Ashes 2021-22 Dates announced

England men's Ashes tour of Australia will begin on 8 December in Brisbane and, for the first time since 1994-95, the final Test will be held in Perth.

The second Test will be a day-nighter in Adelaide (16-20 December) before the traditional Melbourne Boxing Day Test (26-30 December). Sydney will host the fourth Test (5-9 January), before a potential decider at Perth's Optus Stadium (14-18 January). The multi-format Women's Ashes begins on 27 January in Canberra. Heather Knight's side, who will be looking to win the point-based series for the first time since 2013-14, will begin with a four-day Test before three Twenty20 internationals and three one-day internationals across Sydney, Adelaide and Melbourne.  After the women's series, England will depart for New Zealand for the ICC Women's World Cup, before the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham in the summer of 2022. England men will prepare for the series by playing two Tests against New Zealand from 2 June, before five against India in August and September. They need to win the series to regain the Ashes after a 2-2 draw in England in 2019 saw Australia retain the urn in lieu of their 4-0 series win two years previous. Australia last played international red-ball cricket when they were beaten 2-1 by India in January and will play a maiden Test against Afghanistan in November prior to facing England. The match against Afghanistan was called off last year because of the COVID-19 pandemic but will start on 27 November in Hobart.

The Ashes follows the men's ICC T20 World Cup in India, with the final due to be held on 13 November. It is just the fifth time post-Second World War the series has started in December, with only 1965-66 starting later on 10 December, meaning it will be the latest finish to an Ashes series since 1994-95, which finished in February. England have only won one Test in Perth since the war - by 166 runs on the 1978-79 tour - and have lost nine and drawn three. Speaking on Tuesday, England men's head coach Chris Silverwood said: “We want to travel to Australia fitter, faster, leaner and more ready than ever before. “We want to get off that plane and be full of confidence from the summer and that will take us through.” Both series could take place without any England fans, with the Australian government saying they intend to keep overseas travel at low levels until at least halfway through 2022. Nick Hockley, Cricket Australia's interim CEO, said: “In a perfect world, we would welcome England fans back to these shores for a summer of singing and sportsmanship. Of course, we will be guided by the Australian Government on all things related to international travel. “Our current thinking is there are likely to be international travel restrictions in place up until the end of the year.”