Ashes cricket: last-minute packages

Spend New Years Eve in Sydney watching the fireworks over Harbour Bridge before taking in the fifth and final Ashes Test at Sydney Cricket Ground. A ten-day holiday starts from £3,349 per person and includes return flights from London Heathrow with China Southern and nine nights’ accommodation at the four-star Adina Apartments in Sydney. Valid for departures on December 29.

Or, spend Christmas in Melbourne, taking in the Ashes by day and the trendy restaurants and culture by night. An 11-day holiday starts from £2,649 per person, including return flight with Cathay Pacific from London Heathrow, and 10 nights at the three-star Quality Batmans Hill, Melbourne. Valid for departures on December 22.

See Austravel (0800 988 4834; www.austravel.com), which also has a number of flexible packages for each of the Tests and is still able to request tickets for all levels.

The Sporting Traveller

A Melbourne & Sydney ‘Classic Ashes’, Sydney Test + Reef, and “Flexi Ashes Hotel and Ticket packages” are still available through The Sporting Traveller until November 29.