The England [Images] and Wales Cricket Board released the dates for Australia's 2009 tour on Monday, including the five Ashes Tests, a seven-game, one-day series and two Twenty20 internationals.

The schedule includes Australia's first one-day international at Hampshire's Rose Bowl in Southampton and two Twenty20 matches at Old Trafford, Manchester.

The first Test will be played at Cardiff's Sophia Gardens, the first time the venue has hosted Test cricket, starting on Wednesday July 8 instead of the more usual Thursday start.

Further Tests are to be played at Lord's, Edgbaston, Headingley and the Oval.

"The summer of 2009 promises to be one of the most exciting in the history of cricket in England and Wales," David Collier, the ECB chief executive said in a statement.

"The Ashes series and the NatWest series along with the International Twenty20 matches have the potential for providing the sort of wonderful cricket which can fire the nation's imagination.

"And of course all this follows the ICC [Images] World Twenty20 which guarantees that all the best Twenty20 players in the world will be in this country in June 2009."

In 2005 England won the Ashes for the first time in 18 years after a thrilling series but were whitewashed 5-0 in Australia in the 2006/07 series.

Fixtures for the Australian tour to England 2009:

May (tbc) Australia Team arrives in Britain
Mon 1 - Thu 4 June Warm-up period for World Twenty20
Fri 5 - Sun 21 June World Twenty20
Wed 24 - Sat 27 June Four-day game v Sussex (Hove)
Wed 1 - Sat 4 July Four-day game v England Lions (Worcester)
Wed 8 - Sun 12 July First Test, Cardiff
Thu 16 - Mon 20 July Second Test, Lord's
Fri 24 - Sun 26 July Three-day game v Northants* (Northampton)
Thu 30 July - Mon 3 Aug Third Test, Edgbaston
Fri 7 - Tue 11 Aug Fourth Test, Headingley
Sat 15 - Sun 16 Aug Two-day game v Kent** (Canterbury)
Thu 20 - Mon 24 Aug Fifth Test, Oval
Fri 28 Aug One-day match v Scotland (Edinburgh)
Sun 30 Aug First Twenty20 (Old Trafford)
Tue 1 Sept Second Twenty20 (Old Trafford)
Fri 4 Sept First one-day (Oval)
Sun 6 Sept Second one-day (Lord's)
Wed 9 Sept Third one-day (Rose Bowl)
Sat 12 Sept Fourth one-day (Lord's)
Tue 15 Sept Fifth one-day (Trent Bridge)
Thu 17 Sept Sixth one-day (Trent Bridge)
Sun 20 Sept Seventh one-day (Durham)
Mon 21 Sept Australia Team departs

* match played against First Class Counties Select XI at Northampton if Northants in Friends Provident Trophy Final played over this period. ** match played against England Lions at Canterbury if Kent involved in Twenty20 Finals Day.