[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"header-nav":3,"footer-nav":29,"article-ashes-2027-northern-venues-old-trafford-headingley-snub":82,"category-counts-nav":98,"related-ashes-2027-northern-venues-old-trafford-headingley-snub":108},[4,8,11,14,17,20,23,26],{"label":5,"to":6,"exact":7},"Home","\u002F",true,{"label":9,"to":10},"World Cup","\u002Fworldcup",{"label":12,"to":13},"Standings","\u002Fstandings",{"label":15,"to":16},"Football","\u002Fcategory\u002Ffootball",{"label":18,"to":19},"Basketball","\u002Fcategory\u002Fbasketball",{"label":21,"to":22},"Tennis","\u002Fcategory\u002Ftennis",{"label":24,"to":25},"F1","\u002Fcategory\u002Ff1",{"label":27,"to":28},"Long Reads","\u002Fcategory\u002Flong-reads",{"brand":30,"columns":32,"tagline":80,"copyright":81},{"description":31},"In-depth sports journalism covering football, basketball, tennis, F1, and beyond. Daily analysis, long reads, and expert opinion.",[33,51,59],{"heading":34,"links":35},"Leagues",[36,39,42,45,48],{"label":37,"to":38},"Premier League","\u002Ftag\u002Fpremier-league",{"label":40,"to":41},"La Liga","\u002Ftag\u002Fla-liga",{"label":43,"to":44},"NBA","\u002Ftag\u002Fnba",{"label":46,"to":47},"Formula 1","\u002Ftag\u002Fformula-1",{"label":49,"to":50},"Champions League","\u002Ftag\u002Fchampions-league",{"heading":52,"links":53},"Content",[54,56,57],{"label":55,"to":16},"Analysis",{"label":27,"to":28},{"label":58,"to":16},"Data & Stats",{"heading":60,"links":61},"Company",[62,65,68,71,74,77],{"label":63,"to":64},"Terms of Service","\u002Fservice",{"label":66,"to":67},"Privacy Policy","\u002Fprivacy",{"label":69,"to":70},"Editorial Policy","\u002Feditorial",{"label":72,"to":73},"Contact Us","\u002Fcontact",{"label":75,"to":76},"About Us","\u002Fabout",{"label":78,"to":79},"Website Disclaimer","\u002Fdisclaimer","Built for the love of sport","© SportPulse. All rights reserved.",{"title":83,"slug":84,"category":85,"badge":86,"author":87,"excerpt":88,"date":89,"readTime":90,"image":91,"imageAlt":83,"tags":92,"body":96,"_path":97},"Ashes 2027 Drops Old Trafford and Headingley From Men's Schedule","ashes-2027-northern-venues-old-trafford-headingley-snub","long-reads","Long Reads: Feature","Sarah Martinez","England's two most iconic northern Ashes venues will not host a men's Test when Australia tour in 2027.","2026-07-23 09:19:05","1 min read","https:\u002F\u002Fichef.bbci.co.uk\u002Face\u002Fstandard\u002F976\u002Fcpsprodpb\u002F17d4\u002Flive\u002F7b642f00-8668-11f1-926f-c90d1bcfbc84.png",[93,94,95],"Cricket","Ashes","England Cricket","The ECB has confirmed its 2027 summer schedule, and neither Old Trafford nor Headingley will host a men's Ashes Test against Australia. The decision breaks a convention that gave northern England at least one Ashes fixture every home summer, removing Manchester and Leeds from the most prestigious bilateral series in cricket.\n\nBoth grounds carry real weight in Ashes history. Headingley hosted Ian Botham's 1981 rearguard and Ben Stokes' unbeaten 135 in 2019, two of England's most dramatic fourth-innings chases. Old Trafford is where Jim Laker took 19 wickets against Australia in 1956 and has staged defining matches across seven decades. Excluding both at once departs from how the ECB has scheduled this series in the past.\n\nNorthern supporters now face travelling south for live Ashes cricket at Lord's or The Oval. Travel, accommodation, and ticket costs at southern grounds will hit families and those on limited budgets hardest. The old rotation ensured at least one northern venue in every home summer; that balance has disappeared.