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By Shane Dell 26/06/04
England have prepared early and are looking forward to the coming
onslaught when they take on the reigning Ashes champions Australia, on home soil during the scheduled 2005 Battle for the Ashes. In a five match Test Series scheduled to kick off at Lord’s in July 2005, England’s hopes of a Ashes Series victory remain high.
Luck has been with England in their last two Series where they have beaten both the West Indies and New Zealand, taking both Series in a clean sweep. However, coming up against the Australian Juggernaut who are the current World Test Cricket Champions and likely to remain so for some time to come, will be a much tougher assignment for the emboldened Englishmen. But, if England continue to improve along current lines, it will be a much closer Ashes Series than the last one played in Australia. Let’s hope so!
If ever there has been an opportunity for England to reclaim the Ashes Series and it’s Australian born trophy, something they have not been able to do for around ten years, then 2005 is likely to be the closest they will come. If they can’t pinch the coming Ashes Test Series, they might as well give up trying. In 2006/7 Australia will host the Ashes series downunder, so don’t miss it. Abc of Cricket will be able to tell you where to buy those sold out tickets for the series downunder.
1 Test: 21-25 July at Lord’s
2nd Test: 4-8 August at Edgbaston
3rd Test: 11-15 August at Old Trafford
4th Test: 25-29 August at Trent Bridge
5th Test: 8-12 September at Brit Oval
npower Test Series v Bangladesh
1st Test: 26-30 May at Lord’s
2nd Test: 3-7 June at Durham
NatWest Series Warm-up Match
11 June: England v Hampshire at the Rose Bowl
NatWest International Twenty20 Match
13 June: England v Australia at the Rose Bowl
The NatWest ODI Series
16 June: England v Bangladesh at Brit Oval
18 June: Australia v Bangladesh at Cardiff
19 June: England v Australia at Bristol
21 June: England v Bangladesh at Trent Bridge (D/N)
23 June: England v Australia at Durham (D/N)
25 June: Australia v Bangladesh at Old Trafford
26 June: England v Bangladesh at Headingley
28 June: England v Australia at Edgbaston (D/N)
30 June: Australia v Bangladesh at Canterbury
2 July: Series Final at Lord’s
NatWest ODI Challenge
7 July: England v Australia at Headingley
10 July: England v Australia at Lord
12 July: England v Australia at Brit Oval
2006/07 Ashes Series Schedule - Australia v England in Australia