The Ashes Series 2023 – England and Australia Renew an Old Rivalry

This summer, England and Australia will renew their semi-friendly rivalry on the cricket field as they contest the 2023 Ashes.

In this article, we will take a look at the famous series, its history and more, before we switch attention to the forthcoming series, which this year takes place in England.

We will then bring you some of the details about the tour and teams, before giving you our tips, courtesy of bet365 Sport.

So let’s begin now with a brief look at the history of this most famous of cricket series.

Ashes History

Let’s now turn our attention to the history of this famous cricket series and how it came into being, starting with some key information about the series.

• Competing Teams – England & Australia
• Administrator – The International Cricket Council (ICC)
• Format – Test Match Cricket, 5-match series
• First Test Series – 1882-1883 in Australia
• Current Holders – Australia

Named from a mock obituary which stated that Australia had killed English cricket by beating the home nation in England in 1883 and that the “body will be cremated and the ashes taken to Australia,” The Ashes is arguably the most prestigious test series in cricket.

From the controversial Bodyline series in the 1930s, to Ian Botham and Bob Willis’ heroics at Headingley in 1981, Australia’s dominance from the 1990s to the 2000s to Ben Stokes stunning 135 not out in the third test in 2019, the series has given us plenty of sporting drama over the years.

Australia hold a slight advantage over England in series wins 34 to 32, and they are the current holders after another dominant display Down Under in 2020/21

How Did The Last Ashes Series Turn Out?

Once again, England fell to a heavy defeat in Australia, losing the Ashes series 4-0.

After losing the first two tests, the low point of the series was England being dismissed for 68 with Australia winning the third test and Ashes series by an innings and 14 runs.

Scott Boland set an incredible record of 6 wickets for 7 runs in just four overs in that incredible second innings collapse by the visitors.

England did draw the fourth test, but lost the fifth by 146 runs to end another Ashes series in Australia without a win and on the back of a heavy defeat.

It meant that after a drawn series in England in 2019 and another 4-0 win in Australia in 2017/18, Australia retained the Ashes for the third series in a row.

How Do The Two Teams Compare?

Ashes Test Matches Head-to-Head

The figures below represent every Test Match contested in Ashes history.

• Test Matches Played – 356
• Australia Wins – 150
• England Wins – 110
• Draws – 96

As you can see, Australia have won 40 more tests than England in the history of the Ashes, with their total bolstered by a number of heavy defeats of England in Australia over the years.

However, when you compare winners of the Ashes series head to head, then things are a lot closer.

Ashes Series Head To Head

• Ashes Series Played – 72
• Australia Wins – 34
• England Wins – 32
• Draws – 6

ICC Test Match World Rankings

• 2. Australia – Played 23, 2,679 points, 116 Rating
• 3. England – Played 32, 4,103 points, 114 Rating

Currently India top the ICC World Test Match rankings with 3,031 points from 25 matches giving the Indian side a rating of 121.

England are 10 points clear of South Africa in fourth who have a rating of 104.

ICC Men’s Test Player Rankings

Let’s now take a closer look at the players from both teams competing in the Ashes that are inside the ICC Top Ten rankings for their position in the team (Batting, Bowling and All-Rounder)

Batting Rankings

• Marnush Labuschagne (Aus) – 915 (1^st)
• Steve Smith (Aus) – 872 (3^rd) – (2^nd All Time)
• Joe Root (Eng) – 871 (4^th)
• Travis Head (Aus) – 853 (6^th)
• Usman Khawaja (Aus) – 815 (7^th)

It would seem that Australia have a big advantage in terms of batting with four players inside the current ICC Batting Top 10 rankings, while Steve Smith is second on the All-Time ranking list for batsmen behind only the legendary Don Bradman.

Bowling Rankings

• James Anderson (Eng) – 859 (2^nd)
• Pat Cummins (Aus) – 841 (3^rd) – (5^th – All Time)
• Ollie Robinson (Eng) – 785 (6^th)
• Nathan Lyon (Aus) – 757 (8^th)

Both teams have two bowlers inside the world’s top 10 at present with Jimmy Anderson ranked second and Ollie Robinson 6^th for England, while Pat Cummins is ranked 3^rd and Nathan Lyon 9^th for the Aussies.

Cummins is also ranked 5^th in the All-Time list for bowlers.

All Rounder Rankings

• Ben Stokes (Eng) – 307 (5^th)
• Mitchell Starc (Aus) – 245 (8^th)
• Joe Root (Eng) – 234 (9^th)
• Pat Cummins (Aus) – 219 (10^th)

The decline in usage of the all-rounder is shown here with the bottom three players in this list all being specialist bowlers or batsmen who can also bowl or bat a little.

Ben Stokes is the only true all-rounder here and he is ranked 5^th in the world at present.

*the data in this section is correct as of 5^th June 2023.

The Ashes 2023 Schedule

• First Test – 16^th to 20^th June – Edgbaston, Birmingham
• Second Test – 28^th June to 2^nd July – Lord’s, London
• Third Test – 6^th – 10^th July – Headingley Carnegie, Leeds
• Fourth Test – 19^th to 23^rd July – Old Trafford Cricket Ground, Manchester
• Fifth Test – 27^th to 31^st July – The Oval, London

The Teams

England Squad

England had named their 16-player squad for the opening two test matches of the 2023 Ashes Series, bit now face a decision after Jack Leach, their only spin bowler, was ruled out of the Ashes with a lower back stress fracture. His replacement will be named in due course.

• (wk) denotes that the player can play as a wicketkeeper.
• (s) denotes the player is a spin bowler, rather than a fast or medium pace bowler.
• (C) denotes that the player is the captain of the team for the tour.

Batsmen – Jonny Bairstow (wk), Harry Brook, Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Dan Lawrence, Ollie Pope

All-Rounders – Ben Stokes (C), Ollie Robinson

Bowlers – James Anderson, Stuart Broad, Jack Leach (s) – out through injury, Chris Woakes, Mark Wood, Josh Tongue, Matthew Potts

• N.B. A replacement for Jack Leach is due to be named in the next few days.

Australia Squad

Australia have named an 18-man touring party for the test series in England this summer as they seek to defend the trophy that they won when the teams last met at the end of 2021/start of 2022.

• (wk) denotes that the player can play as a wicketkeeper.
• (s) denotes the player is a spin bowler, rather than a fast or medium pace bowler.
• (C) denotes that the player is the captain of the team for the tour.

Batsmen – David Warner, Marcus Harris, Marnus Labuschagne, Matt Renshaw, Steve Smith, Travis Head, Usman Khawaja, Alex Carey (wk), Jimmy Peirson, Josh Inglis (wk)

All-Rounders – Cameron Green, Mitchell Marsh

Bowlers – Josh Hazlewood, Mitchell Starc, Nathan Lyon (s), Pat Cummins (C), Scott Boland, Todd Murphy (s)

The Ashes 2023 – Betting Tips

• To Win The First Test – Australia – 11/8
• To Win The Ashes – Australia – 11/10
• Series Correct Score – Australia – 3-2 – 13/2
• Series Top Run Scorer – Marnus Labuschange (Aus) – 5/1

The Ashes FAQs