future england test cricket tours

England face stacked schedule as Future Tours Programme confirmed for 2023-2027

England's packed schedule includes a one-off Test against Ireland ahead of next summer's home Ashes series - which will run between mid-June and the end of July

The Future Tours Programme for 2023 to 2027 has been confirmed.

England's packed schedule includes a one-off Test against Ireland ahead of next summer's home Ashes series - which will run between mid-June and the end of July, a five-match series in India in early 2024, and visits from West Indies and Sri Lanka in the Test arena in the home summer of 2024.

The whole of August is kept free from England fixtures to accommodate The Hundred in each of 2023 and 2024, though there are games against Ireland and Pakistan which creep into the schedule in 2025 and 2026 respectively.

England men's schedule for the 2023-2027 period has been confirmed [Getty Images]

The next Ashes campaign down under will take place in 2025-26, while the red-ball side's 2026-27 winter will be spent in South Africa and Bangladesh.

The white-ball setup continues its global jetset. In 2023, that includes home series against New Zealand and Ireland in September, prior to three ODIs and five T20Is in the Caribbean in December 2023. 

Five T20s against Pakistan kick off the 2024 summer, while Australia visit in September for five ODIs and three T20s.

Ireland, West Indies and South Africa make up the limited-overs opponents in the summer of 2025, and there is a white-ball trip to New Zealand before the Ashes series. 

An ODI tri series against Pakistan and Sri Lanka is scheduled for October 2026. 

England's Future Tours Programme: 2023-2027

January 2023: South Africa (a, 3 ODIs)

February 2023: New Zealand (a, 2 Tests)

March 2023: Bangladesh (a, 3 ODIs, 3T20Is)

June 2023: Ireland (h, 1 Test)

June-July 2023: Australia (h, 5 Tests)

September 2023: New Zealand (h, 3 ODIs, 5T20Is)

September 2023: Ireland (h, 3 ODIs)

October-November 2023: World Cup

December 2023: West Indies (a, 3 ODIs, 5 T20Is)

January-March 2024: India (a, 5 Tests)

May 2024: Pakistan (h, 5 T20Is)

June 2024: T20 World Cup

July 2024: West Indies (h, 3 Tests)

September 2024: Sri Lanka (h, 2 Tests)

September 2024: Australia (h, 5 ODIs, 3 T20Is)

October 2024: Pakistan (a, 3 Tests)

November-December 2024: New Zealand (a, 3 Tests)

January-February 2025: India (a, 3 ODIs, T20Is)

February-March 2025: Champions Trophy

June 2025: West Indies (h, 3 ODIs)

June-August 2025: India (h, 5 Tests)

June 2025: Ireland (a, 3 ODIs)

September 2025: South Africa (h, 3 ODIs, 3 T20s)

September 2025: West Indies (h, 3 T20Is)

October-November 2025: New Zealand (a, 3 ODIs, 3 T20Is)

November 2025-January 2026: Australia (a, 5 Tests)

January-February 2026: Sri Lanka (a, 3 ODIs, 3 T20Is)

February-March 2026: T20 World Cup

June 2026: New Zealand (h, 3 Tests)

July 2026: India (h, 3 ODIs, 5 T20Is)

August-September 2026: Pakistan (h, 3 Tests)

September 2026: Sri Lanka (3 ODIs, 3 T20Is)

October-November 2026: Tri Series (a v Pakistan, Sri Lanka - 4 matches)

November 2026: Australia (a, 3 ODIs, 3T20Is)

December 2026-February 2027: South Africa (a, 3 Tests, 3 ODIs 3 T20Is)

February 2027: Bangladesh (a, 2 Tests)

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England's FTP announced

England play arch-rivals Australia and India in two five-Test series each in the Men’s Future Tours Programme (FTP) for the period 2023-27 that was confirmed by the International Cricket Council (ICC) today.

The announcement of the FTP, a result of a collective effort of Full Members with ICC’s support, ensures certainty of cricket fixtures with the confirmation of all bilateral series across the three formats. The exact dates and venues of the series are for the Members to announce in due course.

England’s first outing in the upcoming FTP will be a home Test against Ireland in June next year, which will be followed by their first-five Test series of the cycle against Australia from June to August 2023. Their five-Test commitments are against India in an away series in January-February 2024 and at home in June-July 2025. They tour Australia for the next Ashes showdown starting November 2025 for five Tests.

