England will tour to Australia for five-Test Ashes 2025 series, starting November 21.
England have started their planning for the highly anticipated Ashes 2025, starting November 21. They have been closely managing their injured players like captain Ben Stokes, Chris Woakes and Mark Wood. The Three Lions have rested their premium players including Jofra Archer, who returned to Test cricket after four years, Joe Root, Harry Brook, Ben Duckett and Jamie Smith for the upcoming T20 series against Ireland. However, the England head coach Brendon McCullum has hinted at some potential changes in the squad ahead of their next Test assignment against Australia Down Under.
While most of the batting lineup looks sorted, England are planning to make changes in their leadership group. This might result in Ollie Pope facing the heat. Pope, who was appointed as England Test team vice-captain in 2023, could now be replaced by their newly appointed white-ball captain Harry Brook. Pope has captained England in five Tests, with the most recent Test against India when captain Stokes was sidelined with a shoulder injury. He now has three wins and two losses to his name in his brief captaincy stint, including a series win against Sri Lanka last year.
According to ESPNcricinfo‘s report, McCullum confirmed that the vice-captaincy issue will be a part of their pre-Ashes discussion. McCullum is expected to meet managing director Rob Key in London to finalise the squad for the Ashes. The England coach acknowledged that the overall selection should be straightforward, but there will few key decisions to be made.
“We will work on that one as well,” McCullum said on appointing a new vice-captain for the Ashes. “We will chat about that over the coming days, as we finalise our Ashes squad. “You’re always looking at things, right? Every time you get together with a series, you discuss things. I think it’s no secret that Harry Brook is emerging as a leader within English cricket, so that’s something we need to work out. But whatever happens, a great team man understands that just because you haven’t got a title, doesn’t stop you from being a leader.”
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Harry Brook is emerging and improving as a skipper and will be a captaincy prospect in Test as well. His recent success as England’s white-ball captain has added a new dimension to the debate. Brook has succeeded Jos Buttler in T20Is and ODIs and McCullum, who has been recently named head coach of the England’s ODI and T20I team, has been impressed with how he has handled the responsibility.
“I think he’s taken to the role really well, really quickly. Still a work in progress but he’s got a demanding schedule himself and we have to be aware of that as we move forward,” he said. “He’s got a good head on his shoulders, he’s well connected within the group. He keeps things very simple. We’ve got a really good relationship and I think that started well.”
Pope has been batting at number three for England but hasn’t been consistent against tougher oppositions like India and Australia averaging 27.08 and 15.70, respectively. On the other hand, Bethell has had a breakout last 12 months, having made his debut for England across all formats, including Test and ODI hundreds, and an IPL debut. McCullum also hinted that Pope would likely serve as back-up wicketkeeper to Smith.
“We’ll slow ourselves down a bit there,” McCullum on whether if Bethell could break into the XI for the first Ashes Test. “We’ll wait till we get down there before we start making those decisions,” he noted.
England will be under immense pressure to win the Ashes after a decade since their last triumph in 2015 at home. Notably, Three Lions have lost only one Ashes series at home since 1987, a 1-3 outcome in 2010-11.
The five-Test series will begin from November 21, 2025, at the Optus Stadium in Perth and will conclude with the Pink Test, slated at the Sydney Cricket Ground. The second match will be a Day-Night Test at the historic Gabba in Brisbane from December 4 onwards, followed by the Christmas Test at Adelaide Oval, starting from 17-21 December. The fourth Test will be a Boxing Day Test at the iconic Melbourne Cricket Ground.
