The 67th Ashes Test series between Australia and England will commence tomorrow (November 21, 2025). The fiercest Test rivalry is set to begin at Perth for the first time in Ashes history.
Since 1982/23, Australia has dominated 34 Test series victories over England’s 32. The hosts have not lost a single men’s Ashes Test in their past 15 encounters. England had last tasted victoy on Australian soil in 2010/11. Injuries in Australian squad might lead to a slight advantage to the visitors.
When the three lions travelled to Australia last time in 2021/22, they experienced the 7th whitewash (4-0) in Australia. In contrast, when they hosted the Aussies, the series was drawn 2-2 due to rain in Manchester.
Speaking about their recent performances, Australia were unbeaten in their previous five Test series, whereas England has lost two and won two with a draw. England aims to better the record and bounce back in one of the most thrilling Test series in cricket. Captain Ben Stokes and lead pacer Jofra Archer are back in the action after recovering from a shoulder injury and thumb injury, respectively.
England Squad – Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Ollie Pope, Joe Root, Jamie Smith (wk), Ben Stokes (C), Harry Brook, Mark Wood, Bryndon Carse, Shoaib Bashir, Gus Atkinson, and Jofra Archer.
On the other hand, the Australian squad looks a bit frail, as the skipper Pat Cummins and Josh Hazlewood will miss the first Test at Perth due to injury concerns. Steve Smith will be the stand-in captain for this contest. Meanwhile, Jack Weatherald and Brendon Doggett will make their Test debut in the most auspicious occasion.
Australia Playing XI – 1 Jake Weatherald, 2 Usman Khawaja, 3 Marnus Labuschagne, 4 Steven Smith (capt), 5 Travis Head, 6 Cameron Green, 7 Alex Carey (wk), 8 Mitchell Starc, 9 Nathan Lyon, 10 Scott Boland, 11 Brendan Doggett.
Captains Words
According to Espncricinfo, Australia’s stand-in captain Steve Smith and Ben Stokes shares their aim for the first Ashes clash of 2025 at Perth.
Ben Stokes