Hampshire's 2027 Ashes Test follows compensated 2023 venue switch

Hampshire's allocation of a men's Ashes Test in 2027 followed the loss of a planned fixture in 2023 and a compensation payment exceeding £1m, BBC Sport has reported. The arrangement explains why neither Headingley nor Old Trafford will stage a men's Test during Australia's next Ashes visit, with Southampton instead preparing to host one for the first time.

Watch the highlights:

According to BBC cricket correspondent Stephan Shemilt, the 2023 match had originally been intended for Hampshire before it was switched to Headingley. The Guardian first reported the change. The England and Wales Cricket Board subsequently compensated Hampshire and awarded the county a fixture in the 2027 series. Neither Hampshire nor the ECB has commented on the reporting, leaving their own accounts of the arrangement unstated.

The venues for the 2023 series were announced in 2018, during Colin Graves's tenure as ECB chair. Graves, now Yorkshire chair, had also led the county before moving to the national governing body. He told the Guardian that he had no involvement in allocating the matches and that he left the room when the board discussed the relevant recommendations.

Those allocations were made through the ECB's former competitive-tender system, under which grounds effectively submitted financial bids for fixtures. A rotation model has since replaced that approach. BBC Sport reported that all 18 first-class counties and Marylebone Cricket Club supported the newer system, which the ECB considers fairer and used to distribute major fixtures through 2031. The two methods therefore form distinct parts of the venue-allocation chronology.

The geographical consequence for the 2027 men's series is that Trent Bridge in Nottingham will be its northernmost venue. Both Leeds and Manchester staged men's Tests in each of the previous two home Ashes series, but neither will do so next year. Headingley will nevertheless remain part of the Ashes programme by hosting the series' only women's Test.

Beyond 2027, the ECB plans to stage at least one men's Ashes Test in northern England from 2031. Southampton is to receive a men's Test in alternate Ashes series. Those plans set out a different distribution for future visits, while the newly reported compensation and switch provide the background to Hampshire's first opportunity to host the fixture next year.