England also tour Pakistan for three Tests in October-November 2024, followed by a three-Test tour of New Zealand. All these series will be part of the ICC World Test Championship (WTC), two cycles of which will figure during the FTP – 2023-25 and 2025-27.

England feature in limited overs series against Australia, Ireland, New Zealand, Sri Lanka and the West Indies apart from Test series both part of and outside of the WTC.

WTC Series: England play Australia, Sri Lanka and the West Indies at home in the 2023-25 WTC and are scheduled to play India, New Zealand and Pakistan in away series. In the 2025-27 WTC, England play India, New Zealand and Pakistan at home while Australia, Bangladesh and South Africa will host them.

The announcement of the Men’s FTP comes a day after the first ever Women’s FTP was announced.

ICC GM of Cricket Wasim Khan said: “I’d like to thank our Members for the effort that has gone into creating this FTP for the next four years. We are incredibly lucky to have three vibrant formats of the game, with an outstanding programme of ICC global events and strong bilateral and domestic cricket and this FTP is designed to allow all cricket to flourish.

“The landscape around the game is continuing to evolve and we will work closely with Members as we collectively adapt to that. We are committed to growing the game and giving more fans more opportunities to enjoy cricket, but are very mindful of the need to balance that ambition with the welfare of players.”

ECB Interim CEO Claire Connor said she was thrilled that both FTPs had now been announced.

Clare Connor, ECB Interim CEO, said: “These Future Tour Programmes set out the international cricket we’ll be playing over the coming years. There is so much for supporters to look forward to across Test and white ball cricket, home and away.

“With the increased number of domestic white ball competitions and the introduction of an annual global tournament in men’s cricket, creating an international schedule has never been harder. We must continue to work together as international Boards to manage these challenges, look after our players’ welfare, and ensure a sustainable future for international cricket which we and so many players and supporters love and cherish.

“I’m particularly thrilled that for the first time we have been able to build a Future Tours Programme for women’s cricket, bolstered by a white ball global event each year. This is testament to the rapid growth and professionalisation of the women’s game and we must all keep giving it greater priority to inspire girls and women in this country and around the world to genuinely feel that cricket is a game for them.”

• A media release on the complete men’s FTP, an earlier media release on the women’s FTP, graphics and schedules are available in the Online Media Zone

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England to play three cricket tests in New Zealand to conclude 2024

LONDON (AP) — The England and Wales Cricket Board on Tuesday announced a three-test tour to New Zealand starting at Christchurch on Nov. 28.

After the series opener at Hagley Oval, the tour will move to the North Island for tests in Wellington from Dec. 6-10 and in Hamilton from Dec. 14-18.

The last time the test teams met in February and March of last year, they split a two-match series after England was on the verge of a 2-0 victory when skipper Ben Stokes enforced the follow-on. New Zealand won by one run — only the fourth team in history to win a test after following on — in the second test after England won the first by 267 runs.

The three matches at the end of this year form part of the World Test Championship, which New Zealand won in its inaugural edition before losing the title to Australia .

India, which has won six of nine tests in this edition, leads the WTC standings with Australia in second place and New Zealand in third. England is ninth ahead of home series against West Indies and Sri Lanka.

The top two teams will advance to a final at Lord’s in 2025.

AP cricket: https://apnews.com/hub/cricket

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ECB and CWI announce expanded England Men’s Tour of the West Indies in 2022

Cricket West Indies (CWI) and the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) today announced the scheduled match dates for England’s next tour of the Caribbean in 2022. It represents an expanded schedule to the original International Cricket Council’s (ICC) Future Tours Programme (FTP).

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The January 2022 Tour will now feature five T20 Internationals (T20Is) – increased from three matches – to be followed by England returning to the Caribbean for three Test matches in March – increased from the original two Test matches.

The Test series will be the first in which the two teams compete for the newly commissioned “Richards-Botham Trophy,” named in honour of West Indies’ batting icon Sir Vivian Richards and England’s great all-rounder Lord Botham. The new trophy pays tribute to the two legends whose rivalry and friendship embodies the close relationship and mutual respect between the two sides.

