Key Points
- Joe Root has never scored a Test century in Australia
- Australia retained the Ashes with a series draw in 2023
- England have not won the Ashes Down Under since 2010-11
2025-26 Ashes Betting Tips
It has finally arrived.
The Ashes
gets underway this week with England looking to win the Ashes Down Under for the first time since the 2010-11 campaign.
It has been a long time between drinks since the English boys tasted success in Australia, could this be the year it changes.
The first Test starts on Friday, November 21 at the Perth Stadium, and this page will be dedicated to that opening Test with top quality
Ashes betting tips.
The Ashes First Test Preview
Australia are the holders of the Ashes after the last series in a 2-2 draw on English soil. England last won an Ashes series in 2015 with a 3-2 success, but since then they have failed to win any of the four series played.
Two of them have seen Australia win them outright in 2017-18 and 2021-22 - both Down Under. While the last two series held in England have been draws, but as Australia had won the previous ones they retained the trophy.
What can we expect this year? There is a lot of pressure on Joe Root to perform. He has yet to score an Ashes century Down Under and the Australian press are coming for him claiming he is just an ‘Average Joe’.
This could back fire on the Aussies. Joe Root is a calm and collected player, but when he is switched on he will punish you and the pressure will not get to him. In fact, it could play into his hands. He has nothing to lose and when Root is relaxed he is very dangerous.
Australia vs England Ashes First Test Team News
Australia have already been dealt some injury news ahead of the first Test in Perth with Sean Abbott ruled out of the first Test with a hamstring issue.
Josh Hazlewood is another player out of the first game with a similar problem and Michael Neser has been called up.
Whether Abbott and Hazlewood will be fit to return later in the series remains to be seen. Captain Pat Cummins will also miss the first Test but is expected to be back for the second, Steve Smith will captain the side in his absence.
Australia will now hand debuts to batsman Jake Weatherald and pace bowler Brendan Doggett. England will look to go at Doggett from the off to try and take advantage of his inexperience.
England have named a strong squad for this Ashes series with Ben Stokes captaining the touring side.
Pace bowler Jofra Archer will be hoping his pace will trouble the Aussies on their own pitches. Mark Wood - who has had his own injury troubles - has been cleared to play in the first Test.
Stokes and his coach Brendan McCullum could opt for an all-attacking bowling line up with the news that Wood is fit. Spin bowler Shoaib Bashir struggled in England’s warm-up game against the Lions, meaning he could miss out if England are not expecting the pitch to turn.
Bashir went for almost seven an over on the final day with figures of 1-83 in the second innings, while he only produced figures of 1-68 in the first innings. England could go with an all-attacking line up consisting of Archer, Wood, Brydon Carse, Gus Atkinson and Stokes himself.
Bashir has been named in the squad and it looks like a toss up between him and Wood for who starts in Perth. Personally, I would play Wood, but if the pitch is expected to turn late on, then Bashir will be needed.
The Ashes Squads:
Australia
Steve Smith (captain), Scott Boland, Alex Carey, Brendan Doggett, Cameron Green, Travis Head, Usman Khawaja, Marnus Labuschagne, Nathan Lyon, Mitchell Starc, Jake Weatherald.
England
Ben Stokes (captain), Harry Brook (vice-captain), Jofra Archer, Gus Atkinson, Shoaib Bashir, Brydon Carse, Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Ollie Pope, Joe Root, Jamie Smith, Mark Wood.
Australia Vs England The Ashes First Test Betting Tips & Predictions
The opening Test of an Ashes series is normally hard to predict. The tension and anticipation is at an all time high with both teams desperate to do well.
It normally ends up with just one team performing well on the opening day and that could set the standard for the remainder of the Ashes series.
The home crowd will be on England’s back from the first ball. If the tourists can quieten down the Perth crowd, then they have a good chance of taking a 1-0 lead in the series.
I am expecting England to bat first. Whether they win or lose the toss. Stokes will be looking to send a message to Australia that they are here to take the series to them and they can do that by posting a big score in the first Test.
Root is the dangerman for England. He has not scored an Ashes century in Australia and this has led the media to claim he is not as good as the English think he is.
