The announcement of host venues for the 2027 Ashes series, in which there will be no Tests North of Trent Bridge, has been met with widespread condemnation.
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The ongoing match at Old Trafford is set to be the last hosted by a Northern Test match venue for eight years. Southampton, Lord’s, Edgbaston, Trent Bridge and The Kia Oval will be the host venues in 2027, while Old Trafford and Headingley will host Test matches in the 2031 Ashes series.
The Mayors of Greater Manchester and West Yorkshire are the most recent figures to speak out on the fixture distribution. In a joint letter to ECB chair Richard Thompson, Andy Burnham and Tracy Brabin expressed their disappointment.
“Headingley and Old Trafford are two of England’s most iconic cricket grounds, and home to historic Ashes moments from Ian Botham’s heroics in 1981 to Ben Stokes’ ‘Miracle of Headingley’ in 2019,” read the letter. “Very few grounds attract support as passionate or indeed as diverse as Headingley and Old Trafford – as a number of England players themselves have acknowledged in recent days.
“We urge you to think again and ensure people in the north of England get the opportunity to witness more iconic Ashes moments in 2027.”
Ben Stokes was among the players to speak out on the decision. On the eve of the fourth Ashes Test match, at Old Trafford, he said: “I think we perform well in the northern grounds, especially at Headingley. I’m a bit devastated that there won’t be any Ashes cricket here in 2027 in the North. It’s a shame.
“You know the crowds we get in the North, and I say the North quite bluntly there, is very good. We get a lot of support…I don’t make those calls but, if I was involved, I would have said please keep at least one game in the North.”
Mark Wood, Stokes’s Durham teammate, also expressed disappointment while speaking on talkSPORT: “As a lad from the North, obviously I love playing in the North. Headingley has had some [amazing] games: obviously in the last series with Ben Stokes and this one was another great game. Old Trafford’s an iconic place to play. Durham as well… to see Test-match cricket up in the North at Durham is always special.
“I understand some of the reasons why but [I am] surprised there isn’t at least one game up here, because I think we get great support and I think they’re iconic places to play. [I’m] a little bit disappointed, just being from the North, that there isn’t one up here where you feel like you’ve got that extra backing and you can relate with people up here.”
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Durham has hosted one Ashes Test match, a memorable game in 2013. Stuart Broad took six wickets in Australia’s second innings in one of his iconic ‘spells’ as England won the Ashes outright. The ground was barred from hosting Test matches as part of the conditions to receive their financial rescue package from the ECB in 2016.
England have won three of their last four Ashes Tests at Headingley, including the last two. However, the ground has previously had an Ashes hiatus of ten years between 2009 and 2019, going two home series without a Test.
Old Trafford has been a less happy hunting ground for England in Ashes cricket of late. They have not won a Test against Australia there since 1981, although they are well on top in the current fixture. All of England’s defeats to Australia at the ground in that time have been heavy, their lowest in terms of runs by 179, as well as a nine-wicket drubbing.
Overall, in venues north of Trent Bridge (excluding Bramall Lane), England have played 169 Test matches, winning 75 and losing 40. In the last ten years, that ratio is even more pronounced. England have won 17 out of their 24 Tests across the three grounds in that time, and have lost only four. That’s a win/loss ratio of 4.25. Across all other grounds in England and Wales over the last five years, the ratio drops to 1.894.
Taking the two London Test venues alone, both of which are fixed Ashes host grounds, England have lost 13 of their 38 Tests there over the last ten years, with a win ratio of 1.461.
While they will not host Ashes Tests, Headingley and Old Trafford will host Test matches and white-ball games against India in the next few years, while Chester-le-Street will host a T20I against India. A statement from Lancashire Cricket today indicated they were happy with the allocation of matches between 2025 and 2031.
“The announced package provides the Club with seven years of certainty for international match scheduling which will see 40 days of international cricket played at the venue,” read the statement from Lancashire Cricket chair, Andy Anson.
“The package is the result of in-depth discussions between the counties and the ECB and has been a thorough and fair process. We are grateful to the ECB and our fellow counties for the level of cooperation and communication in arriving at this schedule.”
However, what works for the club and what works for fans based in the North with few options for Ashes cricket over the next eight years are two different issues.
