The 'Ashes', played between England and Australia is one of the oldest and most eagerly contested of sporting rivalries between two countries in the game of cricket. A series of five matches or Tests, each match being played over five consecutive days, it is a game played with pride and passion and enormous competiveness. To the winner of the series goes the prize, the 'Ashes'. But what exactly are the 'Ashes' and where does the name the 'Ashes' actually come from?

The story of the Ashes begins in the Victorian era in the heyday of the British Empire. Cricket had been 'exported to the colonies' and naturally, when playing against these colonial countries expectation was for England to triumph and win. The first competitive series with Australia was in 1877 which as expected England duly won. However, in the Test series of 1882 the unthinkable happened and at the Oval cricket ground in Kennington London, England were soundly beaten by the touring Australian side, incredibly within the space of two days. The foundations of English cricket and perhaps even society itself were rocked to the core. Followers of English cricket were stunned. So much so that a mock obituary was published in the Sporting Times of 2 September 1882:

In Affectionate Remembrance

Of

English Cricket

Which died at the Oval on

29th August 1882

Deeply lamented by a circle of sorrowing friends and acquaintances R I P

NB. The body will be cremated and the ashes taken to Australia.

The Ashes legend was born. However there is more to the story. Determined to restore battered pride an English side, captained by Ivo Bligh visited Australia in 1882-83 and succeeded in winning a three match series. Before returning home, Bligh was presented with a personal memento to commemorate the victory, a small urn filled with the ashes of either the bails or the ball from a cricket match.

The urn itself, which only stands several inches high, is probably one of the smallest trophies in sport. Despite its size it bears two descriptions. One reads 'The Ashes', the other is a poem:-

When Ivo goes back with the urn, the urn;

Studds, Steel, Read and Tylecote return, return;

The welkin will ring loud,

The great crowd will feel proud,

Seeing Barlow and Bates, with the urn the urn;

And the rest coming home with the urn.

During the 1920s the name 'The Ashes' was revived by the press and the media to refer to Test cricket played between England and Australia. From these beginnings, almost from the ashes you might say, has grown this pride and passion, a fierce sporting rivalry between Australian and Englishman alike to compete for victory and the 'Ashes'. And nowhere is this more evident than in the current series of matches being played out now this summer.

Learn more about this author, Antony J Waller.
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