SYDNEY, Nov 22: England will again play four tour matches in addition to the five Tests on the 2013-14 Ashes tour of Australia, Cricket Australia (CA) said in announcing the dates of the series on Thursday.

Cricket’s oldest and fiercest international rivalry will be renewed twice next year with Australia’s tour of England being followed by the return visit Down Under to avoid the series running into the limited overs World Cup in 2015.

England won the Ashes in 2009 and retained them on their last trip after a convincing 3-1 series triumph in Australia – their first in a quarter of a century.

The Tests will again take place at traditional centres like the Gabba in Brisbane, the Adelaide Oval, the WACA Ground in Perth, the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) and the Sydney Cricket Ground (SCG).

“We are delighted to be able to confirm the Ashes fixtures so far in advance of the series,” CA chief James Sutherland said in a statement.

“It means fans will be able to plan their trips around the country to follow all the action.

“I am sure there will be a lot of fans from the UK who will want to make the trip over and we look forward to hosting them here.”

England’s boisterous travelling ‘Barmy Army’ have become an integral feature of Ashes series in recent years.

The one tour match taking place during the Test series will be in Canberra between the first and second Tests rather than between the second and third Tests as was the case in 2010.

The dates and venues for the five One-day Internationals and three Twenty20 Internationals will be released in January.

Schedule:

Oct 31-Nov 2: Western Australia XI (Perth).
Nov 6-9: Australia ‘A’ (Hobart).
Nov 13-16: New South Wales XI (Sydney).Nov 21-25: First Test (Brisbane).
Nov 29-30: Chairman’s XI (Canberra).
Dec 5-9: Second Test (Adelaide).
Dec 13-17: Third Test (Perth).
Dec 26-30: Fourth Test (Melbourne).
Jan 3-7: Fifth Test (Sydney).—Reuters