From the first ball to Bazball: everything you need to know about the Ashes

Can Ben Stokes really lead England to victory in Australia? Set your alarms and gird your loins, this one’s not just big, it’s positively Brobdingnagian

Either it’s the start of the 2025-26 Ashes or Fred Dibnah’s Age of Steam on BBC Four is more watchable than we realised.

England’s coach, the New Zealander Brendon McCullum, whose vibe is usually somewhere between Gen X slacker and Buddhist hippy, has called it “the biggest series of all our lives”. It could be career-defining for England – and career-staining for a great Australia side. All Ashes series are big; this one is positively Brobdingnagian.

Well, England’s record on the last three tours is W0 D2 L13. The last time they won in Australia was 15 years ago. And the last time they regained the Ashes (as opposed to retaining them) away from home was 55 years ago.

It probably won’t. At this point we’re contractually obliged to recite that old quote from the film Clockwise. “It’s not the despair, Laura. I can stand the despair. It’s the hope.”