Cricket in Britain: how to follow it and where to watch — both Ashes are in England in 2027

If you have moved to Britain, cricket will catch up with you sooner or later: it is discussed in the pub, it plays in the background in cafés, and in summer the parks fill with people dressed in white. Here is what the game is and where to watch it — and the coming summer is a special one.

The occasion: the King tossed the coin

On 1 November 2026 the Sir Vivian Richards Stadium in Antigua and Barbuda hosted an exhibition match series called "One Commonwealth, One Team". Note the name: this is the Commonwealth of Nations, not the United Kingdom — they are different things.

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The ceremonial coin toss was conducted by King Charles III as Head of the Commonwealth. The match formed part of Antigua and Barbuda's Independence Day celebrations during the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting.

Teams of leaders played: the Caribbean side was captained by Guyana's President Irfaan Ali, and the wider Commonwealth team led by Kenya's Principal Secretary for Foreign Affairs, Korir Sing'Oei. The honorary team managers were Sir Vivian Richards himself and the former England captain David Gower. An Under-23 match was played alongside it.

Commonwealth Secretary-General Shirley Botchwey put the point simply: the celebration brings leaders, young people and communities together.

The game in two minutes

Two teams of 11. One bowls and fields, the other bats and scores — then they swap.

What confuses newcomers most is the length. Cricket has several formats, and they differ completely:

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Test cricket — the classic form, lasting up to five days, and it can still end in a draw.

One-day internationals — 50 overs a side, one day.

T20 — 20 overs a side, about three hours. The easiest format for a first visit.

The Hundred — 100 balls a side, shorter and louder still.

An over is six consecutive deliveries from one bowler. Hold on to that one fact and the field makes far more sense.

The main thing: both Ashes series are in England in 2027

The Ashes is cricket's oldest rivalry, England against Australia. The 2027 season in England carries both the men's and the women's Ashes, plus a Mixed Disability series.

The men's Tests: 18-22 June at Trent Bridge in Nottingham, 30 June-4 July at Lord's in London, 8-12 July at Edgbaston in Birmingham, 21-25 July at the Utilita Bowl in Southampton and 29 July-2 August at the Kia Oval in London.

The women's Test against Australia is 24-27 June at Headingley in Leeds, followed by T20 and one-day series in July.

Tickets need moving on now

Tickets for the 2027 internationals are on sale at 14 of the 16 venues. And the current picture explains a great deal.

At Edgbaston and Southampton the first four days are already sold out. Trent Bridge has limited availability for day five only. Lord's is run by ballot, so you enter rather than buy. And the Kia Oval goes on general sale in December — the nearest real opportunity.

The cheaper, easier way in

The Ashes is not the only option, and for a first visit it is not the best: expensive and frantic.

Internationals at smaller grounds are far more accessible. The women's team plays in September 2027 at Northampton, Taunton, Worcester, Hove, Canterbury and Chelmsford — small, friendly grounds where you sit close to the play.

The men's team hosts Pakistan in May at Southampton, Manchester, Leeds, Durham and Cardiff, and New Zealand in September.

And the most accessible of all is county cricket. The same famous grounds, the same pitches, but clubs rather than national sides: tickets cost a fraction, and the atmosphere is calm and talkative. The season runs April to September, with fixtures on each county's website.

What you can do right now, in November

The season is over and the grounds are empty. But Lord's in London — the home of cricket — is open all year.

The tour goes behind the scenes: the Long Room, the media centre and the MCC Museum, one of the oldest sporting museums in the world. Tours run several times a day — at 10am, 11am, 12pm and 2pm — and are booked through the Lord's tours site.

It is probably the best way to understand why the British take this game so seriously, before you first sit through five days of it.