The Ashes is one of cricket’s biggest and most bitter rivalries. England and Australia face off for this famous prize every couple of years, giving us punters some great Ashes betting opportunities.
Our guide to the best The Ashes betting sites has expert betting advice, market risk explanations and we even tell you where to get the best Ashes odds!
Top 7 Ashes Betting Sites in the UK
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Bet on the Ashes with Unibet
To be perfectly honest, every one of the betting sites that makes our top 7 list is worth trying out. However, if we had to pick just one to recommend for punters who want to bet on The Ashes it would have to be Unibet. The Unibet blog has loads of information related to the Ashes, including a handy page where you can view all the latest Ashes social media posts.
Unibet’s Ashes odds are always very competitive and you can read more about those in our odds comparison section. At Unibet, you will have lots of different batting and bowling markets to pick from for both teams and you might even come across some Ashes betting promotions. If you pick Unibet to bet on The Ashes, you won’t be disappointed.
Popular Ashes Betting Markets
As we briefly mentioned in the previous section, there are a multitude of different markets punters can pick from. You can bet both pre-match and in-play on The Ashes with most bookmakers and picking the correct market will greatly increase your chances of landing a few winning wagers.
Below we look at some of the most popular Ashes betting markets and our expert analysts give their view on the risk involved with each option and also the type of punter they are suited to. Before you put your hard-earned cash down, check out our expert Ashes betting advice section. It might just help you land a winner or two!
Wager Type | Risk | Recommended for |
Match Betting | 1 | Beginners |
Series Betting | 3 | Novices |
Total Match Runs | 4 | Advanced |
Player Of The Match | 5 | Advanced |
1st Wicket Method | 4 | Expert |
(*risk can be managed, not volatility)
Expert Tips: The Ashes Betting Advice
- Home Comforts In the early years, the series hosts didn’t hold much of an advantage. However, that has changed in the past couple of decades. Since 1990/91 the Aussies have hosted eight series and England only managed to win once, in 2010/11. England are unbeaten at home since 2005 but a draw in 2019 cost them dearly with Australia retaining The Ashes. By and large though, the home team holds a big advantage.
- Be Decisive Another thing to consider when betting on the series result is the lack of draws. Since the first Ashes series back in 1882/83 only 6 have finished as draws so usually it pays to be decisive and back either team to win. Since 2005 England have had the upper hand with 5 wins in comparison to Australia’s 3 (draw in 2019). World rankings and recent performances are good indicators as to who is the most likely winner.
- Patience is a Virtue A single test match in The Ashes lasts a couple of days at least. It is a marathon, not a sprint, and punters who show patience can be richly rewarded. In-play betting opportunities may present themselves at any time during a match and if you can spot these chances you could well make a killing. We recommend watching every minute of every game and if a bowler gets injured or a batsman starts hitting 4s and 6s for fun, you’ll be ready to bet on the relevant market and hopefully make a profit.
- The Big Picture One of the most popular markets (as we mention in our Ashes betting markets section) is the total runs scored over/under market. Sometimes due to extenuating circumstances, the teams may well underperform when batting. Things like the weather, pitch condition and player form are all highly influential in this market and you can often predict that the likelihood of lots of runs being scored by one or both teams is extremely low. This shows the importance of looking at the bigger picture before you bet on The Ashes.
How to Find the Best Ashes Odds
Any punter that is serious about making money from their pastime knows that finding the best odds is a no-brainer. The more generous the odds, the more you get if you win. If you fail to get the best price, you are directly impacting your profits.
As you can see in the Ashes odds comparison table* below Unibet and bet365 were top (or joint top) price about two of the three possible match outcomes. Don’t just limit yourself to the three bookies named below though, if you want to get the best Ashes odds, check out all the bookmakers on our top 7 Ashes betting sites list.
Event Format
The Ashes is a test series held roughly every two years between England and Australia’s cricket teams. It is a best of 5 test series since 1998/99. The last Ashes series played over 6 matches was in 1997 when Australia won on English soil by a score of 3-2-1. Each test match in the series is an event in itself and can last anything from between 3-5 days. There is then a break between tests of usually around 10 days.
