The oldest rivalry in cricket, and one of the longest running contests in sport, is back this week and it promises to be a riveting one.
England have landed in Australia for the start of the five-Test Ashes, the first contest of which takes place in Perth from Friday.
The Aussies have held on to the Ashes urn for close to a decade, and enter the series as the favourites - even if not overwhelming ones - to retain the coveted trophy.
England have not won an Ashes Test in Australia since 2011. It was also the last time they won a series in Australia. That span includes a 5-0 loss in 2013/14, and 4-0 defeats in 2017/18 and 2021/22.
But the mood has changed following a spate of injuries to key Australian players. Star captain Pat Cummins has failed to regain fitness following back issues while pace spearhead Josh Hazlewood has picked up a hamstring injury. Even stand-in captain Steve Smith copped a blow to the hand while training.
Will England be able to make the most of Australia's sudden fitness concerns?
Fixtures
First Test: November 21-25 in Perth (match starts 6.30am UAE time)
Second Test: December 4-8 in Brisbane (Day-night Test from 8.30am)
Third Test: December 17-21 in Adelaide (4am)
Fourth Test: December 26-30 in Melbourne (3.30am)
Fifth Test: January 4-8 in Sydney (3.30am)
Squads
Australia (first Test): Steve Smith (captain), Usman Khawaja, Marnus Labuschagne, Alex Carey (wk), Cameron Green, Travis Head, Josh Inglis, Jake Weatherald, Mitchell Starc, Scott Boland, Nathan Lyon, Beau Webster, Brendan Doggett, Michael Neser
England: Ben Stokes (captain), Harry Brook (vc), Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Joe Root, Jamie Smith (wk), Ollie Pope, Jacob Bethell, Will Jacks, Matthew Potts, Jofra Archer, Brydon Carse, Gus Atkinson, Shoaib Bashir, Josh Tongue, Mark Wood
Players to watch
For Australia, it could boil down to Scot Boland. In the absence of two of their frontline quicks, Australia will need their X factor seamer to step up and basically lead the attack in the opening match. Boland will likely have to bowl a bulk of the overs and also keep the runs in check.
England will be banking on Harry Brook to be the enforcer in the middle order. The opening Test will be a great opportunity for England to go after Australia's attack once Starc and Boland are done with their overs. England's young star batter against Australia's aging pacers.
Fun fact
Only one Australian player in their entire squad is under the age of 30 - Cameron Green. Even their replacement players are above 30. England, on the other hand, have a total of three players on the other side of 30 - Stokes, Wood and Root.
What they said
Steve Smith on Australia's bowling attack: "We’ve got a pretty good replacement in Scott Boland, who I think is arguably one of the best bowlers in the world. His record in Australia is outrageous. We’re lucky to have Scotty there ready to go."
Ben Stokes on England's limited preparation for the Ashes: "We've not been preparing for this tour over the last three weeks, we've put a lot of thought and process into this for a few years now.
"The landscape of cricket has changed. You used to be able to come out on a tour a month-and-a-half, two months before the first game started. Now there's so much cricket packed into the schedule, it's impossible to do it how it used to be done."
Where to watch Ashes 2025 in UAE
Cricket fans in the UAE can watch all the action on the Starzplay app.
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The years Ramadan fell in May
The biog
Hometown: Cairo
Age: 37
Favourite TV series: The Handmaid’s Tale, Black Mirror
Favourite anime series: Death Note, One Piece and Hellsing
Favourite book: Designing Brand Identity, Fifth Edition
As it stands in Pool A
1. Japan - Played 3, Won 3, Points 14
2. Ireland - Played 3, Won 2, Lost 1, Points 11
3. Scotland - Played 2, Won 1, Lost 1, Points 5
Remaining fixtures
Scotland v Russia – Wednesday, 11.15am
Ireland v Samoa – Saturday, 2.45pm
Japan v Scotland – Sunday, 2.45pm
INDIA SQUAD
Rohit Sharma (captain), Shikhar Dhawan (vice-captain), KL Rahul, Suresh Raina, Manish Pandey, Dinesh Karthik (wicketkeeper), Deepak Hooda, Washington Sundar, Yuzvendra Chahal, Axar Patel, Vijay Shankar, Shardul Thakur, Jaydev Unadkat, Mohammad Siraj and Rishabh Pant (wicketkeeper)
AS IT STANDS IN POOL A
1. Japan - Played 3, Won 3, Points 14
2. Ireland - Played 3, Won 2, Lost 1, Points 11
3. Scotland - Played 2, Won 1, Lost 1, Points 5
Remaining fixtures
Scotland v Russia – Wednesday, 11.15am
Ireland v Samoa – Saturday, 2.45pm
Japan v Scotland – Sunday, 2.45pm
World Series
Game 1: Red Sox 8, Dodgers 4
Game 2: Red Sox 4, Dodgers 2
Game 3: Saturday (UAE)
* if needed
Game 4: Sunday
Game 5: Monday
Game 6: Wednesday
Game 7: Thursday
Living in...
This article is part of a guide on where to live in the UAE. Our reporters will profile some of the country’s most desirable districts, provide an estimate of rental prices and introduce you to some of the residents who call each area home.
