The Origin
The famous legend of The Ashes began in 1882. When for the first time the England cricket team was beaten by Australia at home at The Oval. This surprising result led to a spoof obituary being published by the Sporting Times, declaring the ‘death of English cricket’.
…The obituary read :
“In Affectionate Remembrance of English cricket, which died at The Oval on 29 August 1882. Deeply lamented by a large circle of sorrowing friends and acquaintances RIP. NB – the body will be cremated and the ashes takes to Australia.”
This however was not the first time Australia and England had played test cricket ,with their first game dating back to 1877, However, the idea of ‘The Ashes’ quickly gained traction and drew more interest to the game.
The Urn
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The interest around this idea to regain The Ashes meant that the English cricket team played on that idea, with the captain Hon Ivo Bligh, promising to return with The Ashes from their upcoming Australian tour.
The next tour to Australia was three scheduled matches and a win for the English. To celebrate and commemorate this idea of ‘The Ashes’, Captain Bligh was presented with a terracotta urn and it is said that inside the urn is the ashes of a burnt bail to celebrate this new rivalry. Bligh brought this back to England.
Current Ashes Series
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In recent years the rivalry of the Ashes still remains and may in fact be stronger than ever before. It seems each year it only gets more popular amongst the fans as controversies and intense moments between the players become more regular each year.
With intense pressure from the press and high expectations from thousands of fans the Ashes still remains the pinnacle of test cricket, with players delivering some truly spectacular performances.