The Ashes 2027 (England v Australia, men's) - ECB and host venue ticket ballots

Key dates

1. Wed, 2 Sept 2026Ballot opens10:00 BSTDone
2. Tue, 29 Sept 2026Ballot closes23:59 BSTNext
3. 18 Jun 2027 to 23 Jul 2026Event runsDone

The venue ballots

Each ground runs its own ticket process. Every one is tracked on its own page, with dates, eligibility and official sources:

Where it stands

As of 3 Sept 2026

The ECB publishes one set of universal ballot dates for the whole 2027 England home summer: the ballot opens at 10:00 on 2 Sept 2026 and closes at 23:59 on 29 Sept 2026.

Its own footnote matters as much as the dates: these are universal dates and some host counties and venues will run alternative ballot dates, so the venue's own page is the final word for that Test. On the ECB's universal timetable, county club members get priority windows inside that same 2 Sept 2026 to 29 Sept 2026 period, and free We Are England Cricket Supporters sign-up carries its own priority window before the ballot results.

That window is worked on the host county's own ticketing site, through a dedicated link or a code the ECB emails before it opens, and the ECB sends those details only to supporters opted in to receive its ticketing marketing, so the free sign-up on its own does not get you in. The ECB adds that host counties and venues may run priority windows that let certain members buy without entering the ballot at all, so a membership can change whether you go through the ballot, not only when you buy.

Ballot winners then buy in assigned windows, 1 Oct 2026 to 5 Oct 2026 for the first group and 7 Oct 2026 to 13 Oct 2026 for the final group, with remaining tickets going on general sale from 10:00 on 14 Oct 2026. Entering the ballot is free. Venue by venue: Edgbaston has published exactly the universal window (2 Sept 2026 10:00 to 29 Sept 2026 midnight, general sale 14 Oct 2026 10:00); Trent Bridge opens on 2 Sept 2026 but runs its own later stage, with remaining seats going to ballot winners from 6 Oct 2026 and no closing date published; the Utilita Bowl has said only that member and Priority Club priority opens in September 2026 with a public ballot for what is left; Lord's runs its own ballot from 2 Sept 2026 to 26 Oct 2026, with first-round winners buying from 17 Nov 2026 and general sale on 10 Dec 2026; and the Kia Oval runs its own ballot from 2 Sept 2026 to 15 Nov 2026, with results on 23 Nov 2026 and a winners' purchase window from 24 Nov 2026.

Both London grounds published those dates on 2 Sept 2026, so for Lord's and the Kia Oval the ECB's 29 Sept 2026 close does not apply: enter the venue's own ballot. All five Test dates are fixed by the ECB's 23 Jul 2026 announcement: Trent Bridge 18-22 June, Lord's 30 June to 4 July, Edgbaston 8-12 July, Utilita Bowl 21-25 July, Kia Oval 29 July to 2 August 2027.

The same ballot process covers the Metro Bank Women's Ashes, whose Test is at Headingley 24-27 June 2027.

How to enter

Enter the ballot between 10:00 on 2 Sept 2026 and 23:59 on 29 Sept 2026, free, reached through the ECB's international ticketing pages or through the host venue's own ticketing site, email and social channels. Check the venue page for the Test you want before relying on those dates: the ECB states some counties and venues run alternative ballot dates, and two do. Lord's own ballot closes on 26 Oct 2026 and the Kia Oval's on 15 Nov 2026, so for those two Tests enter the venue's ballot on the venue's dates. Two free steps are worth taking, and taking early: register interest at ecb.co.uk/tickets/2027 and with your chosen venue, and sign up free to We Are England Cricket Supporters at ecb.co.uk, which carries a dedicated priority window during the ballot period (subject to availability, and it guarantees nothing). Opt in to England Cricket ticketing marketing while you register: the ECB emails the priority window details, and the dedicated link or code you buy through on the county's ticketing site, only to opted-in supporters. A 2027 county membership at a host venue buys the earliest access of all, and at grounds that run their own priority windows it can let you buy without entering the ballot. If nothing lands, remaining tickets go on general sale from 10:00 on 14 Oct 2026.

Your odds

Expect heavy oversubscription. Utilita Bowl officially warns ballot-stage availability will be 'extremely limited' with most tickets taken in member and priority windows; ECB/venues reported unprecedented ballot demand and record-breaking sales for the 2026 summer (England v India 2026 sold out)

Good to know

• The ballot window is 10:00 on 2 Sept 2026 to 23:59 on 29 Sept 2026, and the ECB calls these universal dates for the whole 2027 home summer. Its own caveat is that some host counties and venues run alternative ballot dates, so the ground's page is the final word for that Test.
• County or venue membership is the earliest access of all. At grounds that run their own priority windows, the ECB says these can let certain members buy without entering the public ballot at all, not just an earlier slot inside it. Free We Are England Cricket Supporters sign-up is the lighter route: its own priority window to buy before the ballot results are known, at counties that run one, worked from the host county's ticketing site through a dedicated link or a code emailed before the window opens. Neither guarantees a ticket.
• The free sign-up alone will not get you that link or code. The ECB says priority window details are emailed only to supporters opted in to receive ticketing marketing from England Cricket, so tick that opt-in when you register, and do the same for your chosen venue's emails, which is how host counties send details of their own priority windows.
• There is no single results day. Ballot winners get assigned purchase windows, 1 Oct 2026 to 5 Oct 2026 for the first group and 7 Oct 2026 to 13 Oct 2026 for the final group, and general sale of everything left starts at 10:00 on 14 Oct 2026.
• Four of the five venues have published dates of their own, and the two London grounds run later than the ECB. Edgbaston publishes exactly the universal window. Trent Bridge opens on 2 Sept 2026 but offers remaining seats to its winners from 6 Oct 2026, outside the ECB's October windows. Lord's own ballot runs 2 Sept 2026 to 26 Oct 2026 (first-round winners buy from 17 Nov 2026, general sale 10 Dec 2026) and the Kia Oval's runs 2 Sept 2026 to 15 Nov 2026 (results 23 Nov 2026, winners buy from 24 Nov 2026). For those two Tests, enter the venue's ballot: the ECB's 29 Sept 2026 close is not their deadline.
• Applying for more Tests is the legitimate way to raise your chances. Applying twice for the same one is not: duplicates get cancelled, sometimes across every linked application.
• Old Trafford hosts no men's Ashes Test in 2027, so there is no Old Trafford ballot to enter. Headingley hosts the 2027 Women's Ashes Test, 24-27 June 2027, covered by the same process.

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