2013 Ashes Schedule

England will play five Tests, five one-day internationals and three Twenty20 internationals in their 2013-14 Ashes campaign in Australia, Cricket Australia said on Thursday.
The Test series begins at Brisbane's Gabba ground on November 21-25 and finishes in Sydney from January 3-7 in 2014.
The other Test matches will take place in Adelaide (December 5-9), Perth (December 13-17) and Melbourne (December 26-30).
A schedule of five ODIs and three T20 internationals to complement the Tests will be confirmed in the New Year, officials said.
"We are delighted to be able to confirm the Ashes fixtures so far in advance of the series," Cricket Australia chief executive James Sutherland said.
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."
Cricket Australia also announced four other tour games against a Western Australia XI, Australia A, NSW XI and a Chairman's XI.
The first Test will take place in Brisbane from November 21 to 25, before the series moves on to Adelaide, Perth, Melbourne and Sydney.

Warm-up game schedule
October 31-November 2 Western Australia XI v England, WACA
November 6-9 Australia A v England, Bellerive Oval, Hobart
November 13-16 New South Wales XI v England, SCG
November 29-30 CA Chairman's XI v England, Manuka Oval, Canberra

Ashes Itinerary
November 21-25 Australia v England, 1st Test, Gabba
December 5-9 Australia v England, 2nd Test, Adelaide Oval
December 13-17 Australia v England, 3rd Test, WACA
December 26-30 Australia v England, 4th Test, MCG
January 3-7 Australia v England, 5th Test, SCG

Bhajji-Zaheer May be Rested for England ODIs

Off-colour Harbhajan Singh may not be considered for selection while pace spearhead Zaheer Khan may be rested when the national selectors meet on Saturday to pick India's squad for next month's ODI series against England.
Harbhajan who sustained a Grade-I abdominal tear has been advised four weeks' rest and is unlikely to get fit in time for the shorter formats beginning with a lone Twenty20 game on August 31 and followed by the five one-dayers from September 3.
According to Board sources, senior pacer Zaheer Khan may be rested for the ODI series keeping in mind the tight schedule of the national team that includes Test series against the West Indies and Australia.
Yuvraj Singh who fractured his left index finger is another doubtful case as it is still not clear as to how much time it would take for him to regain full fitness.
While veteran Sachin Tendulkar, Gautam Gambhir and Virender Sehwag are likely to be available, Parthiv Patel is likely to replace Wriddhiman Saha as the second keeper as he is considered a better batsman.
Mumbai youngster Rohit Sharma who was awarded the man-of-the-series in West Indies is another certaintyalong with Tamil Nadu off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin.
Praveen Kumar, Ishant Sharma and Munaf Patel have also sealed their places in the squad. Left-arm seamer Ashish Nehra who had recently bowled at the India nets before Lord's Test will certainly be an option for the selectors as he has submitted his fitness certificate to the Board.
Paceman Ranganath Vinay Kumar was also in the reckoning for a place in the squad considering that conditions in England will favour the quick bowlers.
However there is certainly going to be some debate as to who will be the reserve batsman in the squad. Yusuf Pathan, Manoj Tiwary and Ajinkya Rahane are fighting for that particular slot.

England to Host West Indies in Two Twenty20 Matches

England will host West Indies in two evening Twenty20 internationals at the Oval next month, the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) said on Wednesday.
"Surrey CCC is really pleased to be able to host these games in what will be a colourful and exciting end to the international summer," Surrey chief executive Richard Gould said in a statement.

The first match will take place on September 23 with the second game two days later at the south London venue.
Before that England face two more Tests against India, having established a 2-0 lead in the four-match series, followed by one Twenty20 and five one-day internationals against the touring side.