The T20I Series will be the biggest Series to date between the two teams in the shortest form of the game and will be part of the preparations building up to the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup in Australia in October 2022. 

Ricky Skerritt, CWI President said: “This expansion of next year’s England tour to the Caribbean is welcomed news for West Indies Cricket and for the region’s tourism economy.  It has come about because of the special relationship that has been developed between our respective boards and we are looking forward to working with ECB Chair Ian Watmore, and CEO Tom Harrison, to expand our partnership even further into new areas of cooperation and support. We have already begun discussions on how the ECB can help us in our development programs and I am pleased that ECB has been showing so much appetite and goodwill to assist.”

Johnny Grave CWI CEO said: “We are delighted that the ECB have agreed to increase the number of matches in their tour to Caribbean next year. An England Tour to the West Indies is a special event, so by adding a third Test match and two T20Is to the original schedule it will enable more fans to watch the teams do battle and afford more of our countries the opportunity to host matches.”

Ian Watmore, Chair, England and Wales Cricket Board said: "We hugely appreciated the support of Cricket West Indies, and all its men’s and women’s players, in helping us host a full season of international cricket in the summer of 2020. Following the conclusion of those tours to England we have been in discussions with CWI to understand how we can best support them moving forward and one way was to extend our existing England men’s tours to the Caribbean in 2022.”

Tom Harrison, Chief Executive Officer, England and Wales Cricket Board said: "A tour to the Caribbean is one of the most iconic for both England players and fans alike. So, we are delighted to confirm that our England men’s team will play two additional IT20s and one more Test Match as part of their planned tours in January and March respectively.

“The three Test Match series will form part of the next ICC World Test Championship, whilst the additional IT20s will provide our England men’s team with valuable preparation ahead of the ICC World T20, which takes place in Australia later that year." 

The venues for the matches are expected to be announce by the end of June.

West Indies and England restarted the international cricket schedule following the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic when West Indies toured England in July 2020. The teams played a three-match ICC World Test Championship Series in a bio-secure bubble at the Ageas Bowl in Southampton and Emirates Old Trafford in Manchester.

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What will England’s international schedule look like between 2023-27?

The 2023-27 Future Tours Programme is “near-final”, as has been reported by numerous outlets . Here’s what it could mean for England.

The schedule runs from May 2023 to February 2027 and features more time than ever blocked out for domestic leagues, with the IPL commanding a two-and-a-half month window where very little international cricket will be played.

The schedule includes the proposed World Test Championship fixtures, the return of tri-series ODI cricket and a rise in five-match T20I series. We take a look at five features of England’s proposed schedule.

42 Test matches

England will play the most Test matches of any nation in the next four-year cycle, playing 42 compared to Australia’s 41 and India’s 38.

Forty-two is seven matches down from the previous cycle in which England played 49, including 16 scheduled for 2021.

Aside from England’s fixtures against India and Australia (more below) England will play six series of three matches in length, at home to West Indies (2024), New Zealand (2026) and Pakistan (2026), and away to Pakistan (2024), New Zealand (2024) and South Africa (2026-27).

England’s 2023-25 WTC Fixtures: Australia (H), West Indies (H), Sri Lanka (H), New Zealand (A), India (A), Pakistan (A)

England’s 2025-27 WTC Fixtures: New Zealand (H), India (H), Pakistan (H), Australia (A), South Africa (A), Bangladesh (A)

More matches against Australia and India

Of the 42 Tests England will play, 20 will be against either Australia or India , with five-match home and away series scheduled for both nations.

England will host Australia in 2023, with the return Ashes series played in 2025/26.

Meanwhile, England will travel to India in early 2024 for a five-match series before India return in 2025.

No return to West Indies until at least 2027

On paper, England’s tour of the Caribbean earlier this year means that not returning for five years seems far from surprising. However, given that England’s tours of the Caribbean are a significant revenue source for Cricket West Indies and the debt of gratitude the ECB owe CWI for sending both men’s and women’s teams to the UK in the Covid-19 summer of 2020 the lack of a tour is seen as a surprise by many.

As reported by Ali Martin in the Guardian : “West Indies sent men’s and women’s teams to the UK during the height of the pandemic in 2020, helping to prevent the ECB from suffering catastrophic losses. Though this led to an expansion of England’s return visit earlier this year – a two-Test series became three and three T20s became five – these favours were not exactly equal.”

