This has already been a great summer for England’s cricket team – and they want even more success. Can they take back the Ashes? England are the team to beat. Here are the top Ashes betting offers.
The Ashes Free Bets, Betting Offers and Promotions
| Bookmaker | Bonus | |
|---|---|---|
 | Cricket In Play Free Bet Weekly Club | Claim Offer | When you decide to sign-up with Unibet, you’ll be awarded a welcome bonus of money back as a bonus if your first sport bet loses. |
 | Ashes Special - Bet £10 Get £30 +30 Spins | Claim Offer | Promo code SPORTS40a. 1st sports bet of £10+ at Odds of 2.00+. £30 free bet paid in 48 hours of settlement, valid for 7 days. Full T&Cs apply. |
 | Odds Boost on Any Ashes Market | Claim Offer | In order to take advantage of this offer you simply need to register as a new player. You are then done with your first Ladbrokes login. Then, make a deposit of at least £5 and the free matched bet is yours. |
 | Bet £20 on Series Top Batsman, Get a £10 Free Bet Every Time He Scores a Century | Claim Offer | The William Hill welcome bonus will give you 3 free £10 bets when you place your first bet of £10 or more on odds of ½ or more, which is one of the better sportsbook welcome bonuses around |
| | Get 8/11 on England to win the series | Claim Offer | In order to take advantage of this offer you simply need to register as a new player. You are then done with your first Ladbrokes login. Then, make a deposit of at least £5 and the free matched bet is yours. |
| | Get 5/2 on Joe Root to be England's Top Batsman | Claim Offer | The William Hill welcome bonus will give you 3 free £10 bets when you place your first bet of £10 or more on odds of ½ or more, which is one of the better sportsbook welcome bonuses around |
England Play Host
It’s 2019 – and England are set to host this year’s Ashes – the 71st of the series. It’s a little later this year, due to the World Cup – and England are looking to maintain momentum. The Ashes is an old tournament, dating all the way back to 1882. However, despite the number of series – it’s tight. Out of 70 previous series, England have won 32, lost 33 and drawn 5.
This series looks set to be as tight as ever. England are the World Champions but Australia are making a come back. However, last time is was supposedly this even, the Aussies beat England 4-0. This result really depends on the teams that show up on the day. Will the World Cup winners show their dominance – or will we see the demise of the champions?
Whatever happens, one thing is for certain. This will be an exciting Test Series. It’s unlikely to be a whitewash by either side, and we’re expecting to see a very close run competition. To help you make your best bets, we have looked through all the best Ashes free bets, offers and promotions – to make it even more exciting.
The Top Offer – Unibet’s £5 Free Bet if You Place a £10 In-Play Bet
Unibet is currently offering a top Ashes offer. Simply place a £10 in-play bet on any of the Ashes matches at Edgbaston, Headingley, Lords, Old Trafford or The Oval and you get a £5 free bet. The odds of your bet must be 2/5 or higher and the free bet will be valid to use on any sports for 7 days.
The only time restriction on this is that it must be in the Ashes Test Series. You can make use of the offer from the moment it opens to the minute it closes. However, you can only claim one free bet token per game. Also, be aware that any cashed out bet will not qualify. Also, the bets must be singles.
Unibet is known for its cricket offers and markets. They even sponsor the game, so this offer is no surprise. As such, when looking for a place to find offers, the best markets and the most competitive odds, Unibet is certainly a great place to go. As well as this, they also have an in-play bet club. So, if you want to place several in-play bets then you can get even more value for your money.
The Ashes Format and Schedule
When the Ashes was first around, there was no time limit on the series. So, in the past it has varied from one test – all the way up to six. However, since 1998, there has been a set number of five tests in the series.
So, generally, the set up is this. Tests are played over a time-span of around 5 days. Each team will have up to 2 battings innings as well as two chances to bowl the opposing team out.
Each of the batting innings consists of ten wickets. As soon as the opponents have taken ten wickets then the innings is done – leaving the other team to bat. Furthermore, a team can declare an end to their innings whenever they want – even if there are wickets remaining.
Then , the team that has racked up the highest score after two innings (twenty wickets) will be deemed the winner of that test. However, if no result is reached in the five days of the test (maybe due to rain delays) then it is deemed to be a draw.
The team that ultimately wins is the team that wins the highest number of the 5 test matches. It can be a draw, but for this to happen, one of the tests need to be drawn.
The Ashes series generally tends to take place in July – August. However, because this is Australia’s winter, the Ashes series are played over 2 years.
