Michael Vaughan Critiques 43% Ticket Hike for 2025 Ashes at Edgbaston
Michael Vaughan has condemned a steep rise in ticket prices for next summer’s men’s Ashes Test at Edgbaston, branding the increase “really poor” as fans brace for some of the most expensive seats ever seen at the Birmingham ground.
The Hollies Stand, the raucous heart of Edgbaston and home to almost 6,000 spectators, will see tickets for the 2025 Ashes climb from £115 in 2023 to £165 – a jump of 43% for the third Test of the series between England and Australia.
Vaughan, a former England captain and Ashes-winning skipper, reacted bluntly on social media when the prices emerged, posting: “This is really poor,” a line that quickly captured the mood of many supporters already feeling squeezed.
The rises are not confined to the Hollies. Across the rest of the stadium, Warwickshire members will be able to buy tickets for £92, while the cheapest adult seats for the first three days of the Test are set at £115. Every ticket carries a £2.50 booking fee on top.
All this comes off the back of a blockbuster 2023 Ashes in England. That series finished 2-2 after Australia surged into a 2-0 lead with wins at Edgbaston and Lord’s, only for England to fight back. The England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) hailed it as a triumph, announcing that every day of the series sold out in advance and total attendance topped 545,000.
Those numbers, and the irresistible drama of the contest, have clearly emboldened organisers. Yet the picture at Edgbaston this summer tells a different story.
Despite the ground operating at reduced capacity because of an on-site hotel development, tickets for next week’s third Test between England and Pakistan – priced between £57.50 and £87.50 for adults – have not sold out. Lower prices, smaller capacity, and still spare seats. That contrast will not be lost on supporters staring at Ashes tickets nudging towards £200 in some stands across the country.
The ballot for the 2027 Ashes opened on Wednesday, and Edgbaston is not alone in pushing the upper limits. Lord’s and The Oval are even more expensive, with the best tickets priced at £190 and £185 respectively, underlining how London venues continue to sit at the very top of the Test-match market.
Upcoming Ashes Series
On the field, England’s task is clear. Beaten 4-1 in Australia last winter, they will try to wrench back the urn on home soil next summer. The series opens at Trent Bridge in Nottingham on 18 June, with the second Test at Lord’s from 30 June and the third at Edgbaston starting on 8 July.
There is also a new chapter for Ashes geography. The Utilita Bowl in Southampton will host a men’s Ashes Test for the first time, becoming the 10th UK ground to stage the contest when the fourth Test begins on 21 July. The series then closes at the Kia Oval from 29 July, a familiar stage for decisive Ashes cricket.
For now, though, the noise is not about selection, conditions or tactics. It is about cost.
With a former England captain calling out the pricing and fans already counting the pounds, the question hanging over next summer is stark: can the Ashes still feel like cricket’s great shared occasion if so many are priced out of the gate?
