The most anticipated series of all time begins Fridayas Australia looks to continue their decade-long reign in the US Ashwhen England travels to Perth. Cricket’s greatest rivalry is in its 74th year and it promises to be an enthralling series.
Jack Tobin below you’ll find his full preview and betting tips for the 1st Test of the Ashes, with odds courtesy of Neds!
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Australia vs England 1st Test Preview and Betting Odds
Perth Stadium, Friday 21 November, 1.20pm AEDT
Australia
Team: Steve Smith, Scott Boland, Alex Carey, Brendan Doggett, Cameron Green, Travis Head, Josh Inglis, Usman Khawaja, Marnus Labuschagne, Nathan Lyon, Michael Neser, Mitchell Starc, Jake Weatherald, Beau Webster
Australia have suffered some chaos on the injury front ahead of the first Test, with Pat Cummins out with a back injury and Josh Hazlewood out with a hamstring injury. Scott Boland will be given the chance to continue his remarkable Test career, while Brendan Doggett is now in line for a Test debut following Hazlewood’s injury. It looks like Jake Weatherald will also make a debut at the top of the rankings, with Marnus Labuschagne regaining his number three position and Cameron Green moving to number six.
While there’s been a lot of talk about how Australia is getting older and has a struggling top three, you just can’t deny how good this team has been. Australia are the number one Test team in the world, have won 14 of the last 18 Tests and are unbeaten in the last seven series. Australia have lost just two of their last 18 Test series, with both defeats coming against India.
Although the conditions for batting in Australia have become more difficult over the past five years, the Australian batting unit has an excellent record at home. Khawaja averages 48 in Australia, Labuschagne 55, Smith 59 and Head 51. The experience in these conditions in recent years will be crucial against an England side that has very little experience in Australia.
England
Team: Ben Stokes, Harry Brook, Jofra Archer, Gus Atkinson, Shoaib Bashir, Jacob Bethell, Brydon Carse, Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Will Jacks, Ollie Pope, Matthew Potts, Joe Root, Jamie Smith, Josh Tongue, Mark Wood
Here it is, the series this entire BazBall entity built for, an Ashes series in Australia. England have built their style and squad purely for this series since Brendon McCullum took over as head coach in 2022. There have been some wonderful highs, but also some deep lows in the period, and this threatens to be a defining series.
England have rid themselves of the traditional seams they have had over the years and have sought a continuous pace. Mark Wood, Jofra Archer, Josh Tongue and Gus Atkinson can provide plenty of airspeed, but all have big questions surrounding them. Atkinson and Tongue have never played a Test in Australia, while Jofra Archer has played just 15 Tests in six years, and Mark Wood has not played a Test since August 2024. Given how bowler-friendly the pitches in Australia have been over the past five years, pure pace may not be the best approach to achieving 20 wickets.
England’s top seven is likely to consist of Duckett, Crawley, Pope, Root, Brook, Stokes and Smith. In Australia, Crawley averages 27, Pope averages 11, Root averages 35 and Stokes 28. Duckett and Brook are yet to play a Test in Australia and although they have scored plenty of runs in recent years, they could be exposed by the longer square boundaries in Australia. For all the hype surrounding the batting unit, there are more questions about England than Australia.
Match prediction
This will be the most competitive Ashes series since 2010/11, but you can’t ignore the facts. England have not won a Test match in Australia since 2011 and an Ashes series since 2015. No player in the England squad has ever won a Test match in Australia. Although England have made great improvements under the BazBall regime, they are yet to beat Australia or India in a series. They have enjoyed down sides, but their inconsistency has yet to hold up against the best teams in the world.
Injuries to Cummins and Hazlewood close the gap between the two teams, but Scott Boland has taken 62 wickets against an average of just 16 in Test cricket. The last time Boland faced England in Australia, Boland took 18 wickets out of 9 in three Tests. Brendon Doggett makes his debut in good form, taking 48 wickets in 10 first-class matches in 2025. Ironically, the last time Australia played a Test match without Cummins and Hazlewood was in that same series, with Australia beating England by 275 runs.
England have had very little match preparation in the series, which is par for the course these days given the scheduling, but it certainly won’t help their case when they head to Perth Stadium on Friday. Australia’s experience in these conditions will be crucial, and they will make a winning start in the west.
Australia wins
$1.70 (1.5 units)
The Ashes 1st Test Player Prop Bet
After a few lean years by his high standards, Steve Smith has returned to his best over the past twelve months. Since December 2024, Smith has scored 773 runs at an average of 55, with four centuries and three half-centuries. Smith always rises to the occasion in Ashes cricket, having scored 3417 runs in Ashes Tests, the third highest in Ashes history, with a healthy average of 56. Smith will captain Australia in the absence of Pat Cummins, and the superstar always rises when he is in charge. Smith has scored 4139 runs at an average of 68.98 as captain in Test cricket.
Steve Smith: Top Australian Run Scorer (1st innings)
$4.00
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