Australia beat England 4-1 in the 2025-26 Ashes, with Mitchell Starc taking 31 wickets across the series to claim the Compton-Miller Medal as player of the series. Results like that sting for English fans, but they rarely dent the appetite for the next installment. The Ashes remains the single biggest draw in cricket, and it says a lot about why the sport still holds such a firm grip on the British summer.
Why The Ashes Still Defines The Cricket Calendar
No other cricket rivalry carries the same weight in Britain. Test series against India, South Africa, or New Zealand can produce brilliant cricket, but none of them generate the same wall to wall newspaper coverage, pub conversation, and workplace debate that an Ashes series does. Part of that comes down to history. Part of it comes down to the fact that losing to Australia still stings differently than losing to anyone else.
A Rivalry Built Over 140 Years
The Ashes traces back to 1882, when Australia beat England on English soil for the first time. A mock obituary in a British newspaper joked that English cricket had died, and the ashes would be sent to Australia. The phrase stuck, and a small urn, still the symbol of the rivalry today, was presented to the England captain during the following tour of Australia.
More than 140 years later, that same rivalry structure still holds. The two nations meet in a five-match Test series roughly every two years, alternating between hosting duties, and the urn itself remains the prize, regardless of which country is actually holding the physical trophy at any given time.
The 2025-26 Ashes: Australia’s Dominant Series Win
The most recent series, played in Australia between November 2025 and January 2026, ended in a comprehensive 4-1 win for the home side. Australia won the first, second, third, and fifth Tests, with England’s only victory coming in the fourth Test at Melbourne. Travis Head was the standout batter for Australia with 629 runs, while Joe Root led England’s batting with 400 runs across the series.
Mitchell Starc’s bowling was the story of the series from an Australian perspective, finishing with 31 wickets and taking home the Compton-Miller Medal. For England, the series prompted familiar questions about squad depth and preparation heading into an away Ashes tour, questions that tend to resurface whenever the team returns from Australia without the urn.
Beyond The Ashes: What Else Fills The British Summer
The Ashes is the headline act, but it is far from the only thing keeping cricket relevant across a British summer that also has to compete with football, tennis, and a packed sporting calendar generally.
The County Championship
England’s domestic first-class competition, the County Championship, has been running in various forms since 1890. It rarely draws the crowds or headlines of international cricket, but it remains the development ground for almost every player who eventually plays Test cricket for England. Long time cricket fans often describe it as the backbone of the sport in this country, quietly producing the talent that shows up in bigger occasions like the Ashes.
The Hundred
Launched in 2021, The Hundred was designed to pull in a different kind of audience entirely. Built around a shorter, simplified format of 100 balls per innings, it leans heavily on evening matches, franchise branding, and a family friendly atmosphere aimed at fans who might never watch a five-day Test. It has become a genuine summer fixture in its own right, running alongside the international calendar rather than competing directly with it.
- Test cricket, including the Ashes, remains the format most closely tied to tradition and prestige.
- The County Championship supplies the player pipeline that keeps Test cricket competitive.
- The Hundred targets a broader, more casual audience with a shorter, faster version of the game.
Why Cricket Still Captures British Attention In A Crowded Sporting Calendar
Cricket occupies a strange but durable place in British sporting culture. It is slow by modern entertainment standards, a single Test can run for five full days and still end in a draw, yet it still manages to dominate back pages during an Ashes summer in a way few other sports can match outside of football.
Part of the appeal is rhythm. A cricket summer unfolds gradually, match by match, session by session, in a way that rewards patience rather than instant gratification. That is a hard sell in an era of short attention spans, but it is also exactly why the sport still has such a loyal following. It rewards people willing to actually watch, in a media landscape increasingly built around highlights and headlines instead.
What To Watch For When The Ashes Return To England
England last hosted the Ashes in 2023, a series that finished 2-2 after a rain affected Test at Old Trafford denied England the chance to complete a series win, meaning Australia retained the urn as the incoming holders. The next Ashes series on English soil is scheduled for 2027, and after the heavy defeat in Australia this winter, expect England’s build-up to that series to be scrutinized more closely than usual.
Home Ashes series tend to draw the biggest crowds and the highest television figures of any cricket played in Britain, and 2027 will likely be no different, especially with England looking to avenge a 4-1 defeat on Australian soil.
Frequently Asked Questions About The Ashes And British Cricket
Who won the 2025-26 Ashes series?
Australia won the 2025-26 Ashes series 4-1, with Mitchell Starc taking 31 wickets to be named player of the series.
Why is it called the Ashes?
The name comes from an 1882 newspaper obituary joking that English cricket had died after a home defeat to Australia, with the ashes symbolically sent to Australia, leading to the creation of the small urn that still represents the rivalry.
When will England next host the Ashes?
England is scheduled to host the next Ashes series in 2027, following the 2023 home series which ended in a 2-2 draw.
What is The Hundred and how is it different from Test cricket?
The Hundred is a shorter, faster cricket format launched in 2021, built around 100 balls per innings, designed to attract a broader and more casual audience than traditional five-day Test cricket.
