Photo Credit: Instagram Photo of @thegabbabrisbane
The Gabba will not host the Ashes series opener in Australia for the first time in over 40 years, as Cricket Australia has confirmed that Perth will be the venue for the first test of the 2025-26 series.
Instead, the Brisbane ground will host its first day-night Ashes match from December 4-8, before the five-test series moves to Adelaide Oval (December 17-21), the Melbourne Cricket Ground (December 26-30), and the Sydney Cricket Ground (January 4-8).
The last time an Ashes series in Australia began outside the Gabba was in 1982, when the two teams drew at the WACA in Perth. Australia lost the 1986 opener at the Gabba to Mike Gatting’s England but has not lost another Ashes test at the ground since.
Once the preferred venue for the start of Australia’s home cricket season, the Gabba’s prominence has declined in recent years, especially since the opening of Perth Stadium in 2017 and the redevelopment of Adelaide Oval a decade ago.
The Gabba’s future is uncertain, with no test scheduled for the 2026-27 home summer and plans for redevelopment for the 2032 Brisbane Olympics scrapped due to cost concerns. Australia has won the last eight Ashes tests in Perth, although 2025 will mark the first match at the new stadium in Burswood.
Meanwhile, Adelaide Oval will host its first daytime Ashes test since 2013, when fast bowler Mitchell Johnson took 7-40 in the first innings, leading to a 218-run victory for Australia.
“There has already been enormous interest from fans around the world and all over Australia wanting to see Australia’s and England’s men’s teams engage in the next installment of the Game’s oldest rivalry,” Cricket Australia executive Joel Morrison said during the schedule launch in Perth on Wednesday.
Australia has won 13 and drawn two of the 15 Ashes tests played on home soil since England’s victory in Sydney in 2011. Australia won the last home series 4-0 in 2021-22 and retained the urn last year with a 2-2 draw in England.
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Name of Author: Cricexec Staff
