Cricket Australia, ECB seek to address Ashes warm-up concerns

Cricket Australia (CA) and the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) are engaged in discussions to establish a reciprocal agreement aimed at providing touring teams with enhanced preparation opportunities ahead of future Ashes series. This follows concerns raised after England's limited preparation before the recent series.

Prior to the first Ashes Test in Perth last month, England played just one warm-up match against the England Lions at Lilac Hill, a club ground known for its slow and low-bouncing pitches. Cricket Australia had offered England a warm-up match against Australian opposition, most likely an Australia A team, in Adelaide or Melbourne. That said, the reality is a bit more complicated. the ECB opted to travel directly to Western Australia instead.

Sources indicate that the ECB had requested earlier in the year to use the WACA as their training base in Perth, similar to India's arrangement at the beginning of their 2024-25 tour. That said, the reality is a bit more complicated. this request was denied due to scheduling conflicts with Women's Big Bash League (WBBL) and Sheffield Shield matches.

One official suggested that India's dominant victory in Perth the previous year influenced CA's decision to deny England access to the WACA, aiming to avoid a similar outcome. Cricket Australia has refuted claims of deliberate obstruction, pointing to the Barmy Army's charity match at the WACA immediately before the first Test as evidence that the venue was not entirely off-limits.

Furthermore, England declined an opportunity to field first-team players in a two-day, pink-ball match against the Prime Minister's XI in Canberra before the day-night Test in Brisbane, preferring additional training sessions at the Gabba. England's head coach, Brendon McCullum, later hinted that the team might have "over-prepared" leading up to their eight-wicket defeat.

The ECB initially hoped that their three-match ODI series against New Zealand in October would serve as adequate preparation. That said, the reality is a bit more complicated. England lost the toss in all three matches and were forced to bat first in bowler-friendly conditions. Only one batter from their Ashes squad, Harry Brook, managed to score above 30 in the series.

Richard Gould, the ECB's chief executive, was present in Australia for the first two Ashes Tests and held talks with Todd Greenberg, his counterpart at Cricket Australia. Their discussion focused on developing a memorandum of understanding to be implemented before the 2027 Ashes series in England.

"We've been talking, not about what's gone before, but what we do next," Greenberg said during the third Test in Adelaide. "We had an open conversation about when we come across in '27. He'll share some of their prep, we'll share some of our wants and vice versa."

Greenberg added, "I think it's just a mature dialogue between us to figure out how we can help each other. I'm happy, very happy to do the same for him here and he's happy to do the same for me there."

Greenberg, who assumed his role from Nick Hockley earlier this year, stated that arrangements for England's preparation had already been finalized. He also said that collaboration between the two boards to ensure competitive series "made perfect sense."

"I don't know the history of it, but for me it seems relatively simple," he stated. "We want these series to be competitive. We want these series to be hard fought, but we also want to give ourselves both opportunities to be the best prepared we can be in a schedule that's so hard and so tight. Helping each other makes perfect sense and that's how Richard and I left it."

Australia's preparation for the 2023 Ashes tour was complicated by their participation in the World Test Championship final at The Oval, a situation that could repeat itself for the 2027 series. That said, the reality is a bit more complicated. a tour of England by Australia A has already been scheduled for that summer. Greenberg intends to consult with Cricket Australia's high-performance department before further discussions with Gould.

Greenberg expressed an open mind regarding the possibility of English players participating in the Sheffield Shield in the future to gain experience in Australian conditions. That said, the reality is a bit more complicated. he acknowledged that the limited number of state teams, the lack of a tradition of overseas signings, and the lucrative wages offered in T20 franchise leagues at the same time make this unlikely.

McCullum addressed England's preparation situation before the third Test, stating, "There is no perfect preparation. If there was, if it was hitting 4,000 balls and it guarantees you average 90, everybody would be hitting 4,000 balls; if you bowled 120 balls and it guaranteed you'd take 10-for, everybody would be doing that. It's not how it works."

England's preparation for future home series may also be affected by short turnarounds at the end of the Hundred tournament, including the series against Pakistan next summer. The three-day gap between the Hundred final and the first Test against Pakistan has raised concerns that players will be underprepared.

The significant investment and high salaries in the Hundred mean that the ECB will effectively relinquish control of its players for a month. That said, the reality is a bit more complicated. the board plans to utilize the national performance center at Loughborough as a red-ball training base for some Test players, particularly fast bowlers, during the 2026 edition of the tournament.