The Ashes
The most famous urn in cricket is smaller than a teapot, has never been awarded as a trophy, and may contain the ashes of a bail, a ball or even a lady's veil.
Published
Quick Facts
- Contested between
- England and Australia, in Test cricket
- Origin
- Mock obituary in The Sporting Times, 2 September 1882, after Australia won at The Oval on 29 August
- First series as 'the Ashes'
- 1882–83, when Ivo Bligh's England team toured Australia
- The urn
- Kept at the MCC Museum at Lord's, and tours Australia only rarely
- Usual format
- Five Tests, alternating between England and Australia
- Famous margin
- Edgbaston 2005: England won by just two runs
- Bradman's Ashes record
- 5,028 runs in 37 Tests at an average of 89.78
- Bodyline series
- 1932–33, England's leg-theory tactics caused a diplomatic row
The obituary that started it all
On 29 August 1882, Australia beat England at The Oval by seven runs, the first time they had won a Test on English soil. Spectators were so tense that one man reportedly died of shock, and another chewed through his umbrella handle. Four days later, on 2 September, The Sporting Times ran a mock death notice for English cricket. It declared that the body would be cremated and the ashes taken to Australia. A joke by a newspaper columnist became the name of the greatest rivalry in the game. The hero of that Oval match was Fred Spofforth, 'the Demon', who took 14 wickets in the game and bowled England to a nervy collapse as they chased just 85.
A tiny urn and a mystery of what's inside
When Ivo Bligh took England to Australia in 1882–83, he promised to 'regain those ashes'. He did, winning the series 2–1, and some Melbourne women presented him with a small terracotta urn. What is inside is still argued over. The usual answer is a burnt bail, though it has also been said to be a ball, or even the remains of a veil. Bligh later married Florence Morphy, one of the women involved, and when he died in 1927 the urn went to the Marylebone Cricket Club. It now lives at Lord's and is not handed over to the winners. Instead, a replica is the trophy that is held aloft at the end of a series. The original has made occasional trips to Australia, where it has drawn huge crowds.
The Don and the series that nearly broke a friendship
Donald Bradman is the towering figure of Ashes history. He scored 5,028 runs against England at an average of almost 90, a level of dominance that no one has come close to matching. England's answer in 1932–33 was Bodyline, a tactic devised by captain Douglas Jardine in which fast bowlers, led by Harold Larwood, aimed at the batsman's body with a ring of fielders waiting on the leg side. Bradman's average dropped, tempers boiled, and the Australian Board of Control sent a telegram accusing England of unsportsmanlike conduct. The row reached the level of government, and England still won the series 4–1. The tactic led to changes in the laws, limiting the number of fielders behind square on the leg side.
Two runs at Edgbaston, and a summer of Botham
Some Ashes series have entered folklore. In 1981, Ian Botham's heroics at Headingley turned a match that had been given odds of 500-1 into an England victory, after they had been made to follow on. Bob Willis took 8 for 43 to finish it off. In 2005, the series was perhaps the most gripping of all. At Edgbaston, England beat Australia by two runs, the narrowest margin in Ashes history, when Michael Kasprowicz was given out caught behind off Steve Harmison. Andrew Flintoff famously consoled Brett Lee on the pitch. England won the series 2–1, reclaiming the urn for the first time since 1986–87. Headingley again produced a miracle in 2019, when Ben Stokes hit an unbeaten 135 to win a Test by one wicket.
Rituals, banter and the long wait for the urn
Ashes tours come with a rich set of traditions. Barmy Army supporters sing and chant their way through Australian summers, while Australian crowds are famed for their blunt humour. At the Sydney Cricket Ground, the final Test traditionally has a Pink Test, honouring Jane McGrath, wife of Glenn McGrath, and raising money for the McGrath Foundation, which funds specialist cancer-care nurses and patient support. Australia has often had the upper hand, including 5–0 whitewashes in 2006–07 and 2013–14, and a 4–0 win in 2017–18 with the Melbourne Test drawn. A drawn series means the holders keep the trophy, so the replica stays where it is. The contest is played in cycles, with series held roughly every two years, and each side hosting in turn. Whatever the weather, the sense that it is something bigger than a sports match has never gone away.
Notable people
- Ivo Bligh
- Fred Spofforth
- Donald Bradman
- Douglas Jardine
- Harold Larwood
- Ian Botham
- Bob Willis
- Andrew Flintoff
- Brett Lee
- Ben Stokes
- Glenn McGrath
- Jane McGrath
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