England travel to Australia carrying more optimism than in any recent tour. Having a new Test identity under Ben Stokes and Brendon McCullum, the long-awaited return of Jofra Archer, and a fully fit Mark Wood have boosted fresh energy into a group that has not won a Test in Australia since 2011. Meanwhile, Australia enters the series without Pat Cummins and Josh Hazlewood.

However, in the history of the contest, Australia has not lost an Ashes series at home in over a decade, and in their last 15 home Ashes Tests, they have suffered just a single defeat. With the Ashes returning to Australia for the 2025-26 summer, the former cricketers predicted the series scoreline. 

The prediction pool, featuring 14 former cricketers, ended with seven players backing England, six going for Australia, and one hoping for a tie.

Glenn McGrath favoured the Aussies to take the series home by a margin of 5-0. Furthermore, David Warner leaned similarly, backing 4-0 Australia, while Steve O’Keefe, Dinesh Karthik, and Brett Lee all foresaw narrow Australian victories.

On the English front, Graeme Swann, Phil Tufnell, Chris Woakes, and Steven Finn all tipped England to edge the series 3-2 or 3-2 in reverse. Michael Vaughan was the only one of the lot, predicting 2-2, expecting at least one draw to guide the outcome.

Alastair Cook and Michael Clarke predicted 3-1, though their loyalties lay with their countries. Notably, David Lloyd made a bold prediction of a 5-0 sweep for England, which would be the first time in history if it comes true. 

Below is the table of the predicted scorelines made by the former cricketers: