Joe Root Questions Headingley Absence From 2027 Men's Ashes

Joe Root has said England’s players would welcome more influence over Test venues after their latest Headingley success, with the Leeds ground absent from the men’s Ashes schedule next summer. BBC Sport reported that England’s innings victory over Pakistan, completed inside three days, was their seventh consecutive Test win at Headingley and the ideal start to Root’s second spell as captain.

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England will not play another Test at Headingley until 2029. The ground and Old Trafford were left off the 2027 men’s Ashes roster under an allocation announced in 2023, while Trent Bridge will be the northernmost venue in the series and Southampton will stage an England-Australia Test for the first time. Headingley will instead host a women’s Ashes Test.

Root, a Yorkshire batter, said it would be “nice to have a choice” about where England play, while acknowledging that venue allocation is handled by others. He noted that players naturally prefer grounds where the team has enjoyed success and described Headingley as a venue that consistently produces strong Test cricket.

The recent record supports his point. England’s current seven-match winning streak in Leeds began with an innings victory over Pakistan in 2018 and includes Ashes wins over Australia in 2019 and 2023. According to the BBC, England have won nine home Ashes Tests at Headingley, a total exceeded only by their 17 victories at The Oval. Headingley has hosted 26 Ashes Tests, compared with 36 at The Oval.

England’s next men’s Ashes Test at Headingley is scheduled for 2031. From that cycle, the England and Wales Cricket Board has said at least one Test in every home Ashes series will be staged in either Leeds or Manchester, while Southampton is due to receive a men’s home Ashes Test in alternate series.

The Pakistan win also opened a new leadership phase for England. Root returned to the captaincy after Ben Stokes retired, four years after Root previously left the role. Stephen Fleming has replaced Brendon McCullum as Test coach but is not yet in post, leaving Marcus Trescothick in interim charge for the Pakistan series. Root said he and Trescothick had remained in regular contact with Fleming during the Headingley Test, with the incoming coach expected in Britain in September.