Ashes 2027: Lord’s vs The Oval — Which London Test Should You Attend?

🏏 ASHES 2027 · LONDON TESTS

Lord’s vs The Oval — Which London Test Should You Attend?

Two of the five Ashes 2027 Tests are played in London — at Lord’s Cricket Ground in St John’s Wood and at The Kia Oval in Kennington. Both grounds are confirmed hosts. If you can only get tickets for one, this guide will help you decide which is the better fit for you.

Last updated: 13 July 2026

Home of Cricket

Lord’s calls itself the Home of Cricket, and for 210 years it has lived up to the title. The ground has been at its present St John’s Wood site since 1814, and the Long Room in the Pavilion — through which players walk on their way to the middle — is one of the most celebrated spaces in all of sport. If there is one match to watch in a cricketing lifetime, the general consensus is that it’s a Test at Lord’s.

Last win: 2013

For Ashes cricket, Lord’s carries a particularly charged history. Between 1934 and 2009, England did not win a single Ashes Test at this ground — a 75-year drought finally broken by Andrew Flintoff’s five wickets on the final day. England’s last Ashes win at Lord’s came in 2013, a 347-run hammering of Australia. In 2023, Australia won by 43 runs in one of the most gripping finishes of the series. Ashes days at Lord’s are sold out without exception.

Seating at Lord’s

Lord’s is arranged in stands around the famous slope — the ground drops roughly two and a half metres from one side to the other, which affects how the ball moves and how you view the action depending on where you sit. The Mound Stand and Tavern Stand offer classic views of the Pavilion End; the Grand Stand and Compton and Edrich Stands face the opposite Nursery End. For a first visit, seats with a view of both the Pavilion and the playing surface are ideal. See our full Lord’s seating guide for a stand-by-stand breakdown.

Getting to Lord’s

St John’s Wood tube station (Jubilee line) is a seven-minute walk from the Grace Gates entrance. The station is manageable on match days, though queues build after close of play. See our Lord’s transport guide for all options including bus and cycling routes.

Birthplace of the Ashes

The Oval is where the Ashes began. On 29 August 1882, Australia beat England here by seven runs — England’s first home Test defeat — and the satirical obituary that followed in The Sporting Times gave the entire rivalry its name. More than 140 years later, The Oval is still the ground most closely associated with the Ashes’ identity, and it traditionally hosts the fifth and final Test of an England home series.

England won by 49 runs

In 2023, England won the decider here by 49 runs in front of a full house, with Chris Woakes taking the decisive wickets. Although Australia had already retained the urn going into that Test, the atmosphere on the final day was as loud and charged as any previous match in the series. The Oval’s distinctive Victorian gasholders, its open terraces, and its south London crowd give it a different feel from Lord’s — less formal, more festival.

Seating at The Oval

The Oval is a compact, roughly oval-shaped ground with good sightlines from virtually every seat. The OCS Stand (directly opposite the pavilion) and the Bedser Stand are popular for their end-on views of the bowlers coming in. The Peter May Stand and Lock’n’Load Stand along the sides offer broader panoramas of the whole ground. See our Oval seating guide for a full stand-by-stand breakdown, including the interactive seating map.

Getting to The Oval

Oval tube station (Northern line) is a four-minute walk from the ground’s main entrance on Harleyford Street — one of the most convenient stadium walks of any major London sports venue. See our Oval transport guide for full details.

🏆 Prestige and tradition → Lord’s

Lord’s edges this. The Long Room, the slope, the Pavilion, the MCC members in their egg-and-bacon ties — it is an experience unlike anything else in cricket. If attending Lord’s for a major Test match is a bucket-list ambition, an Ashes Test there is the pinnacle.

🗣 Atmosphere → The Oval

The Oval tends to generate a more vocal, festival-style crowd. Its south London location and slightly more relaxed admission culture creates a different energy, especially on a sunny late-summer day when the series reaches its climax at the fifth Test.

🆕 Match significance → often The Oval

The Oval traditionally hosts the final Test, which means it is often the decider — or at minimum the last chance for either side to shape the series result. If drama is what you’re after, the final Test has historically delivered it. Lord’s is typically earlier in the series, which can mean higher stakes if Australia go ahead early.

Tickets: Both Tests go through the ECB ballot. MCC membership gives priority access to Lord’s; Surrey membership gives priority access to The Oval. See our Ashes 2027 tickets guide for the full breakdown of every access route.

Which ground has the better atmosphere for Ashes cricket?

Both are exceptional, but they offer different experiences. Lord’s is more formal — the Members’ Pavilion sets a certain tone — while The Oval tends to be louder and more festival-like. England fans often describe the atmosphere at a final-day Oval Test as the loudest they’ve experienced in cricket.

Is one ground cheaper than the other for Ashes tickets?

Ticket prices are set by the ECB ballot and vary by stand, day and match. In 2023, prices across grounds were broadly similar. Lord’s premium category seats (Pavilion End, Warner Stand) tended to be priced slightly higher than equivalent stands at The Oval. The ECB has not yet announced 2027 pricing — check our tickets guide for updates.

Can I attend both London Tests?

Yes, if you can get through the ballot twice. There is no restriction on holding tickets for multiple Tests. In practice, the ballot is competitive enough that many fans who apply for both end up with one or neither. Applying through the right priority windows — county membership or We Are England Cricket — maximises your chances. See our tickets guide.

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