Ashes schedule confirmed, England and Australia to play final Test in Perth

The England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) and Cricket Australia (CA) have confirmed the Men's and Women's Ashes schedule for 2021-22 to be staged in Australia.

The first Men's Ashes Test will begin at Brisbane's Gabba from December 8-12 ahead of a day-night Test at the Adelaide Oval from December 16-20. The traditional Boxing Day and New Year's Tests will be played at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (December 26-30) and Sydney Cricket Ground (January 5-9) respectively, with the final Test scheduled for Perth's Optus Stadium (January 14-18), as per the ECB release.

For the first time in 26 years, the final Ashes Test will not be staged in Sydney.

The multi-format Women's Ashes series will begin at Manuka Oval, Canberra, with the Test match from January 27-30.

The white-ball matches, which combine with the Test match to form the multi-format series, kick off with three T20Is, to be played at the North Sydney Oval, Sydney (February 4 and 6) and the Adelaide Oval (February 10).

The multi-format series concludes with three ODIs at Adelaide Oval (February 13) and the Junction Oval in Melbourne (February 16 and 19).

At the end of the Women's Ashes series, England will depart for New Zealand to participate in the ICC Women's World Cup in a year that will also see them represent Team England at the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham.

(ANI)