THE ASHES: Everything you need to know

The oldest rivalry in the gentlemen’s game Ashes is played between England and Australia. The two nations meet roughly every two years, with the winners claiming one of the most famous (and smallest) trophies in sport – the Ashes urn.

The latest edition of the Ashes will kick start on 8th December in Brisbane as Australia hosts England in a 5-match test series. We are going to take a look at the history of Ashes.

HISTORY OF THE ASHES

The story dates back to August 1882 where England lost to Australia for the first time at the Oval in London. Such was the outrage at England suffering a humiliating defeat the Sporting Time newspaper published a satirical obituary announcing the death of English cricket. The obituary included “the body will be cremated and the ashes were taken to Australia.” A few weeks later a team captained by Ivor Bligh set off to tour Australia with Bligh vowing to return with the Ashes and restore English honor. England completed the tour and won the series 2-1. Following a social game that was not part of the series, Bligh was presented with a small terracotta urn by a group of women in Melbourne as the symbol of the Ashes that he traveled to Australia to regain. He brought the urn to England and kept it at his home “Cobham Hall” the ancestral home of his family.

One of the ladies who presented Bligh with the urn became his wife adding an element of romance to the story. What the urn contained has long been speculation down the years. Various tales contribute to the mystery and charm of the Urn. However, the Urn handed to Bligh was never used as a trophy it stayed as a mantlepiece at the Bligh Family home. It was later handed to the MCC in 1927.

THE NUMBERS GAME

Australia leads the head-to-head series battle 33-32 in the 70 Ashes series played till now. Only five series have ended up in draws. Australia has won the series 5-0 twice as they completed this historic achievement in 2006/07 and 2013/14.

Most Number Of Runs: Don Bradman (5028 Runs)

Most Centuries: Don Bradman (19 Centuries)

Highest Wicket Taker: Shane Warne (195 Wickets)

Most Wickets in an Ashes: Jim Laker (46 Wickets)

LAST TIME OUT

The last time these two sides face each other was in Summer 2019 the series Ended in a 2-2 draw. Aussies took the lead in the first and fourth match respectively but the English side came back twice to end the series in a draw. Steve Smith returned to cricketing action after serving his ban performed exceptionally well scoring 774 runs and was the highest run-scorer of the series. Pat Cummins finished as the highest wicket-taker picking up 29 wickets.