England Cricket 70s Press Release 

England Cricket 70s Down Under Tour of Australia and New Zealand sponsored by Assured Data Protection – Jan 28th to March 7th , 2026.
As World Champions and Silver Ashes holders, the England 70s squad set off in late January to defend both titles as they first take on Australia in their own backyard, then travel to Christchurch, New Zealand, to compete in the 70s World Cup.

With a number of changes to the squad since winning the inaugural World Cup in England in 2024, manager Chris Lowe and captain John Evans are looking forward to seeing if the refreshed side can fulfil the significant potential demonstrated in trial games and performances in last summer’s county championship.

The tour starts in Adelaide with three warm-up games, including a match against Australia 65+, a new age group entrant in Australian seniors cricket, and soon to be replicated within the England county scene.

The Karen Rolton Oval host the first of three ODIs before the squad head off to Sydney, where they play a representative side and the final two ODIs at the Howell Oval and Joe McAleer Oval.

The squad then travels to Christchurch to play a World Cup round robin series between eight countries: Australia, Canada, Emerging Nations, England, India, New Zealand, Sri Lanka, and the USA.

England’s first game is against new World Cup entrants USA at Sydenham Park. 

Hagley Oval, where Brendon McCullum scored 195 off 134 balls for New Zealand when the ground hosted its first test match in 2014, will play host to the World Cup final on 5 th March.

Squad
John Evans (Captain, Gloucestershire), Nick Andrews (Cambridgeshire/Hunts), Martin Burgess (Sussex), Neil Calvert (Lincolnshire/Ridings), Terry Edwards (Kent), Chris Evans (Surrey), Peter Hayes (Worcestershire), Andy Mackle (Lincolnshire/Ridings), Stuart Nye MBE (Cornwall), Jim Phillips (Kent), David Robinson (Hertfordshire), Steve Sheppard (Somerset), Chris Swadkin MBE (Kent), Chris Tarrant (Kent), David Tee (Staffordshire/Derbyshire), Derek Towe (Vice-Captain, Kent), Marcus Young (Essex). Chris Lowe (Manager), Charles Bury (Assistant Manager), Jon Holland (Umpire), Mike
Walton (Scorer). 

Silver Ashes Fixtures – 10:30am local starts
1 st February – South Australia @ Park 25, Adelaide
3 rd February – Australia Over 65s @ Park 25, Adelaide
5 th February – Invitational XI @ Adelaide University
7 th February – First ODI @ Karen Rolton Oval
9 th February – New South Wales @ Howell Oval
11 th February – Second ODI @ Howell Oval
13 th February – Third ODI @ Joe McAleer Oval)

World Cup Fixtures – 10am local starts
18 th February – USA @ Sydenham Park
20 th February – India @ St Bede’s College
22 nd February – Canada @ Ashburton Domain
24 th February – Australia @ Bert Sutcliffe Oval
26 th February – Sri Lanka @ Main Power Oval
1 st March – New Zealand @ Ashburton Domain
3 rd March – Emerging Nations @ Edgar MacIntosh Park
5 th March – Final @ Hagley Oval

Details of both tours, fixtures, scores and match reports can be found on the seniors County Champions website, here: https://6070cc.co.uk/category/england-70-internationals The England tour brochure can be found here: bit.ly/48TV1KV

The World Cup website, offering a wider view of performances and the round robin table, can be found here: https://www.imco70cwc.kiwi/

Seniors cricket in England and Wales continues to prosper with more counties joining and ever more players playing. For an insight into our community and competition, you can see more on our website “About” page, here: https://6070cc.co.uk/about