The Ashes 2025-26 - Australia vs England Preview & Prediction | 1st Test
Click here for today’s sports betting tips from our expert analysts!
All the talk finally ends as the first Test of the 2025-26 men’s Ashes series between Australia and Ben Stokes’ England gets underway in Perth
Date/time:
Venue: Optus Stadium, Perth, Australia
Weather: A small chance of light rain disrupting the start of play on day three but aside from that, expect plenty of sunny spells across the five days with temperatures peaking on day one at 27c before dropping as the match goes on.
How to watch: UK – TNT Sports / USA – Willow TV / Australia – Fox Sports and Channel 7
Australia vs England prediction
After a long build-up, this hugely anticipated Ashes series begins in the unusual setting of Perth, with the first Test in Australia having been played at the Gabba in Brisbane for many years prior to now. For England captain Ben Stokes and head coach Brendon McCullum, all the hard work they’ve put into this Test team has led up to this series and the ultimate challenge, taking back the Ashes on enemy territory. England haven’t won a single Test match in Australia, let alone a series since Andrew Strauss’ side famously lifted the urn back in 2010-11. The Aussies have since beaten England by a combined score of 13-0 across 15 Tests and three separate Ashes series.
England believe things will be different this time around. Their infamous Bazball style of batting, combined with a built-up stock of fast bowlers that includes the likes of Jofra Archer, Mark Wood and Brydon Carse are ready to make life uncomfortable for an Australian batting line-up led by chief England tormentor Steve Smith. However, long-standing David Warner has retired and the hosts have yet to replace him adequately, a possible chink in their armoury.
The big worry from an Australian standpoint leading up to the first Test is their bowling attack, with two of their power three fast bowlers out through injury. Josh Hazlewood and captain Pat Cummins will not feature and are replaced firstly by Scott Boland, who famously ran through England in the Boxing Day Test at the MCG back in 2021. Also expected to come in is Brendan Doggett, who would be making his Test debut.
Neither batting unit will find things easy in the first Test. England have always looked to Joe Root for their main source of runs, but Root has yet to score a Test match hundred in Australia and the pressure will be on him more than ever before. Meanwhile, Australia are likely to pick another potential debutant in Jake Weatherald to open following a strong start to the domestic season in the Sheffield Shield. But the cauldron of an Ashes series would represent a huge step up for him.
If England are to regain the urn, they need to win this first Test when considering the players unavailable to their opponents. A fast, bouncy pitch is expected but it has been suggested that we may see more swing and movement than a usual Australian surface. This brings Boland into play, a master in those sorts of conditions. His accuracy and the confidence of having previous ripped apart England in a home Ashes series, makes him a real contender for a big performance in Perth. With that in mind, back him to accumulate five wickets or more across the first Test, regardless of which nation wins it.
Australia vs England tip: Scott Boland to take over 4.5 total match wickets
