The ECB is ready to explore ways to prevent Australia’s leading Test players preparing for an away Ashes series with stints in the County Championship.
Steve Smith, the acting Australia captain, conceded on the eve of the final Test of this series at the Sydney Cricket Ground that exposure to English conditions through the county game was the likely reason for Australia being more competitive in England than vice versa.
Smith played three four-day matches for Sussex in 2023, weeks before the most recent Ashes series in England. It is almost unheard of for England players to take part in the Sheffield Shield, Australia’s first-class red-ball competition, which has only six state teams compared with 18 county sides.
Green began his preparation for the 2027 Ashes with a spell playing for Gloucestershire last summer
PAUL DENNIS/SHUTTERSTOCK
Smith’s comments came the day after Ben Stokes, the England captain, said he had “never understood” why Australians were permitted to play for a county before a big series in England.
Of the 19 Australians who have taken part in the past two Ashes series, 13 have played in the championship. Four of those who have not played county cricket are fast bowlers, whom the Australia selectors would not want to risk.
Cameron Green and Todd Murphy, two young players who could feature in the Ashes in England in 2027, have already begun preparing for that tour. Both played for Gloucestershire in 2025, Green five times and Murphy four.
Rob Key, England’s director of cricket, comes from a generation of players who benefited from playing entire county seasons alongside top-class Australians, but that was before the franchise world fragmented the domestic calendar. The deals now are shorter and more transactional. In any case, there is no reason why overseas signings have to be Australian.
Stokes said he had “never understood” county cricket welcoming Australians when the same courtesy is not extended to England players by the state teams
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No less contentious is the fact England’s management is willing to block England players from turning out for their counties or franchises.
A move to block Australians would meet resistance from the counties, who generally find high-quality overseas players in short supply and jump at the chance when an Australian, such as Smith, makes himself available in the lead-up to an Ashes. The best compromise may be a ban in Ashes summers only, but all options will be considered.
Smith pointed out that World Test Championship finals, which are staged in England every second year, have offered Australians an additional opportunity to taste English conditions. Australia played in finals at the Oval in 2023 and at Lord’s last year.
He said: “A lot of our players have had the opportunity to play some county cricket, playing on some of their wickets, getting used to them, and then over the last couple of years we’ve had players that have played other series in England, so we’ve been exposed to those conditions — and it’s entirely different. So that may have something to do with it [Australia’s competitiveness].”
Stokes said: “It is odd when you see touring players given opportunities to play county cricket before a big series. I’ve never understood it. You never see it anywhere else in the world. I don’t think Australia would sign a visa for one of our lads playing Sheffield Shield games before an Ashes.”