Ashes Betting Offers & Free Bets 2025-2026

It is Australia’s turn to host the 74th Ashes series, which will be played between November 2025 and January 2026.  The Ashes dates back to 1882 and remarkably after 73 test series is almost square, with England on 32 wins, 34 loses and 7 draws.

Fitting therefore that the 2025-26 test series should be one of the most even, on paper at least, for a long time.  Then again they said that last time in 2017-18 and 2021-22 and Australia battered England 4-0 down under both times.  The final result will depend on which England and Australia teams we see.  Will it be the world beaters of test cricket of late or the teams of old that regularly witness top order collapses?

Whatever the answer this is sure to be an exciting series, one we very much doubt will produce a whitewash for either side.  As always we have filtered the best betting promotions for the event to help you get the best value, either outright or in play.  Further down you can also find details on scheduling, stats and history.

The Ashes Betting Offers for 2025

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Format and Schedule

To begin with there was not set limit on the length of an Ashes series, which in history has varied from one test up to six.  From 1998 onwards however the series has always been five tests.

In very basic terms tests are played over a period of up to five days each, with each team having up to two batting innings along with up to two attempts to bowl the other team out.

Each batting innings comprises of 10 wickets, once the other team has taken ten wickets (through bowling or otherwise) the innings is over and the other team bats.  Teams can also declare and end their innings at any time even if they have wickets remaining.

The team that cumulatively has the highest score after 20 wickets over two innings in declared the winner of that test.  Should no result be reached in five days (through rain delays or otherwise) the test is considered a draw.

The final series winner is the team that wins the most of the five test matches.  The Ashes can also be drawn, but for this to happen at least one test must be a draw.

Ashes series in England happen in a single year during the summer months of July and August (usually).  As Australia is in the southern hemisphere their summer occurs in December and January, which is why Ashes series are played over two years when Australia host.

2023 Ashes Test Match Schedule

Ashes Venues

Ashes Statistics

All Time Ashes Records

You will notice form the table above how many more test matches have historically been drawn when played in England compared Australia.

This is largely due to the reduced chances of weather affecting play in the Australian summer and something that you should consider when betting.

Previous Series Results (Since 1998)

# Whitewash

The table above displays Ashes test series results since 1998 when the tournament was standardised at 5 tests.

No team has been particularity dominant over the last 20 years, with both winning a fairly equal 5 or 7 series each.

Other Statistics and Trivia

Since 1883, Data current up 2022.

History of The Ashes

The first test between England and Australia was played in 1877 and this, along with the following 8 tests, had nothing to do with the Ashes.

In 1882 Australia played England in a single test at the Oval.  England who were in a commanding position went on to collapse in the second innings, gifting victory to Australia in front of an astonished Oval crowd.  How could England be beaten in their own country by an Imperial colony many thought?

The ensuing reaction in the press suggested English cricket had died on that day and an accompanying obituary stated the ‘The body will be cremated and the ashes taken to Australia‘.

Later that year on a tour of Australia (1882-83) the England captain, Ivo Bligh, promised he would ‘recover those ashes’ for England.  The magazine Punch stated Ivo would ‘come back with the urn’ and in humour Lady Clarke found a small urn, burnt a bail, put the ashes inside and presented those to Ivo.

The true origin of the ashes is however shrouded in mystery with several competing stories, another states that the ashes were presented to England by a group of Melbourne ladies following a defeat in 1883.

Either way the name came and went in popularity.  It was revived for the 1903 test when the then Australia captain, Pelham Warner, vowed to regain ‘the ashes’.  The media again latched onto the name and from then on it became the unofficial name for England v Australia test match series.

It was only upon the death of Ivo Bligh (now Lord Darnley) in 1927 that the urn became public knowledge.  The terracotta urn, believed to be a perfume jar originally, was presented to the Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC).  It is now on permanent display in their museum.

Due to the frailty of the ashes, the urn has only actually visited Australia twice.  The urn held aloft by the Ashes victors is always a replica.

Whether the Ashes on display in the MCC museum are ‘real’, and whether the story of their origin is true, is largely unknown.  What does matter is the symbolic nature of the ashes and the added importance and history they give to the test series between England and Australia.

Ashes 2023: England Fight Back To Earn A Draw

Prior to the 2023 Ashes series there was much excitement about England’s chances on home soil thanks to their new positive ‘Bazball’ playing style since Brendon McCullum (Baz) took over as coach with Ben Stokes as captain.

In the first two tests England came out to knock Australia around the ground but the approach turned out to be naïve with Australia, on the back of winning the World Test Championship against India a week before, keeping calm heads to beat England at Edgbaston and Lord’s.

In the first test England declared in the first innings on 393-8, that proved to be a big mistake as the Aussies made 386 then bowled England out for 273 before making their total to win by two wickets.

The second test was mired in controversy thanks to the stumping of Jonny Bairstow.  Jonny thought the ball was dead and walked out of his crease only for Alex Carey to throw the ball at the wickets.  That move fired up the crowd and led to almost continuous booing of the Australia team.  The dismissal spurred England on but despite Stokes putting on 155 in the second innings it wasn’t enough to win as Australia won by 43 runs in the end.

England moved into a new gear for the third test and dominated Australia at Headingly winning by 3 wickets.  In the fourth test at Old Trafford it seemed like England would win another test easily having put on 592 in the first innings.  Unfortunately the wet weather meant the test ended in a draw with Australia 214-5 in the second innings, still 61 runs behind England’s first innings total.

