England and Australia Renew Ashes in Rugby League and Cricket

England and Australia will renew high-profile rivalries in two separate Ashes series this autumn and summer, with the Rugby League Ashes beginning in England on Saturday, October 25 and the five-Test cricket Ashes starting in Perth on November 21. The rugby league series will be played across three consecutive Saturdays at Wembley, Liverpool and Leeds, while the cricket contest runs from November 21 to January 4 with matches in Perth, Brisbane, Adelaide, Melbourne and Sydney.

The Rugby League Ashes returns for the first time since 2003, staged now as England versus Australia rather than Great Britain against the Kangaroos. Organisers expect more than 57,000 at Wembley for the opener, with the Liverpool and Leeds fixtures sold out. A number of tickets have been allocated to local schoolchildren and health workers. The three-Test run is on course to sell roughly 130,000 tickets, approaching series records for the United Kingdom, reflecting organisers' hopes that the revival will broaden the sport's footprint beyond its traditional northern heartlands.

England enter the series under coach Shaun Wane and captain George Williams. The side has been unbeaten in seven internationals...