Australian fast bowling great Glenn McGrath has hit back at Michael Vaughan after the former England captain claimed the 2027 home Ashes will be England's easiest Test series of the year.

Vaughan made the claim on the Stick to Cricket podcast, ranking England's three big Test assignments of 2027 in order of difficulty. McGrath, a guest on the same podcast, refused to accept that Vaughan was simply trying to wind Australia up.

What Vaughan said

Vaughan argued that England's away tours will be tougher than hosting Australia next summer. England face three Tests in South Africa in early 2027, followed by a historic one-off Test against Australia in Melbourne and two Tests in Bangladesh in March, before the five-Test Ashes series at home.

"From what I see already, I think the Aussie series next summer, the five here in the UK. I think of those three series, it (the Ashes) the easiest," Vaughan said.

He described South Africa as the best team in the world away from home, and said Bangladesh on dusty pitches would pose a separate problem, with England not picking their best spinner for that assignment. He also pointed to England's home record, adding: "We haven't lost against Australia here in the UK since 2001. I am not wrong. That's the easiest of the three series."

McGrath's reply

McGrath, who spent his career predicting Australian Ashes clean sweeps before each series, turned Vaughan's jibe back on him. "No one would go 5-0 for that series either just to wind them up, would they, Pidge? You've got to have a bit of fun, though, don't you?" he said, as quoted by The Cricket News.

The exchange sets the tone for a long build-up to the 2027 series, with the verbal sparring between the old rivals already under way more than seven months before the first Test.

Gillespie and Fleming weigh in

Former Australia fast bowler Jason Gillespie, also on the podcast, said Vaughan was deliberately trying to provoke the Australian camp. Former Australia bowler Damien Fleming took a more measured view, noting that Vaughan's framing revealed he rates Bangladesh a bigger concern for England than Australia.

"Talking about the Ashes, upcoming Ashes, and he reckons, uh, for England, Bangladesh are more of a concern than what the Australians are going to be," Fleming said.

The road to the 2027 Ashes

The five-match Ashes series is scheduled to begin at Trent Bridge on 18 June 2027, with further Tests at Lord's, Edgbaston, the Utilita Bowl in Southampton and the Kia Oval.

Australia won the most recent Ashes series 4-1 at home in 2025-26, but have not won an Ashes series in England since 2001 - the record at the heart of Vaughan's argument. England, meanwhile, will first have to get through their tours of South Africa and Bangladesh before they can test whether Vaughan's ranking holds up.