentially the first Test at Perth, where it's fast and bouncy, you want to get off to a good start in the series so hit them straight away with proper pace.

"After that I imagine they'll try and play one of them, and rest and recover the other. That leaves space for Brydon Carse or Gus Atkinson. They're still quick enough, but they've got skill as well, and probably a bit more control than the others.

"They're going to have a big part. If England are going to win this series, or have a chance, then the bowling attack has got to be relentlessly good."

The Tailenders team of Greg James, Felix White and Sir James Anderson will have Ashes specials available on BBC iPlayer and BBC Sounds throughout the winter.

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Opener Sam Konstas, 20, has been named in a Prime Minister's XI to face England on 29 November.

Konstas, who has won five Test caps but only reached 50 once, has been left out of the Australia squad for the first Ashes Test in Perth after a string of low scores in domestic cricket, though he did make a century for Australia A against India A in September.

The two-day fixture in Canberra is a pink-ball match designed to give the tourists preparation before the day-night second Test in Brisbane, which begins on 4 December.

Peter Hanscomb will captain the hosts, who also include 40-year-old bowler Peter Siddle, who played 67 Tests.

Prime Minister's XI to face England: Peter Handscomb (c), Benji Floros, Campbell Kellaway, Campbell Thompson, Charlie Anderson, Doug Warren, Hugh Weibgen, Joel Curtis, Nathan McSweeney, Oliver Peake, Peter Siddle, Sam Konstas, Samuel Skelly.

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Australia captain Pat Cummins completed a net session at full pace on Monday as he looks to return to his team's line-up for the second Test of the Ashes in Brisbane.

Cummins, 32, has been ruled out of Friday's series opener in Perth with a back injury, but has stepped up his recovery in the build-up to the series, bowling for an hour alongside his team-mates.

The second Test, a day-night match, starts on Thursday, 4 December at The Gabba.

The home side will be captained by Steven Smith in Perth, while Scott Boland and the uncapped Brendan Doggett are set to play in place of Cummins and fellow injury absentee Josh Hazlewood.

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Mitchell Johnson says "alarm bells" are ringing for Australia's ageing team after Pat Cummins and Josh Hazlewood were ruled out of the first Ashes Test.

Captain Cummins, 32, has a back injury and fellow pace bowler Hazlewood, 34, has a hamstring problem.

From Australia's likely XI for Friday's first Test in Perth, only all-rounder Cameron Green is under the age of 30.

"When your leaders are all in their mid-to-late 30s and have heavy workloads banked, the odds eventually turn on you," former Australia pace bowler Johnson wrote in the West Australian newspaper.

"While losing Pat Cummins to injury was already a blow, one injury to a frontline quick is manageable. Losing two out of the big three starts to rewrite the whole script for the Ashes.

"It narrows Australia's margin for error and it forces selectors into decisions they'd hoped they wouldn't have to make this early. It's the sort of scenario that exposes the age profile of the squad.

"The alarm bells are now ringing loud and clear regarding the future. That attack of Lyon, Boland, Starc and Hazlewood are all older than I was when I retired from international cricket."

Jonathan Agnew and Stephan Shemilt round up all the Ashes tour news including details of England's win against the Lions with Ollie Pope again in the runs.

We get an Australian view from ABC Radio reporter Mitch Turner on how England are going, plus his thoughts on the news that seamer Josh Hazlewood will miss the first Test with a hamstring injury.

We also hear from England fast bowler Brydon Carse.

Listen to the full TMS podcast on BBC Sounds.

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Jacob Bethell and Jordan Cox both struck half-centuries for England Lions to set up a run chase for England on the third and final day of the Ashes tour game in Perth.

Bethell's 70 from 80 balls was a much-needed return to form after a poor white-ball tour of New Zealand, but has probably come too late to put him in contention to play in Friday's first Test.

Cox would be a candidate for the Ashes squad if England need batting or wicketkeeping cover on the tour and his 57 was his second half-century of the match.

