England and Australia to rectify practice pitch issues on account of England’s lack of training at the Lilac Hill.
England and Australia seek to address Ashes warm-up concerns.
A reciprocal arrangement that would give touring teams better preparation before the Ashes series is being discussed by Cricket Australia and the ECB.
Prior to the first Ashes Test in Perth last month, England played one warm-up match against the England Lions at Lilac Hill, a club facility with low, slow pitches. CA had offered them a warm-up game in Adelaide or Melbourne against Australian opposition, most likely an Australia A team, but they opted to go directly to Western Australia.
Earlier this year, the ECB requested to use the WACA as their training base in Perth, just as India did at the beginning of their tour in 2024–2025. However, they were informed that this was not possible because of Sheffield Shield and WBBL matches.
According to one source, there was “no chance” that CA would allow England to use the WACA and run the risk of a repetition after India’s decisive victory in Perth last year. The Barmy Army staged a charity match at the WACA right before the first Test, proving that the location was not entirely off-limits, according to CA, who disputed that this was done on purpose.
Then, in favour of more training sessions at the Gabba, England declined the chance to send first-team players to a two-day, pink-ball match against the Prime Minister’s XI in Canberra before to the day-night Test in Brisbane. Their head coach, Brendon McCullum, subsequently speculated that England may have “over-prepared” before losing by eight wickets.
Initially, the ECB had thought that they would get useful match preparation from their three-match ODI series against New Zealand in October. However, in all three ODIs, England lost the toss and were required to bat first in bowler-friendly, early-season conditions. Only Harry Brook, one of their Ashes batsmen, scored even thirty runs during the series.
The director of cricket operations position at the ECB, which is in charge of pre-series planning, has experienced considerable turnover over the past two years. Prior to Rob Hillman’s appointment in July, the role was briefly occupied by two former rugby players, David Humphreys and Stuart Hooper, following John Carr’s retirement in 2023.
During the first two Ashes Tests in Australia, ECB CEO Richard Gould met with his CA counterpart, Todd Greenberg, to discuss a memorandum of agreement that would be implemented prior to the 2027 Ashes series in England.
“We’ve been talking, not about what’s gone before, but what we do next,” Greenberg said on the first day of the third Test in Adelaide. “We had an open conversation about when we come across in ’27. He’ll share some of their prep, we’ll share some of our wants and vice versa.
“I think it’s just a mature dialogue between us to figure out how we can help each other. I’m happy, very happy to do the same for him here and he’s happy to do the same for me there.”