The world’s oldest and fiercest rivalry, ashready to ignite again Australia The aggressor defends the urn with confidence England Side. The five-Test series will run from November 21, 2025, to January 8, 2026, with all matches to be hosted in Australia.
The home team will enter the series with a history of dominance in recent years, but are currently suffering from a serious fast bowling injury crisis. England, led by ben stokesAustralia are focused on achieving their first series win after the successful 2010–11 tour. Former England captain michael vaughn have already weighed in with a specific prediction tipping the visitors to win the opening match in Perth. Will take over the captaincy of the Australian team for the opener steve smithThe regular captain was sidelined following an injury.
Injury crisis in both camps and Michael Vaughan’s bold prediction for Ashes 2026-26 and Perth Test
Australia, despite entering the series with a strong historical claim, is facing a significant injury crisis which has already reshaped its lineup for the crucial first Test in Perth. The home team will be without its regular captain pat cummins For the opening batsman, as he has been struggling with injury and has not played competitively since July. The pace attack has been further seriously hampered by hamstring injuries to both sean abbott And Josh HazlewoodDue to which his initial match selection problems increased further. In response to this crisis, Australia has called experienced fast bowler Michael NesserWhose most recent two test matches were in 2022.
The seriousness of the injury situation has prompted former England cricketer Michael Vaughan to post a bold prediction on social media. Vaughan said: ‘As long as B Stokes remains fit, I think this series is going to be 2-2.. without Pat or Josh, England will win in Perth..’ He continued his prediction by saying: “.Unless we suffer any more injuries before the first Test, this is my final prediction, Vaughn posted on X.
Meanwhile, England also started fearing injury. mark wood Recently, he walked off the field after bowling just eight overs during a practice match. Fortunately for the visitors, subsequent scans revealed no serious damage to Wood, and having not played for England since February, he was cleared to bowl in the opening match of the series.
Reigning champion Australia solved main and historical context
Despite injury setbacks in the bowling department, the Australian team remains in a strong position, particularly with their batting lineup and recent history of retaining the urn. The home side will defend the Kalash under the leadership of an established core steve smith And marnus labuschagneBoth are in excellent batting form. With Smith stepping in as interim captain in Cummins’s absence, it provides a foundation of established core, credibility and proven Test match success.
The reigning champions have retained the Ashes urn since reclaiming it from England with an impressive 4-0 win at home in the 2017/18 series. They continued to capture the vase following the subsequent series in England in 2019, which ended in a 2–2 draw.
Their domestic dominance was reaffirmed with another emphatic 4-0 win against England in the 2021/22 series in Australia. Most recently, the 2023 series, held in England, was drawn 2–2 for the second consecutive time, meaning Australia retained the trophy. England, led by Stokes, are well aware of this history and are looking for their first Ashes series win on Australian soil since the successful 2010–11 campaign, needing a decisive win to reclaim the trophy.