Michael Vaughan takes dig at Tim Paine, confident England will reclaim the Ashes this year

Cricket Australia (CA) has recently announced the Australia cricket schedule for the 2021-22 season and the high-profile Ashes Test series is set to witness a major change after more than 2 decades. The Ashes is considered as one of the fiercest global rivalries taking place between England and Australia with the fans eagerly waiting for the Test series every season. It appears that preparations have already begun for the Ashes off the field as former English captain, Michael Vaughan took a dig at the Australian cricket team after the announcement of the schedule.

According to the Australia cricket schedule 2021, the first Test match of the Ashes is set to begin on December 8, at the Gabba. However, the finale of the Ashes won’t be hosted at the Sydney Cricket Ground for this season, instead, it will be hosted in Australia at the Perth Stadium. This will be the first time in 26 years that the Ashes finale won’t be hosted at the iconic SCG, a ground that has seen many Australian captains such as Ian Chappell, Steve Waugh, Steve Smith and Ricky Ponting win the Ashes on home soil.

Michael Vaughan's comment after the Australia schedule announcement

Considering this change, Michael Vaughan took to Twitter saying that it is always good to reclaim the Ashes at the MCG. The Tim Paine-led Australian team are the current holders of the Ashes title even though the result of the series ended in a draw. Michael Vaughan, through his tweet, has indirectly predicted that Tim Paine and co. will lose the Ashes on home soil comfortably.

Ashes 2021 schedule

As per the Ashes 2021 schedule, the 5-Test series against Joe Root led England team will begin with the first Test at The Gabba from December 8-12. The remaining four Tests will be played at the Adelaide Oval (December 16-20), Melbourne Cricket Ground (December 26-30), Sydney Cricket Ground (January 5-9) and Perth Stadium (January 14-18). This year, the SCG will be hosting the fourth Test match rather than the series finale which has been a traditional host for 26 years.

Australia cricket schedule 2021

The Australian team have no international matches until the month of October. After losing the Border-Gavaskar Trophy against India, the Australian team was supposed to tour South Africa for a 3-match Test series, but the schedule was called off in the wake of the pandemic. Australia fixture for the latter half of the 2021 year will be the Bangladesh tour where they will play a T20I series consisting of 3 T20IS. The schedule for the same hasn't been announced yet.

After the series against Bangladesh, the Australians will depart for the T20 World Cup 2021 that will be played from October 18 - November 15. The Australian team will then play a single Test match against Afghanistan from November 27 – December 1 at the Blundstone Arena. This Test match will then be followed by the Ashes series.

Image Source: AP/cricket.com.au