The Ashes

Lore & Background

The term originated in a satirical obituary published in a British newspaper, The Sporting Times, immediately after Australia's 1882 victory at The Oval, its first Test win on English soil. The obituary stated that English cricket had died, and that 'the body will be cremated and the ashes taken to Australia'. The mythical ashes immediately became associated with the 1882–83 series played in Australia, before which the English captain Ivo Bligh had vowed to 'regain those ashes'. The English media therefore dubbed the tour the Quest to regain the Ashes. After England won two of the three Tests on the tour, a small urn was presented to Bligh at Melbourne. The contents of the urn are reputed to be the ashes of a wooden cricket bail. It is not clear whether that 'tiny silver urn' is the same as the small terracotta urn given to Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) by Bligh's widow after his death in 1927.

In Their Own Story

The roar of the crowd at the Melbourne Cricket Ground was deafening as Betty Cuthbert exploded off the curve in the 200 meters. Beside her, a British runner fought to stay close, but Cuthbert's stride was relentless. In that moment, the air itself seemed to hold its breath. Across the stadium, a Union Jack fluttered beside a Southern Cross, and for a fleeting second, two nations were locked in a silent duel older than any of them. When Cuthbert broke the tape, the Australian flag rose, and the Ashes burned a little brighter.

Reader's Guide

Ashes series usually comprise five Tests, hosted in turn by England and Australia approximately every two years. The Ashes are regarded as being held by the team that most recently won the series. If the series is drawn, the team that currently holds the Ashes 'retains' the trophy. The Ashes urn has never been the official trophy of the series, having been a personal gift to Bligh, but replicas of the urn have often been held aloft by the winning team as a symbol of their victory. Since the 1998–99 Ashes series, the Ashes Trophy, a Waterford Crystal trophy modelled on the Ashes urn, has been presented to the winners of the series. Irrespective of which side holds the trophy, the original urn remains in the MCC Museum at Lord's.

Did You Know?

• The first Test match between England and Australia was played at Melbourne in 1877, though the Ashes legend started after the ninth Test in 1882.
• The urn has been taken to Australia three times: in 1988 for the Australian Bicentenary, to accompany the 2006–07 Ashes series, and as part of an exhibition at the State Library of Victoria in 2019.
• The precise nature of the origin of the urn remains a matter of dispute; it may have been presented after a private cricket match at Rupertswood in December 1882.