Ashes 2023: where will England vs Australia Test cricket series take place? Profile of Lord’s and Oval venues

It is no only three days to go until the Ashes 2023 series kicks off. Home fans have been forced to wait four long years for the next home series. The last time the two sides faced each other came in the 2021/22 Ashes series where Australia dominated the battle, winning 4-0.

Australia have also just won the 2023 ICC Test Championship following a triumphant display over India, which saw two Australian centuries and a win by over 200 runs.

However, this will be the first time since the introduction of ‘Bazball’ that Australia have faced England and home fans will be hopeful that this new style of play will see the hosts win back the precious urn for the first time since 2015.

As the sides prepare for their first Test in Birmingham this weekend, here is all you need to know about the five venues for the Test series...

First Test: Edgbaston

The first Ashes Test will be hosted in Birmingham at Warwickshire’s home cricket ground, Edgbaston. It has historically always opened up an England Ashes summer and first staged a Test in 1902 when Australia were bowled out for 36.

Edgbaston have hosted 15 Ashes Test matches while England have played at the stadium in 54 Test matches overall. England have won six of the 15 Ashes matches while Australia have four wins, including in the most recent series. The Lions have lost just ten of their 54 Test matches in Edgbaston overall.

Pitches are known to hold up well in Birmingham, meaning it is unlikely that batting should get harder as the Test progresses. Taller and faster bowlers are usually preferred to have the best chance of extracting awkward bounces, favouring the Australian line-up but England’s James Anderson and Stuart Broad have taken 51 and 43 Test wickets on this ground respectively.

Alistair Cook has scored the most Test runs on this ground but Steve Smith accomplished two centuries in the 2019 Ashes match.

Second Test: Lord’s Cricket Ground

The second Test, which takes place from Wednesday 27 June - Sunday 2 July will be hosted by the home of cricket, Lord’s in London.

England recently beat Ireland by ten wickets at Lord’s Cricket Ground whilst Australia will last have played on the ground in the 2019 series which ended in a draw. This was also the location of the fiery exchange between Jofra Archer and Steve Smith which ended with the Australian suffering a concussion.

England have played nearly 150 matches at Lord’s and have won 57 of their 142 matches played on the ground. They have lost 34 and drawn the remaining 51.

Of the 39 matches Australia have played on the ground, they have won 17 and lost seven. Their last win at Lord’s came in 2015 where they beat their hosts by 405 runs.

Third Test: Headingley Carnegie

The third Test series will be held at Headingley in Leeds from 6 July - 10 July. This ground has now become synonymous with Ben Stokes’ heroics in 2019 when he and Jack Leach put on a match-winning final wicket stand to beat the Australians by one run.

Stokes scored an unbeaten 135 while Leach achieved arguably the most famous one not out in all cricket to keep England’s Ashes hopes alive.

The last Test played on the ground was England’s seven wicket win over New Zealand in June 2022 and saw Jonny Bairstow score 162 and Jamie Overton score 97 on debut.

Of the 26 matches England and Australia have played at Headingley, England have won nine and drawn eight. This is a pitch not always used in the Ashes series with organisers sometimes favouring to play at Trent Bridge over Headingley.

Fourth Test: Old Trafford

The penultimate fixture in the Ashes series will take place in Manchester at Lancashire’s Old Trafford stadium. Since 1884, England have played 82 of their Test matches at this ground and have won 32 of them, drawn 35 and lost 15.

England have won their last four matches when playing at Old Trafford, with their latest triumph in Manchester coming against South Africa in August 2022 when they beat their visitors by an innings and 85 runs. However, their last loss at Old Trafford came against the Australians in 2019 when the Ashes victors won by 185 runs.

While Dennis Compton is first on the list for all-time highest scorers on the ground, second is current batter Joe Root who has 790 runs to his name in Manchester. He has a high score of 254 on the ground and an overall average of 60.76.

Broad and Anderson are also second and third on the bowling records for most wickets with 44 and 37 to their name in Manchester respectively. Lancashire bowler Anderson also has his own end named after him.

Fifth Test: Kia Oval

The final Test match will once again be hosted by the Kia Oval. This ground in South London has historically always hosted the final match and is home to the Surrey County Cricket Club.

Australia have just played their ICC Test Championship match on this ground, with two batters - Travis Head and Steve Smith - scoring centuries.

England last played on this ground when they beat South Africa by nine wickets in September 2022 and their last match against Australia took place in September 2019 and saw England win by 135 runs. By this stage, Australia had already retained the Ashes.

Joe Root is once again the highest scoring batter on the ground out of the active-cricketers with 672 runs to his name so far in the Vauxhall ground while Anderson has the second most wickets of all-time on the ground, taking 49.