Cricket Australia and the England and Wales Cricket Board are working towards a reciprocal agreement aimed at improving preparation for future Ashes series, after renewed scrutiny of England’s limited warm-up ahead of this summer’s contest.
England arrived in Australia having played just one warm-up fixture before the opening Test in Perth — a match against England Lions at Lilac Hill, a club venue known for slow, low surfaces. CA had offered England the chance to play stronger Australian opposition, likely Australia A, in Adelaide or Melbourne, but England instead opted to travel directly to Western Australia.
ESPNcricinfo understands the ECB had earlier requested to use the WACA as their Perth training base, following India’s successful blueprint from the 2024-25 tour. That request was declined due to scheduling clashes with the WBBL and Sheffield Shield. While one official suggested India’s dominant win in Perth last year ensured there was “no chance” England would be granted access, CA has denied any deliberate restriction, pointing out that the Barmy Army staged a charity match at the venue immediately before the Test.
England also declined the opportunity to play a two-day, pink-ball match against the Prime Minister’s XI in Canberra before the day-night Test in Brisbane, preferring additional training time at the Gabba. In hindsight, head coach Brendon McCullum later acknowledged England may have “over-prepared” ahead of their eight-wicket defeat.
The ECB had initially hoped their October ODI series in New Zealand would provide meaningful match practice. Instead, England were sent in to bat in bowler-friendly conditions in all three matches, with only Harry Brook — the lone Ashes squad member — passing 30 across the series.
Preparation planning has been further complicated by turnover at the ECB, where responsibility for tour logistics sits with the director of cricket operations. Since John Carr’s retirement in 2023, the role has changed hands multiple times before Rob Hillman’s appointment in July.
ECB chief executive Richard Gould was in Australia for the first two Ashes Tests and held discussions with CA counterpart Todd Greenberg about formalising future cooperation ahead of the 2027 Ashes in England.
“We’ve been talking, not about what’s gone before, but what we do next,” Greenberg said on the opening day of the third Test in Adelaide. “He’ll share his prep ideas for ’27, we’ll share ours, and vice versa. It’s just a mature conversation about helping each other.”
Greenberg, who assumed his role after England’s preparations were already locked in, said collaboration was the logical way forward.
“We want the series to be competitive, hard-fought, and fair,” he said. “The schedules are tight and demanding. Helping each other prepare makes perfect sense.”
Australia’s own planning for the 2027 tour could be affected by World Test Championship commitments, as was the case in 2023. However, Australia A are already scheduled to tour England that summer, providing a potential pathway for structured preparation.
Greenberg said he remained open to the idea of English players featuring in the Sheffield Shield to acclimatise to Australian conditions, though practical obstacles — including limited teams, lack of an overseas recruitment culture, and lucrative T20 opportunities — make such a move unlikely.
McCullum, meanwhile, downplayed the notion of a perfect preparation formula. “If there was a magic number of balls to hit or overs to bowl that guaranteed success, everyone would be doing it,” he said. “That’s just not how cricket works.”
Looking ahead, England may face similar preparation challenges at home. A tight three-day gap between the Hundred final and the first Test against Pakistan next summer has raised concerns that players will again be undercooked. While the ECB effectively cedes control of its top players during the Hundred, plans are in place to use the national performance centre at Loughborough as a red-ball training hub — particularly for fast bowlers — during the 2026 edition of the tournament.
As both boards look to future Ashes cycles, the focus is shifting from past grievances to practical cooperation — with the aim of ensuring the world’s biggest Test rivalry is decided by skill, not scheduling.
