England Ashes | England Cricket

The Ashes games in England are generally played at just a handful of venues. These include the Oval, Lord’s, Headingley, Edgbaston, Trent Bridge and Old Trafford. Sophia Gardens in Cardiff can be added to this list as this is where the first Test of the Ashes 2009 series will be held.

Playing each Test match in the Ashes series at a separate cricket ground is good for the sport in both England and Australia, because it gives fans from a wider geographical area the opportunity to attend and watch an Ashes match in person.

For those fans who can’t make it to an Ashes match in person, there is plenty of television and radio coverage of the series to serve as an alternative. The Ashes in England can be followed live on BBC television or SKY Sports, depending on which broadcaster has secured the rights to show the games live. Of course, other broadcasters can still provide team information and score updates as and when they please. The best place for radio coverage of the Ashes in the UK is BBC Radio 5 Live, though again other channels will also provide updates.

Although the Ashes series always takes place in the summer months, the summertime weather in England is a lot less predictable than it is in Australia. Rain can and sometimes does affect play, and although this is inconvenient when it happens, it is certainly not something that gives either team an advantage in the long term due to the fact that rainfall is rather random, and not a secret weapon that England can conveniently call on during a particularly tough Test.

When the Ashes series is played in England, the Australian team tends to arrive in the country several weeks before the start of the first Test. This is to give the team members time to recover from the inevitable jet lag, acclimatise themselves to the climate in England and make the usual round of media appearances that are part and parcel of a modern Ashes series tour. It is during the latter activity that rivalry between England and Australia tends to become most noticeable, with the Aussies promising to smite England like never before and the Poms returning the favour.

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