After winning the third Test in Adelaide by 82 runs on Sunday, December 21, Australia maintained the Ashes with an unbeatable 3-0 series lead thanks to packed stadiums and enormous television audiences.
Australia has now kept the Ashes in five consecutive series since recovering them in 2017–18. When the following series is hosted in England in 2027, they will have held the urn for over nine years.
The Adelaide Oval Test saw its highest-ever attendance of 223,638, surpassing the previous record of 199,147 in 2017–18.
With the exception of a Test at the MCG, it was also Australia’s largest-ever Test match attendance. With 56,298 spectators, the first day of cricket in Adelaide had the largest turnout ever. With an interim average viewership of 2.11 million watching the action, audiences at Kayo Sports, Foxtel, Seven, and 7plus Sport were at their peak as Australia drew closer to victory on Day 5.
The concluding session of Day 5 was the eleventh Test cricket session to average over two million viewers in 2025 and the sixth session of the series to do so. During the Adelaide Test, 1.34 million Australians visited cricket.com.au and the Cricket Australia Live app, demonstrating the continued exceptional engagement of Cricket Australia’s digital channels.
11.6 million sessions were donated by those users, a 25% increase over the third Test of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy the previous year. For quality video material, fans flocked to cricket.com.au and the Cricket Australia Live app; Australian users’ views increased by 151% from the third Test match against India last year.
With 232 million video views on Cricket Australia’s social media outlets throughout the Test match, the series’ enormous worldwide reach was further demonstrated.
“Retaining the Ashes in just eleven days is an incredible feat and a credit to the players’, coaches’, and selectors’ excellent preparation and performance, as well as the efforts of everyone in Australian cricket who supports the team.” As usual, the NRMA Insurance Adelaide Test had a wonderful atmosphere, with record crowds offering a perfect backdrop for the Ashes retention, as evidenced by the large viewership, said Todd Greenberg, CEO of Cricket Australia.
“The South Australian Government’s incredible support, which has embraced the Christmas Test theme and given a new dimension to what was already a bucket list fixture on the global cricket calendar, is especially delightful,” he continued.
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