England will complete their preparation for next summer's Ashes with a three-day fixture against Warwickshire a week before the first Test against Australia.
The publication of the 2009 fixture list reveals the Edgbaston game starting on July 1 - the same date as England Lions begin their four-day tour match against the Australians at Worcester.
While England's likely first-choice XI will therefore be putting the finishing touches to their build-up to the bid to regain the Ashes, the Lions hopefuls will have their chance - just a few miles down the M5 - to catch the eye against the Aussies and make a late push to be involved in the main event themselves.
England have arranged a final preparation match too for the NatWest Twenty20 and one-day internationals against Ricky Ponting's tourists which will begin at Old Trafford at the end of August.
That match will come on August 27 when England will play Ireland at Stormont - 24 hours before Australia's scheduled meeting with Scotland at a venue still to be confirmed.
Next summer's fixtures, usually announced in mid-November, have been delayed by a month this year - awaiting confirmation of England's early-season Tests and one-day internationals against West Indies.
It was announced two weeks ago that the Windies would be playing two Tests and three NatWest Series one-day internationals in May.
They replace fixtures initially intended for Zimbabwe, who agreed not to travel following the wranglings over international disquiet at the disgraced regime of Robert Mugabe, and then for Sri Lanka - many of whose players are committed elsewhere to the Indian Premier League.
The publication of the 2009 fixture list reveals the Edgbaston game starting on July 1 - the same date as England Lions begin their four-day tour match against the Australians at Worcester.
While England's likely first-choice XI will therefore be putting the finishing touches to their build-up to the bid to regain the Ashes, the Lions hopefuls will have their chance - just a few miles down the M5 - to catch the eye against the Aussies and make a late push to be involved in the main event themselves.
England have arranged a final preparation match too for the NatWest Twenty20 and one-day internationals against Ricky Ponting's tourists which will begin at Old Trafford at the end of August.
That match will come on August 27 when England will play Ireland at Stormont - 24 hours before Australia's scheduled meeting with Scotland at a venue still to be confirmed.
Next summer's fixtures, usually announced in mid-November, have been delayed by a month this year - awaiting confirmation of England's early-season Tests and one-day internationals against West Indies.
It was announced two weeks ago that the Windies would be playing two Tests and three NatWest Series one-day internationals in May.
They replace fixtures initially intended for Zimbabwe, who agreed not to travel following the wranglings over international disquiet at the disgraced regime of Robert Mugabe, and then for Sri Lanka - many of whose players are committed elsewhere to the Indian Premier League.