A three-week window for the Hundred

The emphasis placed on The Hundred by the ECB has been made increasingly clear with a three-week international window added to the height of summer where no England internationals will be played in a move mirrored by Cricket Australia with the Big Bash.

Unlike the IPL window in which no international cricket will be played, the English and Australian windows will only be absent of home international cricket as both boards aim to get their star players involved in their flagship competitions.

The window also impacts England’s Test schedule, with the five-day summer ending in July next year.

More five-match T20I series and return of ODI tri-series

Fifteen five-match T20I series have been scheduled for 2023-27, with nine set to involve India, while some are still to be confirmed.

The ODI tri-series, a format that Jos Buttler and Rohit Sharma lent their support to following the recent England-India bilateral series, are also set for a return with Pakistan hosting New Zealand and South Africa in early 2025 before Zimbabwe host the same two nations later in the same year.

Neither are currently scheduled to impact England, however it is an example of the type of schedule changes that are set to occur over the coming years.

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England fans face minimum five-year wait for West Indies Test tour

• Draft tours programme seen by the Guardian
• No Test tour would be huge financial blow for region

England are poised to deliver a crushing blow to West Indies cricket and their own travelling supporters with no men’s Test tour of the Caribbean scheduled for at least the next five years.

According to a draft of the future tours programme for the period May 2023 to February 2027 – seen by the Guardian and due to be finalised at the ICC’s AGM in Birmingham this month – the England men’s team are scheduled to play just eight white-ball fixtures in the Caribbean during this time.

These come in a single tour early in the cycle – straight after the 50-over World Cup in India next year and thus likely to involve a weakened squad – with England’s only other visit thereafter being the T20 World Cup in 2024. It leaves a minimum five-year gap between Test tours of the Caribbean for England after their 1-0 series defeat in March .

This is likely to dismay the hordes of England supporters who flock to the region for the trip of a lifetime – around 10,000 were present in Barbados this year, with about 3,000 for the Tests in Antigua and Grenada – and the financial knock-on effect to Cricket West Indies will be significant.

England Test tours are worth at least $10m (£8.4m) to CWI (nearly double when combined with limited‑overs cricket). There is also a larger impact, with recent visits to have featured both Test and white‑ball cricket estimated to have been worth up to $100m to the region’s economy.

While bilateral internationals can be loss-makers for West Indies, England tours remain a significant revenue source for CWI in a global cricket economy that is skewed heavily against such a high-cost, low-income part of the world. West Indies have more than proved their strength as opponents too, with England registering just one Test series win in the Caribbean since 1968.

The England and Wales Cricket Board has pointed to a World Test Championship draw that was out of its control. But given its seat at the ICC top table, three non-WTC series versus New Zealand since 2019 (including one next winter) and seven fewer England men’s Tests than their 49 during the last cycle, it still appears a cold-shouldering of CWI after good relations in recent times.

West Indies sent men’s and women’s teams to the UK during the height of the pandemic in 2020, helping to prevent the ECB from suffering catastrophic losses. Though this led to an expansion of England’s return visit earlier this year – a two-Test series became three and three T20s became five – these favours were not exactly equal.

The next instalment of the future tours programme is one in which England, India and Australia look generally to maximise their lucrative encounters – all three nations play five-match Test series home and away against each other – but squeezes bilateral international cricket and boasts annual ICC tournaments.

A two-and-a-half-month window has been carved out for the expanded Indian Premier League and other boards are also looking to free up space so big-name players can feature in their franchise tournaments, including the Big Bash League and the Hundred. The Ashes in England next year, for example, will be over by the end of July.

England’s overseas men’s Test tours during this period include a five-match series in India in early 2024, three apiece in New Zealand and Pakistan later that year, a five-match away Ashes series in 2025-26, and three Tests in South Africa in 2026-27. The sole Test series against West Indies is three matches scheduled for the 2024 home summer.

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https://www.barrons.com/news/venues-announced-for-england-tests-in-new-zealand-3ed9459a

• FROM AFP NEWS

Venues Announced For England Tests In New Zealand

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New Zealand Cricket on Tuesday said that England's three-Test tour later this year will see matches at Christchurch, Wellington and Hamilton.