The Schedule
Test | Dates | Location | Venue |
| First | 1st – 5th August | Birmingham | Edgbaston |
| Second | 14th – 18th August | London | Lords |
| Third | 22nd – 26th August | Leeds, Yorkshire | Headingley |
| Fourth | 4th – 8th September | Manchester | Old Trafford |
| Fifth | 12th – 16th September | London | The Oval |
The Venues
Venue | Home Team | Capacity | Opened | 1st Au v En Test |
| Edgbaston | Warwickshire | 25,000 | 1882 | 1902 |
| Headingley | Yorkshire | 17,500 | 1890 | 1899 |
| Lords | Middlesex | 28,000 | 1814 | 1884 |
| Old Trafford | Lancashire | 26,000 | 1857 | 1884 |
| The Oval | Surrey | 25,500 | 1845 | 1880 |
Ashes Winners and Statistics
Let’s take a look at the statistic of the Ashes over the last 20 years .
The Ashes Recent Winners
Year | Host | Winner |
| 1998 – 1999 | Australia | Australia (3-1) |
| 2001 | England | Australia (4-1) |
| 2002-2003 | Australia | Australia (4-1) |
| 2005 | England | England (2-1) |
| 2006- 2007 | Australia | Australia (5-0) |
| 2009 | England | England (2-1) |
| 2010 – 2011 | Australia | England (3-1) |
| 2013 | England | England (3-0) |
| 2013-2014 | Australia | Australia (5-0) |
| 2015 | England | (England (3-2) |
| 2017-2018 | Australia | Australia (4-0) |
In general, the winner is pretty equal. There is no real dominant team when looking at the overall results in the last 20 years
Ashes Records
England Series W/D/L | Australia Series W/D/L | England Tests W/D/L | Australia Tests W/D/L | |
| All Series | 32/5/33 | 33/5/32 | 106/89/130 | 134/90/106 |
| Series in Australia | 14/2/19 | 19/2/14 | 56/25/86 | 86/25/56 |
| Series in England | 18/3/14 | 14/3/18 | 50/65/48 | 48/65/60 |
There are generally more tests drawn in England because there is a higher chance of weather cancelling the play. This is something well worth considering when making a bet.
Other Statistics
Statistics | Value |
| England Centuries | 212 (10 over 200) |
| Australia Centuries | 264 (23 over 200) |
| England 10 Wicket Hauls | 38 Times |
| Australia 10 Wicket Hauls | 41 Times |
| England Time Ashes Held | 53.5 years |
| Australia Time Ashes Held | 78.5 years |
Australia 2017/18 – England Nearly Suffer a Whitewash
Just like this year, the last Ashes was seen to be pretty even. However, that wasn’t the case as we saw. Despite England getting off to a pretty decent start that year, it was unfortunate that the teams they were beating were simply mediocre. However, as soon as they were faced with a top team – namely Australia – they were flummoxed. It was just too much for them to cope with.
There were outside factors that affected the team – such as Ben Stokes being under police investigation and Moeen Ali being injured. However, this still couldn’t justify the outcome of the Ashes Test Series that year. It can’t be said that they played really badly – there was no disastrous performance. However, no-one simply rose to the challenge of the top team. There was no player who gave a winning performance – and that made all the difference.
It wasn’t totally disastrous though. In the fourth test, England did put up a fight and managed a draw. They may even have won this test if the rain hadn’t happened.
Captain, Joe Root, did look good as a leader, despite the outcome. In fact, if it wasn’t for his strong leadership, the result may well have been even worse. His captaincy remains in place and he’ll be looking to avenge the result of the last Test Series. There will also be Trevor Bayliss, who will be bowing out after the 2019 Ashes.
England will undoubtedly have more confidence this year – going in as World Champions. Australia have also had a tough year with the ball-tampering scandal. However, they are pretty much recovered from that
The History of the Ashes
The very first test match between Australia and England was way back in 1877. However, back then, this was nothing like the Ashes. It was in 1882 that Australia played England in one test at The Oval. It started off with England taking the leading role, but they then collapsed in the second innings. They practically gave the Aussies the win, much to the shock of English fans – losng on their own turf to a colony.
Many believed that cricket died that day in England – and thus came the quotation “The body will be cremated and the ashes taken to Australia”. A year later, the captain of England (Ivo Bligh) stated that he would go back and recover those ‘ashes’ – and the magazine ‘Punch’ said he’d come back with an urn – so as a joke, Lady Clarke burnt a ball and placed the ashes in a small urn and gave it to Ivo.
Whether or not this is the real history of the Ashes is debatable, but despite the name coming and going in popularity, it remains to this day. When Ivo Bligh died, the urn became public knowledge – and the real ashes are said to be on display at the MCC museum – however, whether this urn is the original is again, debatable. However, The Ashes is now symbolic of the cricket rivalry between the two countries.