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 BSTDone
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 9 Oct 2026

The ECB published one set of universal ballot dates for the whole 2027 England home summer: the ballot opened at 10:00 on 2 Sept 2026 and closed 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 was 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's own page gives 2 Sept 2026 to 23:59 on 29 Sept 2026, with winners informed on 5 Oct 2026, buying from 10:00 on 6 Oct 2026 and general sale on 14 Oct 2026; the Utilita Bowl's own ballot application page now confirms its ballot closed 29 Sept 2026 23:59, matching the universal close, with results notified by 2 Oct 2026 (no opening date published there); 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

The ECB's universal ballot ran from 10:00 on 2 Sept 2026 to 23:59 on 29 Sept 2026 and has closed. Some venues run their own ballots on their own dates: Lord's runs its ballot until 26 Oct 2026 and the Kia Oval until 15 Nov 2026, so for those two Tests enter the venue's ballot, not the ECB's. Ballot winners 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, and remaining tickets go on general sale from 10:00 on 14 Oct 2026. Entering a ballot is free, and you pay only for tickets you are allocated. For the other routes, check the venue page for the Test you want, and sign up free to We Are England Cricket Supporters at ecb.co.uk, opting in to England Cricket ticketing marketing so the priority window details reach you by email.

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 was 10:00 on 2 Sept 2026 to 23:59 on 29 Sept 2026, and the ECB called 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.
• All 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 closed at 23:59 on 29 Sept 2026 like the ECB, but informs its winners on 5 Oct 2026 and sells to them from 10:00 on 6 Oct 2026, with general sale on 14 Oct 2026. 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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