The first two of the three World Test Championship matches will be back-to back at Hagley Oval, Christchurch, from November 28 and at the Basin Reserve, Wellington, from December 6.

The third and final Test will be at Hamilton's Seddon Park beginning December 14.

There were capacity crowds for the first three days of both of New Zealand's recent home Tests against Australia and New Zealand Cricket (NZC) hope the five-day games against England will also bring in the fans in huge numbers.

"In the past there's often been a lot of talk in New Zealand about the popularity of Test cricket, without that translating into ticket sales," said NZC chief executive Scott Weenink.

"The difference over the past summer, and in terms of the upcoming Tests against England, is that the interest is being converted to bums on seats and is driving record viewership numbers.

"We're looking forward to that continuing."

New Zealand v England fixtures:

First Test: Nov 28-Dec 2, Hagley Oval, Christchurch

Second Test: Dec 6-10, Basin Reserve, Wellington

Third Test: Dec 14-18, Seddon Park, Hamilton

New Zealand Cricket on Tuesday said that England's three-Test tour later this year will see matches at Christchurch, Wellington and Hamilton.

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Future Tour Program (FTP) of England, Upcoming Series and Tournaments

Future Tour Program (FTP) of England, Upcoming Series and Tournaments.

Future Tour Programs (FTP): The England Men’s Cricket team has a packed international schedule ahead for them in the span of the next two years. The ECB has plenty of tours and series lined up with multiple nations.

It is interesting to note that England Men’s team will fly down to the Netherlands at the start of 2022 for 3 matches ODI series. The series against England will give a huge boost to the Netherland cricket program.

With the 2023 ODI World Cup approaching, the focus of all the teams will be on the One Dayers.

Future Tour Program (FTP) of England, Upcoming Series and Tournaments:

ALSO READ: Future Tour Programs (FTP) Of Pakistan 2021-2023, Upcoming Series, Tournament Details ALSO READ: Future Tour Programs (FTP) Of Australia 2021-23, Upcoming Series, Matches Of Australia

ALSO READ: ICC Future Tour Programme (FTP) Of India, Complete Tournaments/Series Details

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‘Worst decision ever’: How Aussie icon infiltrated English cricket... and sparked 86-year meltdown

The ECB’s decision to trial the Kookaburra ball for four rounds of the County Championship has prompted widespread debate in the United Kingdom after 15 of the competition’s first 16 matches ended as draws.

In a bid to help develop England’s future Test cricketers, the Australian-made Kookaburra has replaced the traditional Dukes ball for the opening two rounds of this year’s County Championship. The Kookaburra’s introduction, recommended in 2022 by Andrew Strauss’ high performance review, was designed to mimic overseas conditions and better equip English cricketers for future tours, most notably the 2025/26 Ashes tour of Australia.

However, partly because of persistent rain and slow pitches, there has only been one outright result from 18 scheduled matches thus far, with two contests abandoned due to weather.

Comparatively, there were 11 positive results during the first two rounds of last year’s competition when the bowler-friendly Dukes ball was used.

This week marked just the third time in history when every match in a County Championship round where all 18 counties played simultaneously ended as a draw.

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In sixteen first-class matches, there have been 39 centuries, five doubles and a triple. The competition batting average of 44.49 is the highest figure in a month of County Championship action since September 1938, while wickets have fallen every 73.3 deliveries this year compared to every 52.3 balls during last year’s opening two rounds.

Middlesex’s bowlers have found the Kookaburra particularly arduous, taking 11 wickets at 109.36 this season, while Warwickshire declared at 3-698 during this week’s high-scoring contest against Durham.

“The ball goes very soft very quickly and there’s no competition between bat and ball when it’s a good wicket with a Kookaburra early season in England,” Middlesex coach Richard Johnson said this week.

“Hopefully it’s an experiment we don’t carry on with.”

The machine-made Kookaburra has a less ­pronounced seam and goes softer earlier, subsequently moving less extravagantly through the air and off the pitch, while the hand-stitched Dukes has a tendency to swing and seam for longer. The two balls are also coated in a different type of lacquer, further distinguishing their behaviour.

