The whole of the United Kingdom is set to be bathed in sunshine on Friday 4 April, a clear sign that the English cricket summer is getting underway!
It may not yet be beer garden weather with plenty of chills still in the air, but the sunglasses are being dusted off and plenty of cricket supporters are starting to get excited about the next six months.
And they have every reason to be so enthused with a bumper half year of domestic, franchise and international cricket coming up across the men’s and women’s game.
Now some of you cricket badgers may have your calendars already filled and have all of the key fixtures circled, but for those of you who are not quite so organised, this article will prompt you to clear some space in the diary over the coming months!
You may also want to extend the months beyond the English summer and autumn as well, as there is a Women’s World Cup and a tiny little urn up for grabs on the other side of the world before the end of 2025.
April
Last year it was Surrey who came out on top of all the counties in division one and lifted the trophy for the third successive year. That means that they can create history in 2025 as they target becoming the first county to ever achieve that feat.
Year | Division One Champions | Division Two Champions |
2024 | Surrey | Sussex |
2023 | Surrey | Durham |
2022 | Surrey | Nottinghamshire |
2021 | Warwickshire | Lancashire |
Going into the campaign as favourites with the bookies, Surrey travel to Essex to kick off the season with the hosts the joint-second favourites with Somerset.
According to the odds, it will be Worcestershire who finish bottom of the pile with Sussex, Yorkshire and Nottinghamshire fighting over the other relegation spot.
Down in the second division, Lancashire are the clear favourites to go up and can be backed at 7/4 with some sportsbooks. This may have something to do with former England Test star Jimmy Anderson expected to play a major part across the season, even if he does miss their opener away to second-favourites Middlesex this Friday.
Derbyshire have the longest odds of the teams in Division Two, but there is plenty of time to go before the season concludes in the final week of September.
May
You may have to wait until the end of the fifth month of the year for a fix of T20 cricket but it will be well worth it as double-headers of men’s and women’s fixtures begin in the Vitality Blast with the ‘Blast-Off Weekend’.
Prior to that weekend, we have the first international action of the season with England Women getting it underway with a T20I series against West Indies Women. This will be particularly exciting as the hosts will by then have a new captain in place replacing Heather Knight and will be playing under new coach Charlotte Edwards who has taken over from Jon Lewis.
And the day after that T20I series gets underway, it will be the turn of the men who take on Zimbabwe in a four-day Test at Trent Bridge, the first time the two teams have met in the longest format since 2003.
Then the women will take centre-stage once again as they switch white ball formats and begin an ODI series against West Indies Women.
June
With such a rich history of Test cricket, fans based in England have been spoilt for choice for many years when it comes for access to watching the traditional format. However, the cost can sometimes be prohibitive, but with the England v Zimbabwe Test in May and the World Test Championship Final (June 11-15) between South Africa and Australia offer, there is plenty more action than usual for supporters to enjoy.
Test Cycle | Winners | Runners-up |
2019-2021 | New Zealand | India |
2021-2023 | Australia | India |
The WTC Final brings an end to the 2023-2025 cycle and there will be no time to ponder on what might have been as the England v India Men’s Test series then gets underway on June 20th!
Both teams have traditionally dominated the other in home series and it will be interesting to see if Ben Stokes’ side are able to do the same against such a strong India outfit.
The end of the month will also see the start of white-ball series between England Women and India Women with the home side fancied to emerge victorious in both by the bookies.
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July
Four of the five men’s Tests between England and India will take place during July although the final one will also go into the first four days of August.
Neither side qualified for the WTC Final during 2023-2025 and both will begin this cycle with an eye on doing so but not taking their focus away from the series at hand.
England will begin as favourites but the likes of Virat Kohli and Jasprit Bumrah will have other ideas and could be well worth backing as series top run scorers and leading wicket takers respectively!
August
One day after the scheduled end of the England v India Test series, all eyes will turn to the Hundred. The tournament remains a divisive one, particularly with cricket purists and traditionalists, but there can be no mistaking that it has brought with it a new family friendly audience to the game and women’s cricket has seen huge growth off the back of it.
London Spirit Women and Oval Invincibles Men are the current holders and will begin the 2025 season as favourites!
September
And then it will be September and the sun will stop being so strong with the leaves starting to turn golden… but the cricket continues!
The County Championship will finally come to an end for 2025 at the end of the month, by which point the winners and losers may well have already been sorted.
But as one tournament and summer finishes, a huge world cup will get underway in India which hosts the Women’s Cricket World Cup. Based on the popularity and success of recent season’s of the Women’s Premier League in the country, this will be a brilliant cricket festival with huge bumper crowds.
Year | Winner | Runners-up |
2022 | Australia | England |
2017 | England | India |
2013 | Australia | West Indies |
2009 | England | New Zealand |
November
October will be dominated by the Women’s Cricket World Cup and no doubt plenty of column inches dedicated to England men’s chances, or not, of regaining the Ashes for the first time since 2015 and returning home with them for the first time since 2010/11!
Series | Host | Winner |
2023 | England | Drawn 2-2 |
2020/21 | Australia | Australia 4-0 |
2019 | England | Drawn 2-2 |
2017/18 | Australia | Australia 4-0 |
2015 | England | England 3-2 |
2013/14 | Australia | Australia 5-0 |
2013 | England | England 3-0 |
2010/11 | Australia | England 3-1 |
2009 | England | England 2-1 |
Let’s be honest, cricket fans, it doesn’t get much better than this! Men’s series against two of the best sides in the world, some new marquee names in both Hundred competitions, as well as a Women’s World Cup in India.
Sit back and enjoy the sun, the rest of 2025 promises to be one where you won’t want to miss any of the action.
Tom Gibson
Tom Gibson, 33, possesses a keen interest in cricket combined with expertise in betting. Based in Newcastle, he is well-acquainted with the dynamics of the game and the betting world. With numerous years analyzing cricket matches and odds, Tom offers a unique perspective on the intersection of the sport and betting strategies