Let’s get this right. Root has scored 13,543 Test match runs and is currently second on the leading runs scorer list for Test matches.
He is in second place behind probably the greatest batsman ever - Sachin Tendulkar. You do not score over 13 thousand runs at Test level by being average.
I am backing Root to show the world how good he is by scoring a first Test century to put England on the front foot. I will boldly claim that England will dominate the Test in Perth and come out victorious after five days of play.
Root brings a measure of calm to the England batting line up. If he is scoring runs and is enjoying himself, then this calms the rest of the players down. I am backing Root to reach three figures, but I am also backing Harry Brook to score a half century.
When it comes to the Australian bowling attack, they will miss the likes of Abbott, Hazlewood and Cummins, but they still have Mitchell Starc and Nathan Lyon. I am not expecting the pitch to turn a lot in Perth, so I am backing Starc to be the pick of the Australian bowlers.
Check out my wide range of betting tips for the first Test and see if I am on the money or miles off.
- England to win first Test - 29/20 @
BetMGM
- Joe Root to score a century - 9/2 BetMGM
- Harry Brook to score a half century - 33/20 BetMGM
- Steve Smith to score a half century - 7/5 BetMGM
- Mitchell Starc Australia top wicket taker (1st innings) - 9/4 BetMGM
- Jofra Archer England top wicket taker (1st innings) - 23/10 BetMGM
The Ashes Welcome Betting Offers
The Ashes is one of the biggest sporting events in the world and the betting interest will be through the roof.
There will not be many specific welcome offers aimed at The Ashes, but that does not mean you cannot take advantage of the current welcome bonus offers on the market thanks to a wide range of
cricket betting sites.
BetMGM – Bet £10 & Get £40
BetMGM UK: Pros & Cons
- Wide range of casino games
- Great collection of live casino games
- Great selection of sporting events
- Comprehensive sports betting markets
- Mobile app available
- Small selection of payment methods
BetMGM
UK has a “bet £10 and get £40 in free bets” welcome bonus offer for its sportsbook new customers in the UK.
All you have to do is sign up for an account on the BetMGM platform and deposit at least £10. Then, within seven days, place a qualifying sports bet at the required minimum odds to receive £40 in Free Bets, paid as four £10 Free Bets that include two Bet Builder Free Bets and two Sports Free Bets.
All Free Bets must be used within seven days and cannot be used on esports or on horse racing outside the United Kingdom and Ireland. This promotion is only available to customers who are at least 18 years old.
The free bets will be distributed as follows - 4 x £10 Free Bets (2 x £10 Bet Builders & 2 x £10 Sports bet).
QuickBet - Bet £10, Get £10 Free Bet
QuickBet: Pros and Cons
- Intuitive interface
- Offers both a sportsbook and a casino
- Decent welcome offers
- Fully mobile-optimised site
- 40x bonus wagering requirement
The
QuickBet
sportsbook has a great welcome offer for new customers to get their teeth into.
To claim the Bet £10, Get £10 Free Bet offer, you will need to place a minimum bet of £10 with odds of 2.00 (1/1) within 24 hours of your QuickBet sign up.
After the result of your bet comes in, the £10 free bet becomes available on your bonus page. The free bet needs to be wagered only once before it can be paid out. However, the £10 free bet being deducted from any potential winnings is a potential turn off.
Betway - Bet £10, Get £40 In Free Bets
Betway: Pros and Cons
- Wide variety of sports markets available.
- Consistently strong pre‑match odds offered.
- Responsive 24/7 live chat support.
- In‑play odds weaker than pre‑match.
This welcome offer at
Betway
is similar to the one at BetMGM. New customers have to register, deposit and wager £10 in order to activate the Betway welcome offer.
No bonus code is needed, but there are certain stages to claiming the offer. You will receive four bet tokens and they are as follows:
- Token 1 - £10 bet on any sport
- Token 2 - £10 football bet builder
- Token 3 - £10 horse racing acca
- Token 4 - £10 football acca
Only one of the free bets is available to be used on The Ashes. It is still a decent offer, you can use the £10 bet on who you think will score the most runs in the first Test or take the most wickets.