The Kookaburra trial has seemingly nullified medium-pace bowlers that rely heavily on the ball’s movement, instead rewarding seamers with extra pace. Earlier this month, Essex quick Sam Cook claimed 10-73 against Nottinghamshire at Trent Bridge to force the only result of the County Championship thus far, later explaining that he couldn’t rely on the Kookaburra’s natural movement once it went soft.

“When it does get a little soft, it’s about using your skills, whether it’s a little bit of wobble-seam or reverse-swing,” Cook said.

Apart from top-order batters, spin bowlers have been the Kookaburra’s leading beneficiaries, with tweakers sending down 37 per cent of deliveries this season compared to 17 per cent during equivalent rounds last year. After just two matches, defending champions Surrey have already taken more wickets with spinners than they managed during the entirety of last season’s County Championship.

The Kookaburra experiment has received mixed reviews within the United Kingdom, with Surrey director of cricket Alec Stewart calling it “the worst decision ever”. When asked for his thoughts on the Australian-made ball earlier this month, Somerset skipper Lewis Gregory responded: “Can I swear?”

Rob Key, managing director of the England men’s cricket, hailed the Kookaburra’s implementation as a success, expressing his desire for it to become a permanent fixture in the domestic first-class season, which would require a consensus among the counties and sign-off from the ECB’s professional game committee.

“I would use the Kookaburra all the time. English cricket would be much better off for it,” Key told The Guardian this week.

“Teams need to find quicker bowlers or ones who will force a wicket. You can’t just keep running up bowling at 75mph. And in terms of those guys who are not express, you really work out who can bowl.

“I want us to be the best team in the world for a generation; this will be one way to do that.”

Former England captain Michael Vaughan also applauded the experiment, suggesting it would be worthwhile having Kookaburra balls for half of the County Championship season.

“I understand the seamers being grumpy and lambasting the Kookaburra, but what it has exposed to a few in the county game is that international cricket is hard – especially overseas,” Vaughan wrote in The Telegraph .

“You cannot just rely on bowling a hard length and letting the ball and conditions do the rest of the work for you.

“County cricket primarily exists for the fans and members, but it still has to produce Test cricketers, and this will help.”

Cricket Australia also experimented with using the Dukes in the Sheffield Shield between 2016 and 2020, but the initiative was scrapped due to fears the seam-friendly ball would make the nation’s spinners obsolete.

The Dukes ball returns to the County Championship on Friday, but the Kookaburra trial will resume for another two rounds in late August and early September.

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The Ashes: Who could be in England XI for 2025/26 series in Australia?

Joe Root and Ben Stokes might still be around when England next tour Australia for Tests in 2025/26 - but who else could be in the XI? Leg-spinner Matt Parkinson has the skills for Australia, says Shane Warne, while Tom Haines and Josh Bohannon will hope to be in the batting shake-up

By David Ruse

Tuesday 18 January 2022 08:27, UK

It's the first day of the 2025/26 Ashes series and a 43-year-old James Anderson has ball in hand for England…

Okay, probably not, but someone will have to lead the attack in four years' time as England look to defeat Australia in a Test series Down Under, something they have now not done in over a decade.

Finding batters who can score runs, not just in Australia but anywhere, is one of England's many objectives over the coming years, with the side failing to crack 300 once and only passing 200 four times in the Ashes as they recorded a series average of just 19.18 per wicket.

Much could, and should, change with England's red-ball cricket before they next trek to Australia and suggesting a side now to compete then seems a rather frivolous activity - but after the winter fans have had to endure, we could all could do with a bit of harmless fun.

Here is a potential England side to tackle the old enemy in 2025/26…

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Zak Crawley (Kent)

After one of the worst years by a top-six batter in Test history in 2021 - Crawley scoring 173 runs across 16 innings at an average of 10.81 - he reminded everyone of his immense talent with an excellent 77 in his second innings of 2022 as he bossed Australia's bowlers in Sydney.

Crawley's first-class average of 31.13, which he puts down in part to "poor" county pitches" , is much lower than it should be considering his skillset - he is tall, imposing, confident, has all the shots and, crucially, looks to put the pressure back on opposition bowlers, something a lot of England's recent defence-minded openers have not done.

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Crawley should, as Australia great Ian Chappell said, "be the future of England". By the time the next away Ashes series approaches, Crawley will be almost 28, which should be his peak years, even if he may always struggle to replicate his peak moment of that 267 against Pakistan at The Ageas Bowl in August 2020.