From this point England could only draw or lose and the fifth test kept both possibilities open until the very end.  In another rain disrupted test England went on to win by 49 runs at the end of the fifth day to earn a 2-2 draw in the series.  Stuart Broad took the last two wickets to earn the win, which was a perfect end for the fast bowler who retired as the pace bowler with the second highest number of test wickets ever for England (604) just behind Jimmy Anderson.  The last ball Broad faced as a batsmen he hit for six too.

The 2023 series also saw the record for the most wickets in an Ashes series broken, 146 wickets were taken in total across the 5 tests.  Australia kept the ashes as the last team to win it.

Ashes 2021-22: England Come Up Short Down Under Again

The 4-0 defeat with 1 draw, a mirror of the 2017-18 Ashes, was not exactly a surprise looking at the recent history of the English cricket team when playing down under, but it was more a surprise quite how poor England were.

The writing was on the wall in many ways when Mitchell Starc bowled Rory Burns for a golden duck with the first ball of the series.  From there England never really got going as Australia dominated England in all but the fourth test in Sydney where England carved out a dramatic draw with one wicket to spare, but still were never in with a chance of winning the test.

Going into the series England were not necessarily expecting to win but were hoping to give the Aussie’s more of a challenge than they did four years earlier.  With Stokes returning to the team and bowling experience from Broad and Anderson, Joe Root, a now experienced Ashes captain, would have hoped to chalk up at least one win.

Bowling was not too bad for England but the batsmen gave them no real chance with consistent first order collapses that left low totals for the Australian’s to hit.  The Aussie’s batted much better than England and bowled better too, with Pat Cummins taking the most wickets across the series with 21.  Travis Head put up a fantastic 357 runs in the series with the only English batsmen worth mentioning being Joe Root who managed 322 runs.

It would be nice to think that by the time the next Ashes rolls around in Australia in 2025-26 that England may finally be able to put up a proper fight.  That is certainly hope over experience though.

Ashes 2019: Draw For The First Time in 46 Years

Despite England winning the ODI Cricket World Cup in 2019 they were by no means the favourites heading into the 2019 tournament on home soil.  England have many big hitters perfect for the one day game but few that can defend well and build an innings and this showed itself clearly in the 2019 series.

Australia won the first test on one of England’s favourite grounds, Edgbaston, to set the tone of the series, marked by an England second innings collapse for 146.  Rory Burns being the only batsman to show resilience with a 133 in the first innings, although this was still surmounted by Steve Smith for the Aussies with 144 in the 1st and 142 in the second innings.

Weather came to the rescue of England in the second test at Lords, the hosts had no chance of winning but survived the 5th day to claim a draw.

There was little hope in the third test on the back of the first two and this was impounded when England scored a measly 67 all out in the 1st innings at Headingly.  Following a decent bowling display by England, however, they found themselves in an unlikely position to win as hero Ben Stokes batted the innings of his life (the second in a year after his world cup heroics) with 135 no out to beat the Aussies in a stand with Jack Leach for the last wicket.

England went into the fourth test at Old Trafford on a high, with hopes of winning the series, but this was soon quashed as Steve Smith batted an incredible 211 in the first and 82 in the second innings to win by 185 runs; Rory Burns showing some resistance with a nice 81.

The Aussies went into the last test as favourites again but it seemed England finally got to grips with how to play test cricket again, controlling Steve Smith for the first time in the series, winning by 135 runs at the Oval.  Australia held on to the urn but the draw was a significant result for England considering their position after the first two tests.

Steve Smith and David Warner came into the tournament as villains following the ‘sandpaper scandal’ that saw them banned.  Booed throughout the effect on Warner was clear, bowled out countless times by Broad he barely got to double figures.  Smith on the other hand was outstanding, producing 774 runs at an incredible average of 110.57.  He was so good that the boos turned to applause as he received a standing ovation as he left the crease in the final innings at the Oval.

Ashes 2017/18: Aussie’s Nearly Whitewash England

Despite early talk of the 2017/18 Ashes series in Australia being evenly matched it didn’t really turn out that way.  England had a decent start to 2017 although in reality they were only beating mediocre teams, when faced with the challenge of beating Australia at home this proved far beyond the current team.

Although issues such as Ben Stokes not being able to play due to an ongoing police investigation and Moeen Ali’s persistent injuries didn’t help England’s cause it is unlikely it would have made a difference had both players been fully available.  No one England player played exceptionally badly but then no player stepped up to wicket with a commanding performance.

Only during the 4th test did England demonstrate any resilience, with a draw in Melbourne that perhaps would have won if not for the rain.

Joe Root maintained a good command despite the resounding defeat and without his leadership the story could have been even worse.  Root will likely still be captain in 2019 and will be looking to avenge his first major failure as captain.  Trevor Bayliss will also remain in place, retiring after the 2019 Ashes series.

The 18 months between the series will be critical for England who need to first and foremost sort out their top batting order.  This may mean Cook taking a back step and a new breed of players coming in.  The bowling line up will also be looked at with many now realising Anderson and Broad cannot be relied on forever.

Who will win the 2019 series in anybody’s guess, but it looks like England will have to make the majority of improvement to compete with the likes of Smith, Marsh and Starc on home soil.