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The Africa Institute 101
Housed on the same site as the original Africa Hall, which first hosted an Arab-African Symposium in 1976, the newly renovated building will be home to a think tank and postgraduate studies hub (it will offer master’s and PhD programmes). The centre will focus on both the historical and contemporary links between Africa and the Gulf, and will serve as a meeting place for conferences, symposia, lectures, film screenings, plays, musical performances and more. In fact, today it is hosting a symposium – 5-plus-1: Rethinking Abstraction that will look at the six decades of Frank Bowling’s career, as well as those of his contemporaries that invested social, cultural and personal meaning into abstraction.
FIXTURES
All times UAE ( 4 GMT)
Friday
Saint-Etienne v Montpellier (10.45pm)
Saturday
Monaco v Caen (7pm)
Amiens v Bordeaux (10pm)
Angers v Toulouse (10pm)
Metz v Dijon (10pm)
Nantes v Guingamp (10pm)
Rennes v Lille (10pm)
Sunday
Nice v Strasbourg (5pm)
Troyes v Lyon (7pm)
Marseille v Paris Saint-Germain (11pm)
2020 Oscars winners: in numbers
- Parasite – 4
- 1917– 3
- Ford v Ferrari – 2
- Joker – 2
- Once Upon a Time ... in Hollywood – 2
- American Factory – 1
- Bombshell – 1
- Hair Love – 1
- Jojo Rabbit – 1
- Judy – 1
- Little Women – 1
- Learning to Skateboard in a Warzone (If You're a Girl) – 1
- Marriage Story – 1
- Rocketman – 1
- The Neighbors' Window – 1
- Toy Story 4 – 1
'HIJRAH%3A%20IN%20THE%20FOOTSTEPS%20OF%20THE%20PROPHET'
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Learn more about Qasr Al Hosn
In 2013, The National's History Project went beyond the walls to see what life was like living in Abu Dhabi's fabled fort:
Groom and Two Brides
Director: Elie Semaan
Starring: Abdullah Boushehri, Laila Abdallah, Lulwa Almulla
Rating: 3/5
Terror attacks in Paris, November 13, 2015
- At 9.16pm, three suicide attackers killed one person outside the Atade de France during a foootball match between France and Germany
- At 9.25pm, three attackers opened fire on restaurants and cafes over 20 minutes, killing 39 people
- Shortly after 9.40pm, three other attackers launched a three-hour raid on the Bataclan, in which 1,500 people had gathered to watch a rock concert. In total, 90 people were killed
- Salah Abdeslam, the only survivor of the terrorists, did not directly participate in the attacks, thought to be due to a technical glitch in his suicide vest
- He fled to Belgium and was involved in attacks on Brussels in March 2016. He is serving a life sentence in France
Islamophobia definition
A widely accepted definition was made by the All Party Parliamentary Group on British Muslims in 2019: “Islamophobia is rooted in racism and is a type of racism that targets expressions of Muslimness or perceived Muslimness.” It further defines it as “inciting hatred or violence against Muslims”.
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GIANT REVIEW
Starring: Amir El-Masry, Pierce Brosnan
Director: Athale
Rating: 4/5
White hydrogen: Naturally occurring hydrogen
Chromite: Hard, metallic mineral containing iron oxide and chromium oxide
Ultramafic rocks: Dark-coloured rocks rich in magnesium or iron with very low silica content
Ophiolite: A section of the earth’s crust, which is oceanic in nature that has since been uplifted and exposed on land
Olivine: A commonly occurring magnesium iron silicate mineral that derives its name for its olive-green yellow-green colour
MOUNTAINHEAD REVIEW
Starring: Ramy Youssef, Steve Carell, Jason Schwartzman
Director: Jesse Armstrong
Rating: 3.5/5
French business
France has organised a delegation of leading businesses to travel to Syria. The group was led by French shipping giant CMA CGM, which struck a 30-year contract in May with the Syrian government to develop and run Latakia port. Also present were water and waste management company Suez, defence multinational Thales, and Ellipse Group, which is currently looking into rehabilitating Syrian hospitals.
THE SIXTH SENSE
Starring: Bruce Willis, Toni Collette, Hayley Joel Osment
Director: M. Night Shyamalan
Rating: 5/5
2024%20Dubai%20Marathon%20Results
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Results:
First Test: New Zealand 30 British & Irish Lions 15
Second Test: New Zealand 21 British & Irish Lions 24
Third Test: New Zealand 15 British & Irish Lions 15
RESULT
Al Hilal 4 Persepolis 0
Khribin (31', 54', 89'), Al Shahrani 40'
Red card: Otayf (Al Hilal, 49')
GOLF’S RAHMBO
- 5 wins in 22 months as pro
- Three wins in past 10 starts
- 45 pro starts worldwide: 5 wins, 17 top 5s
- Ranked 551th in world on debut, now No 4 (was No 2 earlier this year)
- 5th player in last 30 years to win 3 European Tour and 2 PGA Tour titles before age 24 (Woods, Garcia, McIlroy, Spieth)
The specs
Engine: 5.0-litre V8
Power: 480hp at 7,250rpm
Torque: 566Nm at 4,600rpm
Transmission: 10-speed auto
Fuel consumption: L/100km
Price: Dh306,495
On sale: now
MATCH INFO
Champions League last 16, first leg
Tottenham v RB Leipzig, Wednesday, midnight (UAE)