Tom Haines (Sussex)

Crawley aside, suggesting an England opener to play in Australia in four years' time is like trying to walk the tightrope blindfolded. It's hard enough even nominating one for the tour of West Indies in March. Sussex's Tom Haines, though, has time on his side - he only turned 23 in October - and enjoyed a breakthrough campaign in 2021, hitting a Championship-leading 1,176 runs, with three hundreds, six half-centuries and a top-score of 156.

Left-hander Haines may not be as free-flowing as Crawley but neither does he plod along as slowly as Haseeb Hameed and Dom Sibley, with his first-class strike rate of 51.06 superior to that of Hameed (37.88) and Sibley (40.04).

Another contender to open in the next away Ashes is Warwickshire's Rob Yates, 22, who impressed technically and mentally while scoring four hundreds and 793 runs in total for the Bears in 2021 as they won the Championship title. Considering the way England churn through opening batters, Haines and Yates could both get a go over the coming years.

Josh Bohannon (Lancashire)

Former England assistant coach, and now Warwickshire sporting director, Paul Farbrace recently named his charge Yates as one of the county circuit's emerging batters, a tag he also awarded to Lancashire man Bohannon after watching him score 170 from 334 balls against his side at Emirates Old Trafford last summer from the No 3 spot.

Writing in the Daily Mail , Farbrace said of Bohannon: "He watched the ball carefully, played under his eyes and seemed to have a good temperament." That ton against Warwickshire was one of two Bohannon struck in 2021, the other coming against Roses rivals Yorkshire, and his first-class average is now a lick under 44.

Bohannon will want to improve his conversion rate - he has turned just three of his 15 scores of 50-plus in red-ball cricket into centuries - but looks a prime candidate to bat for England at first drop in Australia next time around. He also bowls a bit of handy seam.

Joe Root (Yorkshire)

Root will turn 35 during the next away Ashes series but there is no reason to believe he will not still be banging out runs. He probably will not be captain - he might not even be captain come the West Indies series in March - but he seems likely to remain a vital cog in the middle order.

Plus, having suffered defeat on all three of his Ashes tours to date - 5-0 in 2013/14 under the captaincy of Sir Alastair Cook and then 4-0 reverses in 2017/18 and now 2021/22 while in charge of the side himself - he may fancy one final crack at winning the urn overseas.

By then, Root could be closing in on 200 Test appearances and he may very well have overhauled Cook's England-record 12,472 runs in the five-day arena. Root is only 2,872 behind Cook after the end of this Ashes series.

Ben Stokes (Durham) - captain

Stokes, meanwhile, will be 34 come the time of the next trip Down Under. Aging, yes, but not ancient. His role may have changed by then. He may be captain. He may have turned himself from an influential all-rounder into a batter who bowls a bit. He may be a batter who does not bowl at all.

But if his body holds up and he still has a burning desire to play Test cricket, then England will be loath to lose a man capable of such spellbinding moments on a cricket field.

Should it be an Ashes trip too far for Stokes, Dan Lawrence is a middle-order contender. He was on this year's trip but did not play a game with Ollie Pope (more on him in a just a moment) and then Jonny Bairstow preferred at No 6, while he has previous when it comes to succeeding in Australia, albeit with the England Lions, averaging 98.60 across the formats on the second string's tour in early 2020.

Then there is Liam Livingstone. Like Stokes, he offers a triple threat with bat, ball and in the field and seems like someone who would relish the challenge of an away Ashes series.

Ollie Pope (Surrey)

It has been a chastening 2021/22 Ashes for Pope - except for when he deputised as wicketkeeper for a stricken Jos Buttler in Sydney and took four catches. Pope, 24, was picked to perform with the bat and in that discipline he disappointed, not that he was alone.

The Surrey man started with a promising 35 in Brisbane but then bagged three single-figure scores in a row as he played frantically and looked a little lost against Nathan Lyon's off-spin. The axe fell ahead of the MCG Test, only for him to return for the final game in Hobart after Bairstow's injury - and then nick off for 14 chasing a wide ball first time around before being bowled behind his legs for five in the second innings.

