Getting a seat for the 2027 Ashes just got complicated, and that’s exactly why hundreds of thousands of fans are expected to apply before the year is out. Five different grounds are now running five separate ballots, each with its own closing date, and missing one could mean missing out on the biggest home summer cricket has seen in years.
Cricket Insider UK has pulled together every ballot window, every venue and the full men’s and women’s schedule in one place, so you know exactly where to apply and by when.
How to Enter the Ashes 2027 Ticket Ballot
The good news first. Entering the ballot is free and you won’t need card details to apply, you only pay if you’re successful.
The Routes Into the Ballot
Here’s how supporters can get involved:
- Public ballot: Apply directly through the host venue’s website (Lord’s, Kia Oval, Edgbaston, Trent Bridge or the Utilita Bowl) or via the ECB’s ticketing pages. Select the matches and days you want, there’s no limit on how many you can enter for.
- We Are England Cricket Supporters: Free to join, and it unlocks a dedicated priority purchase window during the ballot period, giving you a shot at tickets before results are confirmed.
- County membership: Still the most reliable route. Members at the host county (Surrey, Middlesex, Warwickshire, Nottinghamshire or Hampshire, depending on the ground) get priority access ahead of the public ballot.
- General sale: Anything left over after ballots and priority windows goes on general sale later in the year, though for Ashes Tests this is expected to be extremely limited.
Ashes 2027 Ballot Dates Venue by Venue
Here’s the catch though. The ECB publishes one “universal” set of dates for the whole home summer, but several venues are running their own timelines on top of that, and the closing dates are not all the same.
| Venue and Links | Ballot Opens | Ballot Closes | What Happens Next |
|---|---|---|---|
| ECB universal window | 2 September 2026, 10:00 | 29 September 2026, 23:59 | First winners’ purchase window 1 to 5 October, final winners’ window 7 to 13 October, general sale from 14 October |
| Edgbaston | 2 September 2026, 10:00 | 29 September 2026, 23:59 | Follows the universal ECB window exactly |
| Trent Bridge | 2 September 2026 | No closing date published yet | Remaining seats go to ballot winners from 6 October |
| Utilita Bowl | Priority opens September 2026 | Not yet confirmed | Members and Priority Club holders go first, public ballot covers what’s left |
| Lord’s | 2 September 2026 | 26 October 2026 | First round winners contacted early November, purchase window opens 17 November, general sale 10 December |
| Kia Oval | 2 September 2026 | 15 November 2026 | Results announced 23 November, priority window opens 24 November |
(Source: ECB, Lord’s, Kia Oval, Edgbaston, Trent Bridge, Utilita Bowl)
So if you’re chasing Lord’s or the Oval, you’ve got until mid to late autumn.
Ashes 2027 Schedule: Where and When England Play Australia
England will face Australia across five Test matches between June and August 2027, and for the first time in a while, the series doesn’t open at Edgbaston. Trent Bridge gets the honour instead, hosting its first Ashes opener since 2015.
| Test | Venue | Dates |
|---|---|---|
| 1st Test | Trent Bridge, Nottingham | Friday 18 to Tuesday 22 June 2027 |
| 2nd Test | Lord’s, London | Wednesday 30 June to Sunday 4 July 2027 |
| 3rd Test | Edgbaston, Birmingham | Thursday 8 to Monday 12 July 2027 |
| 4th Test | Utilita Bowl, Southampton | Wednesday 21 to Sunday 25 July 2027 |
| 5th Test | Kia Oval, London | Thursday 29 July to Monday 2 August 2027 |
(Source: ECB)
There’s a genuine first in there too, and it comes with an early perk for Hampshire members.
- The Utilita Bowl stages a men’s Ashes Test for the very first time
- It becomes the tenth English ground to host the fixture
- Hampshire members already have early priority access to hospitality bookings for the match
The series finishes back where the rivalry began, and it closes out with some real history behind it.
- The Kia Oval is the birthplace of the Ashes, first staged there in 1882
- England haven’t won the Ashes since 2015, so a series closing in south London carries weight
- Stuart Broad bowled his final over at the Oval in 2023, taking the last two Australian wickets before retiring
- The pace attack Broad helped build remains one of the more interesting subplots heading into 2027
Whoever leads that attack by 2027, our Top 10 Players With Most Wickets For England in Test breakdown is worth a look if you want the full picture of who’s chasing that record.
Why Headingley and Old Trafford Missing Out Matters
Not every ground got a slice of the action, and it hasn’t gone down quietly. Neither Headingley nor Old Trafford features in the 2027 men’s schedule, the first time since the current venue rotation began that both northern grounds have missed out on the same series.
The pushback has come from players and politicians alike.
- Joe Root and Harry Brook have both spoken publicly about wanting a Test north of Nottingham
- The mayors of Greater Manchester and West Yorkshire wrote to the ECB directly to raise concerns
- Headingley hosted Ian Botham’s heroics in 1981 and Ben Stokes’ miracle in 2019
- Old Trafford has staged some of the most dramatic Ashes finishes of the modern era
For now, every men’s Ashes match in 2027 sits in the Midlands, London or the south.
Metro Bank Women’s Ashes 2027 Fixtures
The women’s multi-format series kicks off before the men’s Test series even begins, and it starts in the north that the men’s schedule has skipped entirely. Headingley hosts the opening Women’s Ashes Test, the first time Leeds has staged one since 2001.
| Format | Venue | Date |
|---|---|---|
| Women’s Ashes Test | Headingley, Leeds | Thursday 24 to Sunday 27 June 2027 |
| 1st Vitality IT20 | Trent Bridge, Nottingham | Saturday 3 July 2027 |
| 2nd Vitality IT20 | Kia Oval, London | Tuesday 6 July 2027 |
| 3rd Vitality IT20 | Emirates Old Trafford, Manchester | Friday 9 July 2027 |
| Metro Bank ODI series | Utilita Bowl, Lord’s and Edgbaston | Concludes Tuesday 20 July 2027 |
(Source: ECB)
Nat Sciver-Brunt’s side will be out for revenge here, and the Kia Oval leg is the one to watch.
- England lost to Australia in this year’s T20 World Cup final, adding an edge to the rematch
- England have won all six of their Women’s IT20s played at the Kia Oval
- It was at the Oval that England’s comeback in the drawn 2023 series began
If you’re weighing up who’s likely to lead the run charts across the summer, our Top 10 Best Batsman in England piece gives useful context on the players setting the standard.
Other England Fixtures Worth Knowing About
The Ashes isn’t the only cricket on offer in 2027. Here’s what else is on the calendar:
- England men host Pakistan for a Metro Bank ODI series early in the summer
- A one off Rothesay Test against Bangladesh at Lord’s, their first appearance at the ground in 17 years
- New Zealand visit in September for a Vitality IT20 series and a Metro Bank ODI series
- England women welcome Bangladesh for two white ball series later in the year
For the complete calendar across formats, our regularly updated England Cricket Fixtures 2027 page tracks every confirmed date as they’re announced.
(Source: ECB)
Five Different Ballots Mean Five Different Deadlines to Track
The 2027 Ashes is shaping up to be England’s biggest home summer since 2023, with five Test venues, a full women’s multi-format series and separate ballots that don’t all close on the same day. Apply early, sign up for We Are England Cricket Supporters to access the priority window, and watch Trent Bridge and the Utilita Bowl closely, as they have yet to confirm their exact ballot deadlines. Get your applications in now and you’ll avoid scrambling for general sale scraps later in the year.
