The Ashes Ultimate Guide: How to Watch on ICC.tv

The oldest Test rivalry in the history of the game is reignited on 8 December with Australia hosting England at the Gabba in the Men's Ashes.

The two sides will clash across five Tests in December-January, and the men's outfits won't be the only teams battling it out for Ashes supremacy.

The Women's Ashes will commence on 20 January with three T20Is before the multi-format series moves to a one-off Test and three ODIs.

Fans in select regions will be able to subscribe to watch it all on ICC.tv.

Australia are currently the holders of the urn in both the Men's and Women's Ashes and will be hoping to make the best use of home conditions to extend their dominance.

Ahead of two intense showdowns, here's everything you need to know about the Ashes.

Like the Australia-India women's series earlier this year, the Women's Ashes will be available to stream on ICC.tv for FREE for registered users in Southeast Asia and Europe, as well as other regions that do not currently have a broadcast partner. It is free to sign up to ICC.tv.

The Men's Ashes will be available on ICC.tv in the same regions with a pay-per-view subscription.

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PPV prices for Men's Ashes on ICC.tv

First Test: 8-12 December – The Gabba, Brisbane
Second Test: 16-20 December – Adelaide Oval
Third Test: 26-30 December – Melbourne Cricket Ground
Fourth Test: 5-9 January – Sydney Cricket Ground
Fifth Test: 14-18 January – Blundstone Arena, Hobart

First T20I: 20 January – Adelaide Oval
Second T20I: 22 January – Adelaide Oval
Third T20I: 23 January – Adelaide Oval

First Test: 27-30 January – Manuka Oval, Canberra

First ODI: 3 February – Manuka Oval, Canberra
Second ODI: 6 February – Junction Oval, Melbourne
Third ODI: 8 February – Junction Oval, Melbourne

The five-Test series will be contested under the current cycle of the ICC World Test Championship. Besides the England-India series, the Ashes will be the only other five-match series in the WTC 21-23 cycle.

Under the new points system of the World Test Championship, each match is allotted a total of 12 points, irrespective of the length of the series. A win fetches the team 12 points while a tie or a draw is 6 points and 3 points respectively.

To standardize the imbalance in the number of matches played, the standings of WTC 21-23 will be based on the percentage of available points accumulated.

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Since 2013, the Women's Ashes have been contested as a multi-format series with teams clashing across formats, and the winner determined by who has the most points at the end of it.

The 2013 Women's Ashes was the first series that saw the implementation of the new points-based system.

In the multi-format system, four points are awarded to a Test win and points are shared equally in the case of a draw or a tie. For ODIs and T20Is, the winning team gets two points for a win and a point each for a draw or a tie.

The 2019 Men's Ashes was the first series to be played in the inaugural ICC World Test Championship cycle. The series, which started in August 2019, also marked the Test returns of Steve Smith, David Warner and Cameron Bancroft.

Smith marked his Test return in style, scoring a hundred in each innings in difficult conditions at Edgbaston. Despite England taking a first-innings lead of 90, Australia put on a mammoth 487/7 in their second before skittling the hosts out for 146 to take a 1-0 lead.

The rain-hit second Test at Lord's ended in a draw after which the action moved to Headingley for what then became one of the most memorable Test matches in recent history.

England were bundled out for 67 in the first innings in response to Australia's 179. Set a target of 359, fifties from Root and Joe Denly kept England in the hunt, but they lost their way, sliding from 245/4 to 286/9.

Ben Stokes, then batting on 61*, played a sensational counter-attacking knock with Jack Leach keeping him company. The two put on a stunning partnership of 76, with Leach contributing just one run as England got across the line with a wicket to spare.

Australia made a brilliant comeback in the next game in Manchester, with Smith once again leading the way with a double century in the first innings and a half-century in the second. The 185-run win ensured Australia retained the Ashes despite the series ending in a draw as England won the final Test.

England hosted the last women's Ashes between 2 July and 31 July in 2019, with the one-off Test sandwiched between the ODI and T20I legs.

Australia clean swept the ODI series 3-0, thus taking a 6-0 points lead in the series.

The first ODI was a low-scoring thriller, with Australia chasing down 178 with two wickets to spare. In the second ODI, England posted 217 on the back of Tammy Beaumont's 117. Australia chased the total down with more than four overs to spare, thanks to Ellyse Perry's fifty and vital contributions from the lower order.

In the final ODI, England were skittled out for 75 chasing 269, with Perry registering the best bowling figures for Australia in Women's ODIs with 7/22.

The one-off Test ended in a draw, with both teams collecting two points each.

Australia continued their limited-overs domination in the T20I series. They put on 226 batting first in the first T20I, their highest total in the shortest format of the game, with Meg Lanning scoring 133*. In reply, England could only get to 133.

After another loss in the second T20I, England got their first win of the multi-format series in the final game, restricting Australia to 122/8 in their chase of 140.

The oldest rivalry in Test history started way back in 1882. One-hundred-and-thirty-nine years later, it is still one of the most fiercely contested series in the game.

A total of 71 series, with a varying number of Test matches in each, have been played under the Men's Ashes. Australia have won 33 of those series while England are breathing down their neck with 32 wins. Six have ended in a draw.

With a series draw resulting in the previous winners holding the Ashes, Australia have held on to the urn since 2017/18.

The first Women's Ashes on the other hand, was first played in 1934, though it wasn't recognised as an Ashes series until 1998. Here too, Australia have dominated England, winning nine out of 23 series compared to England's six. Eight series have ended in stalemate.

Since 2013, the Women's Ashes have been contested in multi-format series.

Fans in select regions will be able to subscribe to watch it all on ICC.tv.