PERTH, AUSTRALIA - NOVEMBER 12: Joe Root of England bats during an England Ashes squad training session at Lilac Hill Park on November 12, 2025 in Perth, Australia. (Photo by Gareth Copley/Getty Images)
“History doesn’t lie, but the past doesn’t have to tell the future what to do.” That’s a mantra the England cricket team’s psychologist Gilbert Enoka is drumming into his players as they prepare for the Ashes series against Australia, starting Friday.
Enoka, a New Zealander and ex-All Blacks mind guru famous for his “no dickheads” rule, is fighting against negativity among the English cricketers as they prepare for the first Test in Perth.
The Poms have won just one Ashes series in Australia in nine attempts since 1986. Also, in the last three series Down Under, they’ve lost 13 Test matches in succession.
Those sorts of historical stats point bettors in one direction only, so it’s no surprise the Aussies are favourites to take the series.
The Independent newspaper has come up with average odds across betting sites of: Australia 1.62, England 3.30, drawn series 10.00.
Among the multitude of bets on offer, a popular one is the final tally of the five-match series, with current favourites being:
Australia 4-1 – 7.00
Australia 3-2 – 8.00
England 3-2 – 8.00
Australia 3-1 – 8.50
Australia 5-0 – 10.00
At the other end of the spectrum are:
Drawn series 1-1 – 200.00
England 2-0 – 300.00
Australia 1-0 – 300.00
England 1-0 – 350.00
The main focus this week, though, is the first Test – with avid media coverage of every trash-talk utterance from the two sides.
Great English batter Joe Root is the prime target to “take down”, according to Aussie bowler Scott Boland, who once had a good Ashes series.
In terms of Player of the Match odds in Perth, Root is an 11.00 shot while Boland is 9.00. That particular face-off will be keenly followed.
Joint 8.50 favourites for Player of the Match are Australia’s stand-in captain Steve Smith and his strike bowler Mitch Starc.
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