Pope is seen as the best young batter in England - he averages over 51 in first-class cricket from a not-too-shabby sample size of 61 matches - and you would hope that would translate consistently to Test cricket in future. It perhaps does not say too much for county cricket or England's coaching at the senior level that it has not happened so far. He's at No 6 in our side but could slot in higher if Root or Stokes are not still around.

Ben Foakes (Surrey)

Ah, the age-old wicketkeeping debate. Each of the players hoping to make that spot their own - Buttler (31), Bairstow (32), Sam Billings (30) and Ben Foakes (28) - are theoretically young enough to still be around in 2025/26. We have gone for Foakes, as he is the baby of that group and the best gloveman.

The first of those points is undeniable and the second is widely accepted as fact. What often goes under the radar with Foakes is that he has a first-class batting average in the high 30s, better than Buttler and Billings and only four runs shy of Bairstow. He scored a Test hundred on debut in Sri Lanka and then hit a half-century in the following Test.

If you want another potential gloveman for England on their next Ashes trip, how about Ollie Robinson (not that one)? The 23-year-old Kent keeper has often taken the gloves even when Billings has been in the same team and has four first-class centuries to date.

Ollie Robinson (Sussex)

There may be an Ollie Robinson behind the stumps but there should definitely be an Ollie Robinson in the bowling attack.

Seamer Robinson will be only 32 when England next tour Australia and, as he showed in parts this time around, his height, accuracy and skill looks tailor-made for Australian pitches.

Overall in Test cricket since debuting at home to New Zealand last summer, he has bagged 39 wickets in nine games at an average of 21.28, with 11 of those coming in the Ashes at an average 25.54.

The only thing that could stall his Test career is his fitness, with bowling coach Jon Lewis saying Robinson's conditioning must improve and England have been "pretty frank" with him about that with the paceman prone to tiring towards the end of spells and series.

Jofra Archer (Sussex)

England really missed Archer's pace this winter. Sure, the abjectness of their batting may have made it difficult for him to have made match-winning contributions but we saw how much Mark Wood's speed rattled Australia's top players and if he could have been deployed alongside Archer, perhaps England would have knocked over the hosts more cheaply.

Archer being available for the next away Ashes is perhaps a hopeful thought. His long-standing elbow injury is taking a long time to clear up and he is not expected to be back in action until the English summer, while we do not yet know how the joint will stand up to the rigours of Test cricket.

If he is fit and available in four years' time, though, he will surely tour Australia. All England fans will hope that is the same for effervescent Wood, one of the rare bright sparks on this dismal Ashes tour, but he will be 35 by then, so that may, unfortunately, be pushing it.

Saqib Mahmood (Lancashire)

It's in the white-ball formats where Mahmood has made his mark for England so far, named Player of the Series in the 3-0 ODI success at home to Pakistan last summer with a leading nine wickets across the three games. Mahmood has played 16 limited-overs internationals in total but is yet to make his Test debut despite being named in squads.

David Lloyd has always believed in Mahmood as a red-ball bowler and his stats in that format are decent - 70 wickets in 25 games at an average of 27.92, with a maiden-five-for coming in a Roses victory for Lancashire against Yorkshire last season.

While not as quick as Archer or Wood, the 24-year-old paceman is quick enough and has the ability to generate reverse swing the aging ball.

Matt Parkinson (Lancashire)

Mahmood's Lancashire team-mate Parkinson has even better red-ball statistics - 102 wickets in 32 games at an average below 24. There has been much debate over the years about whether the leg-spinner bowls too slowly for international cricket but Shane Warne, a master of the craft, thinks his pace is just fine.

"The pace he bowls, the amount of bounce and spin he gets, I think he is perfectly suited to Australian conditions," Warne said earlier this year. "The good thing is a lot of people would have told him to bowl fast, but he has stuck to being true to himself and what he is good at. If I wanted a spinner to bowl fast, they would be called medium-pacers."

The support of a legend did not get Parkinson an Ashes gig with England taking finger spinners Jack Leach and Dom Bess instead. Bess did not play while Leach was pretty ineffective, so perhaps England should go down the wrist-spinner route next time.

Mason Crane, who played the Sydney Test in January 2018, is Parkinson's chief leg-spinning rival. Sky Sports' Rob Key does like the look of one finger spinner, though, in Surrey left-armer Dan Moriarty, who has bagged 35 wickets in his six first-class matches to date.

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