England to return to Bangladesh for first away Tests in over a decade
England will return to Bangladesh for a two-Test series in February 2027, more than a decade after their last Test tour there.
Exact dates have yet to be officially announced. The ICC Future Tours Programme places the two matches across the final three weeks of February, with a three-day warm-up game expected before the series starts BBC Sport.
Tests are the longest format, played over up to five days. A warm-up game gives tourists time to adjust to local pitches and weather before the series counts.
That adjustment will matter. February will bring England's first away Test against Bangladesh since a two-Test series in October 2016. Bangladesh won the most recent home Test between the sides. England have still won nine of their ten Tests in Bangladesh.
Spin will matter. Pitches in Bangladesh often turn sharply as matches wear on, which puts visiting batters under pressure and brings slow bowlers into long, attacking spells.
The Bangladesh trip sits in the middle of a long winter. England are scheduled to tour South Africa for three Tests in December and January first. After Bangladesh, they head to Australia.
From 11 to 15 March, England play Australia in a one-off Test at the Melbourne Cricket Ground. The match marks the 150-year anniversary of Test cricket, which began with Australia against England in Melbourne in 1877.
That run gives England seven Tests before the 2027 home Ashes. The Ashes is the historic five-Test rivalry between England and Australia.
The final Test before that series brings Bangladesh to London. England face Bangladesh in a one-off Rothesay Test at Lord's from 28 May to 1 June ICC.
The home Ashes starts in June. The first Test is scheduled from 18 to 22 June. The England and Wales Cricket Board has said three Ashes series will headline the 2027 home summer, with Bangladesh's men's and women's teams also touring England ECB.
For fans, this means a winter of sharp contrasts. Pace and bounce in South Africa. Turning pitches in Bangladesh. Then a celebratory occasion in Melbourne. Then home again for Lord's and the Ashes.