\n\nThe ECB rotates Test series across its venue portfolio based on commercial agreements, ground capacity, broadcast requirements, and infrastructure standards. Both Old Trafford and Headingley have undergone major redevelopments in recent years, partly justified by the prospect of hosting Ashes fixtures. Lancashire and Yorkshire cricket communities need answers on why both were excluded at once and when they return to the rota.\n\nThe Ashes connects supporters to specific grounds and specific memories: Botham at Headingley, Laker at Old Trafford, Stokes at Headingley again. Dropping two northern venues feeds a perception that Test cricket's commercial centre of gravity is drifting south, away from the regions that sustained the sport for over a century. The ECB owes a clear explanation to two of England's most committed cricketing counties.","\u002Farticles\u002Fashes-2027-northern-venues-old-trafford-headingley-snub",[99,100,101,102,103,104,105,106,85,107],"analysis","basketball","cricket","f1","football","general","golf","mma","tennis",[109,121,130],{"id":110,"stem":110,"path":111,"title":112,"category":85,"badge":15,"badgeType":113,"author":87,"authorRole":114,"authorInitials":115,"date":116,"readTime":117,"image":118,"imageAlt":112,"tags":119,"excerpt":120},"scotland-finn-russell-bench-south-africa-nations-championship","\u002Farticles\u002Fscotland-finn-russell-bench-south-africa-nations-championship","Scotland's Daring Dilemma: Bench Finn Russell in South Africa?","category","Transfer Correspondent","SM","2026-07-05 07:31:13","6 min read","https:\u002F\u002Fichef.bbci.co.uk\u002Face\u002Fstandard\u002F976\u002Fcpsprodpb\u002F068c\u002Flive\u002F605ee4b0-7804-11f1-b71c-71dc57e03e12.jpg","Nations Championship, Rugby","After Jordan and Burke dazzled against Argentina, Scotland face a tantalizing selection puzzle ahead of their South Africa trip.",{"id":122,"stem":122,"path":123,"title":124,"category":85,"badge":15,"badgeType":113,"author":87,"authorRole":114,"authorInitials":115,"date":125,"readTime":126,"image":127,"imageAlt":124,"tags":128,"excerpt":129},"sheffield-united-let-maddy-cusack-down-inquest-reveals-systemic-failure","\u002Farticles\u002Fsheffield-united-let-maddy-cusack-down-inquest-reveals-systemic-failure","Sheffield United Let Maddy Cusack Down, Inquest Reveals","2026-07-09 02:35:05","5 min read","https:\u002F\u002Fi.guim.co.uk\u002Fimg\u002Fmedia\u002Fc9823843560f747225d9566b2220ffac484bce2d\u002F667_0_4485_3588\u002Fmaster\u002F4485.jpg?width=140&quality=85&auto=format&fit=max&s=6f2a65a40edd7c1baaf0edf083b1d9f3","Women's Super League, Sheffield United","An inquest exposes systemic failures in Sheffield United's women's team transition, revealing players deserved far better.",{"id":131,"stem":131,"path":132,"title":133,"category":85,"badge":134,"badgeType":113,"author":87,"authorRole":114,"authorInitials":115,"date":135,"readTime":117,"image":136,"imageAlt":133,"tags":137,"excerpt":138},"lord-t20-world-cup-final-rita-ora-warmup-fiasco","\u002Farticles\u002Flord-t20-world-cup-final-rita-ora-warmup-fiasco","Rita Ora vs World Cup Final: Lord's Backs Down Over Warm-Up Chaos","Feature","2026-07-04 16:48:02","https:\u002F\u002Fichef.bbci.co.uk\u002Face\u002Fstandard\u002F976\u002Fcpsprodpb\u002Fd1eb\u002Flive\u002F97972ca0-77bc-11f1-9cd2-4921679eee6e.jpg","T20 World Cup, Women's Cricket","Lord's organisers capitulated after scheduling Rita Ora's set to clash with England and Australia's pre-match warm-up ahead of Sunday's T20 World Cup final."]