Each individual test match consists of 4 innings. Both teams bat twice and bowl twice. The playing order is decided by the toss of a coin between the two captains before the start of play on the day of the first test. The team that scores the most runs during their two at bat innings is declared the test winner. The Ashes winner is determined over five test matches and if the series ends in a draw, the current holders retain The Ashes urn. You can check out who the current holders are in our past Ashes winners section.
Past Winners
Year | Ashes Winner | Scoreline |
2019 | Australia Retain | 2-2-1 (Draw) |
2017/18 | Australia | 4-0-1 |
2015 | England | 3-2 |
2013/14 | Australia | 5-0 |
2013 | England | 3-0-2 |
2010/11 | England | 3-1-1 |
2009 | England | 2-1-2 |
- Legendary spin bowler Shane Warne has taken the most wickets in The Ashes with an incredible 195 in just 36 matches or 72 innings.
- Ian Botham has the most catches in the field in Ashes history with 54 in a total of 32 matches.
- Sir Donald Bradman scored the most Ashes runs with a total of 5028 in just 37 matches and perhaps unsurprisingly he holds the record for the most centuries too with 19.
- The highest score posted by a batsman in one match was 364 by Englishman Leonard Hutton all the way back in 1938.
- The highest Aussie score was achieved by Don Bradman who scored 334 in 1930.
💡 Did You Know? One thing that England has never managed to achieve in an Ashes Series is a whitewash. 5-1 in a 6 match series in 78/79 is England’s biggest win, while Australia have 3 whitewashes to their name, the most recent a 5-0 win in 2013/14. |
The History of The Ashes
The Ashes is one of the longest-running test matches in International cricket. The first official Ashes Test Match was held in 1882 and Australia shocked the world by beating England on their own patch. This didn’t go down well with the English media and a journalist in The Sporting Times surmised that it was the death of English Cricket and that ‘the body will be cremated and The Ashes taken to Australia’. Ever since then, the series became widely known as The Ashes. No other test series in World Cricket holds the same stature as this one.
There is an actual urn, allegedly containing the ashes of a burnt cricket ball, that is on display at Lord’s Cricket Ground in London. This has never been the official trophy though. Since the late 1990s, the winners of The Ashes have been awarded a Waterford Crystal replica of the urn as a trophy. Since its inception, there has been a total of 71 Ashes series and there is nothing between the two teams. Australia have 33 wins vs England’s 32 and a total of 6 have ended in draws. Find out more about how the series works in our section on The Ashes’ format.
If you fancy taking in a test match at the next Ashes series or if you are looking for the latest news on the schedule for the next Test Series you can find lots of useful information on the official English Cricket Board site (ECB Site) and also on the official Aussie Cricket Board website.
The Ashes Betting FAQs
Where can I find the best Ashes cricket betting odds?
As you can see in our Ashes betting odds comparison section both Unibet and bet365 are up there when it comes to competitiveness of odds. They can’t be relied upon to have the best prices for every single Ashes market though, so the best solution is to shop around for the best odds before you place any bets.
Can I stream The Ashes on any betting sites in the UK?
At the time of writing the rights to stream the next Ashes series has yet to be awarded. We don’t actually know yet if any sites will have live streaming for the Ashes. However, your best bet is to check out the bookies on our top 7 Ashes betting sites list. If any bookie is going to have live streaming of The Ashes it will most likely be one of those.
How often are The Ashes played?
The Ashes is generally played at least once every two years. Sometimes there is only a year between test matches but the maximum gap between series is 2 years. You can find out more about when and where The Ashes are going to be played in our Ashes Format section.
Why is it called the Ashes Series?
The Ashes earned its name thanks to an article written in The Sporting Times back in the 1880s. It related to the death of English cricket after the Aussies pulled off a massive shock by beating England in a one-off test match at Lord’s. You can find out lots more interesting facts about one of the oldest cricket rivalries in the world by reading our section on the history of The Ashes.