by Jaimela King

Created on: July 05, 2009   Last Updated: July 14, 2009

In 1882, a cricket match was played at the Oval in England and Australia won the match against England. It would be the first time, in the history of cricket that England would lose to a team on its own soil. This was devastating to British cricket fans to say the least. It was a close match and left both Australian and English cricket fans in disbelief and resulted in an obituary that was published in the Sporting Times, bemoaning the death of English Cricket. Below is an excerpt from the publication:

"In Affectionate Remembrance of ENGLISH CRICKET, WHICH DIED AT THE OVAL ON 29TH AUGUST 1882. Deeply lamented by a large circle of sorrowing friends and acquaintances. R.I.P. N.B. The body will be cremated and the ashes taken to Australia.

The term ashes came specifically from the content of the obituary. It stated that English cricket had died, the body will be cremated and the ashes sent to Australia. The next tour would be on Australian soil (1882 1883), and the English Media named the tour, The Quest to Regain The Ashes. Australia, in good sportsman fashion, played along with the death of English cricket theory. At the next game played in Australia, the British had won two out of three test matches. A group of women from Melbourne Australia, presented the captain of the English cricket team, Ivo Bligh, with a terracotta urn, reported filled with a burnt cricket article. The urn was never embodied as a symbol of the game until much later.

The term "The Ashes" gradually faded from memory over the following two decades until 1899 when George Griffen, an Australian cricketer, used the term in his memoirs, With Bat and Ball The Ashes concept came to the forefront again in 1903 with England again promising to regain the ashes when it played Australia that year. A win for England prompted the captain of the team, Pelham Warner, to write a book entitled, "How we recovered the Ashes"

On the death of Ivo Bligh (now Lord Darnley) his widow presented the urn to the Marylebone Cricket Club in 1927, and now sits in the Marylebone Cricket Club Museum. The resurgence of the urn brought life back into the Ashes. The contents of the urn werealso cloaked in mystery, leading to some very outrageous suggestions including the idea that the ashes were of a live person. The urn was never used as a trophy but made the occasional trip over the years to be displayed in Australia at cricket matches. A replica of the urn in Waterford crystal was made for the 1998-99 series, to be awarded to the winning teams.

The legendary Ashes Cricket series was in effect played since the 1870's but the name Ashes emerged as a result of the events above. The Ashes Cricket series is played between Australia and England bi-annually. Even before the name became associated officially with the series, Australia had an intense fascination with the Ashes concept and both Australian and English cricket fans continue to be heavily invested in the series whenever it is played.

The memorable 1882 match had given birth to The Ashes" name of the series between Australia and England. It is perhaps the legendary rivalry between the two teams that has made the Ashes series such a popular and emotional experience for fans on both sides. It has also served to keep the game, through years of victories, controversies and losses, only between the two teams. The Ashes Test Game has certainly withstood the test of time.

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