1965-66 Ashes series
| 1965–66 Ashes series | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
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The Ashes were retained by Australia for the fourth time since 1958–59.
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| Date | 10 December 1965 – 16 February 1966 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Location | Australia | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Result | Australia and England drew the 5-Test series 1–1 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Teams | |||
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 Australia
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 England
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| Captains | |||
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B.C. Booth (2 Tests) R.B. Simpson (3 Tests) |
M.J.K. Smith | ||
| Most runs | |||
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W.M. Lawry – 592 runs (84.57) R.M. Cowper 493 runs (82.16) K.D. Walters 410 runs (68.33) R.B. Simpson (c) 355 runs (88.75) |
K.F. Barrington – 464 runs (66.28) J.H. Edrich 375 runs (46.87) R.W. Barber 328 runs (41.00) G. Boycott 300 runs (42.85) |
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| Most wickets | |||
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N.J.N. Hawke – 16 wickets (26.18) G.D. McKenzie – 16 wickets (29.18) |
I.J. Jones – 15 wickets (35.53) D.J. Brown 11 wickets (37.18) |
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The 1965–66 Ashes series consisted of five cricket Test matches, each of five days with six hours play and eight ball overs. It formed part of the MCC tour of Australia in 1965–66 and the matches outside the Tests were played in the name of the Marylebone Cricket Club. M.J.K. Smith led the England team with the intent on regaining the Ashes lost in the 1958–59 Ashes series, but the series was drawn 1-1 and they were retained by Australia. The Australian team was captained by Bobby Simpson in three Tests, and his vice-captain Brian Booth in two Tests.
It was the first tour of Australia by players instead of amateurs and professionals and the first time that the MCC travelled to Australia by air instead of by sea. Although the press labelled the England team as the weakest to go to Australia, their entertaining cricket won them favour with the crowds. They also made their runs faster than any other England team since the war and for once England batted faster than Australia, a refreshing contrast to other Ashes series of the era.
With both sides having good batsmen and weak bowling attacks an exceptional number of runs were made, especially by Australia in the last two Tests when they fielded seven specialist batsmen and an all rounder. A record eleven batsmen averaged over 40 in the series and the teams exceeded 500 in an innings three times between them, 400 another four times and England made their highest score in Australia since 1928–29. "The long and short of it was that the batting of both sides was much stronger than the bowling".
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