Lord’s to host England matches against Australia, Ireland and New Zealand in 2023

Lord’s will be hosting four international fixtures in 2023, as announced today by the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB).

Australia, Ireland and New Zealand will all visit the Home of Cricket to face England next year, including matches that form part of both the men’s and women’s Ashes Series.

The international summer at Lord’s will begin on Thursday 1 June when England’s men play Ireland in the first LV= Insurance Test match of the summer.

This will be only the fourth time that Ireland have played Test cricket, with their last match being at Lord’s in July 2019. The fledgling Test nation will be eager to impress on their return to the longer-format arena.

On Wednesday 28 June, we welcome Australia for a showpiece match at the Home of Cricket, as they lock horns with England for the second match in the men’s LV= Insurance Ashes Series. The teams last met at Lord’s in 2019 when a thrilling conclusion saw the teams fight out a draw.

Attention turns to the women’s teams on Saturday 8 July when England and Australia meet in a Vitality T20 International (T20I), with the sides playing in a multi-format points-based competition to determine the winner of the women’s Ashes.

It will be the first time that Lord’s has hosted a women’s T20I since 2009, when England defeated New Zealand in the ICC Women’s World Cup Final.

We round off a fantastic international summer by welcoming New Zealand to Lord’s on Thursday 15 September for a men’s Royal London One-Day International (ODI). Supporters will need no reminder of the last time the two sides met at the Ground in an ODI, as England won a dramatic ICC Men’s World Cup Final in one of the greatest international matches ever seen.

MCC can also confirm that Lord’s has been working with the International Cricket Council and ECB in relation to planning for the next two cycles of the World Test Championship Final. In a parallel fixture announcement, ICC today confirmed that Lord’s will host the 2025 World Test Championship Final, whilst the 2023 final will be staged at The Oval.

Tickets

Demand for international cricket at Lord’s remains exceptionally high with over 30,000 registrations already received for 2023 ticket ballot information before today’s fixture announcement. The Lord’s Ticket Ballot will open to the public in October with an opportunity to enter for all fixtures, including the men’s Ashes.

MCC has undertaken a comprehensive review of ticket pricing at Lord’s for 2023, balancing our objective to open up the Ground to new audiences with the major hike in operating costs being experienced by all major sporting venues in the coming year.

The pricing review has led to a significant increase in the number of mid-priced men’s Ashes tickets available to the general public, a simplification of seating categories including one mid-range category for all wheelchair seating and free carer tickets and unlimited U16 tickets in all general admission areas across all international matches. U16 tickets will start from a very affordable £5 for the women’s T20 International and from just £25 for the men’s Ashes.

Adult ticket prices start at £20 for the England v Australia women’s T20 International and from £40 for the England v Ireland men’s Test match. There will be further matches made available at lower price points over the coming months as we announce our domestic schedule, including family-friendly competitions The Hundred and Vitality Blast.

At the other end of the ticket spectrum, the highest adult general admission price for the men’s Ashes will be £170, comparable to – indeed lower – than other blue riband sporting and premium London events, and an increase of just £5 (a 3% increase) from the same fixture in 2019.

In going on sale with men’s and women’s international tickets in tandem, we are responding to the upsurge in interest we have seen to attend women’s cricket matches at Lord’s. Having broken global attendance records for domestic women’s cricket three times in the last two summers, we have increased the audience for the international game. In just three days’ time further records look set to be broken at our Royal London women’s ODI, England v India, with a large crowd expected as we look to finish the 2022 season at Lord’s in style.

Guy Lavender, Chief Executive & Secretary of MCC, said: “The international fixture announcement is always a landmark day in our calendar and we look forward to hosting another year of high-quality cricket at Lord’s in 2023.

“We are thrilled that for the first time ever, we will stage both the men’s and women’s Ashes at the home of the Ashes Urn and the birthplace of the Women’s Ashes Trophy.

“We welcomed a record-breaking 20,840 spectators to Lord’s for the women’s final of The Hundred on 3 September 2022. With this weekend’s England v India ODI looking set to break further records, we are delighted to continue to champion the women’s game.

“Our ticket pricing review is aimed squarely at cricket fans. We have expanded our mid-range pricing to improve affordability, enabling more families to attend matches at Lord’s. With the domestic schedule still to follow, we look forward to welcoming an increasing breadth of spectators to the Home of Cricket.

“Finally, it is fantastic news that Lord’s will be hosting the ICC World Test Championship Final in 2025, providing fans further opportunities to look forward to attending world-class cricket at this special Ground.”

2023 men’s international fixtures at Lord's

• England v Ireland (Thursday 1 – Sunday 4 June) Men’s Test match
• England v Australia (Wednesday 28 June – Sunday 2 July) Men’s Test match
• England v Australia (Saturday 8 July) Women’s T20 International
• England v New Zealand (Thursday 15 September) Men’s One-Day International

Ticket information

The public ballot will open on 24 October, with further details to be published here. For those wishing to be the first to hear ballot information, sign up here.