The Lions declared their second innings on 251-6, leaving England a target of 202 in just over a session.

Ben Duckett was out for a duck, unlucky to get a brutal lifter from Nathan Gilchrist, and Zak Crawley edged Matthew Potts to slip for only three.

Ollie Pope picked up from his first-innings century with 22 not out at tea, while Joe Root has the opportunity for time in the middle on eight.

England reached 33-2 at the interval.

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Stephan Shemilt
Chief Cricket Reporter at Lilac Hill

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England spinner Shoaib Bashir struggled on the third and final morning of the Ashes warm-up game against England Lions at Lilac Hill.

The off-spinner, playing for the first time since breaking a finger in the third Test against India in July, was moved from the Lions to the England XI in order to get more overs before the first Test against Australia.

But his nine wicketless overs cost 66 runs, an economy in excess of seven, as the Lions attacked with the intention of setting up a contest later in the day.

The Lions reached 154-2, a lead of 108, with the possibility of declaring to leave England a run chase across the afternoon.

Bashir bowled 12 overs for the Lions on day two, conceding 68 runs for his one wicket.

Ben McKinney made 68, his second half-century of the game for the Lions. Both McKinney and opening partner were dismissed by Brydon Carse, bowling for the first time on the Ashes tour after missing the beginning of this match through illness.

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Timothy Abraham
BBC Sport journalist

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Former England selector Ed Smith says Jofra Archer's explosive pace has provided captain Ben Stokes with the "firepower" he needs to win back the Ashes.

Archer was brought into the England fold in 2019 during Smith's time as national selector between 2018 and 2021.

Barbados-born Archer played an integral part in England's famous 50-over World Cup win that year and left an impression on the Ashes series that followed.

He endured a torrid period through injury in subsequent years but the 30-year-old has been carefully managed to ensure he was fit for this highly-anticipated series.

"I think everyone who watched Jofra Archer at Lord's on debut against Australia saw how he can influence matches," Smith told BBC Sport.

"England currently have access to pace and firepower which could be very important. So, to see him [Archer] fit at the start of the tour is very exciting.

"You don't need me to remind you of how often extreme pace has influenced a series in Australia."

Smith also said the decision over whether Ollie Pope or Jacob Bethell should bat at number three in the opening Test in Perth is likely to be more complex than is widely thought.

He added: "I wouldn't start with who am I am going to put here, who am I going to put there. I'd start with how do you take 20 wickets? How do achieve an element of superiority?

"My view of cricket selections is a bit different to most people. I don't start with 'who's your three? Who's your five?'

"Rather than individuals, I'm typically more interested in balance and how a team adds up to more than some of its parts. I think that they will be having those [selection] conversations now and then the names will fall out of them."

Stephan Shemilt
Chief Cricket Reporter at Lilac Hill

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Joe Root and Harry Brook failed to spend meaningful time in the middle in England's Ashes warm-up game, but Ollie Pope passed 50 on the second day against England Lions.

Root played a soft hook to be caught at mid-wicket off Matthew Potts for one, while Brook's skittish two suggested a disdain for this tour game.

In Brook's first 15 deliveries he twice danced down the pitch and attempted a T20-style scoop at opening bowler Matthew Fisher. From Brook's 16th delivery, he again advanced towards seamer Nathan Gilchrist, ending well outside leg stump as the ball hit the top of off.

The dismissals of Root and Brook were part of an overall slide of four wickets for 16 runs after openers Ben Duckett and Zak Crawley shared 182.

But Pope put his place in the team for the first Test against Australia beyond doubt with a measured unbeaten 50. Captain Ben Stokes, in his first innings since July, has been patient for an unbeaten 24.

England took tea on 263-4 in response to the Lions' 375, a total corrected by the scorers from 382 on day one.

Fast bowler Mark Wood remains at Lilac Hill and is due to have a scan on his left hamstring later on Friday.

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