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The Ashes

This article is about the Ashes in men's cricket. For the women's equivalent, see The Women's Ashes. For other uses, see The Ashes (disambiguation).

The Ashes
The Ashes urn, made of terracotta and about 10.5 cm (4") tall, is reputed to contain the ashes of a burnt cricket bail.
Countries Australia
 England
AdministratorInternational Cricket Council
FormatTest cricket
First edition1882–83 (Australia)
Latest edition2023 (England)
Next edition2025–26 (Australia)
Tournament format5-match series
Number of teams2
Current trophy holder Australia (Series drawn) (2023)
Most successful Australia (34 series wins, six retentions)
Most runsAustralia Donald Bradman (5,028)
Most wicketsAustralia Shane Warne (195)

The Ashes is a men's Test cricket series played biennially between England and Australia. The term originated in a satirical obituary published in a British newspaper, The Sporting Times, immediately after Australia's 1882 victory at The Oval, its first Test win on English soil. The obituary stated that English cricket had died, and that "the body will be cremated and the ashes taken to Australia".[1] The mythical ashes immediately became associated with the 1882–83 series played in Australia, before which the English captain Ivo Bligh had vowed to "regain those ashes". The English media therefore dubbed the tour the quest to regain the Ashes.

After England won two of the three Tests on the tour, a small urn was presented to Bligh in Melbourne.[2] The contents of the urn are reputed to be the ashes of a wooden bail, and were humorously described as "the ashes of Australian cricket".[3] It is not clear whether that "tiny silver urn" is the same as the small terracotta urn given to Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) by Bligh's widow after his death in 1927.

The Ashes urn has never been the official trophy of the series, having been a personal gift to Bligh,[4] but replicas of the urn have often been held aloft by the winning team as a symbol of their victory. Since the 1998–99 Ashes series, the Ashes Trophy, a Waterford Crystal trophy modelled on the Ashes urn, has been presented to the winners of the series. Irrespective of which side holds the trophy, the original urn remains in the MCC Museum at Lord's. It has been taken to Australia twice to be put on touring display, as part of the Australian Bicentenary celebrations in 1988 and to accompany the Ashes series in 2006–07.

Ashes series have usually consisted of five Tests, hosted in turn by England and Australia approximately every two years. The Ashes are regarded as being held by the team that most recently won the series. If the series is drawn, the team that currently holds the Ashes "retains" the trophy.

There have been 73 Ashes series. Australia have won 34 and retained six times from draws (40); England have won 32 and retained once (33).

  1. ^ Wendy Lewis; Simon Balderstone & John Bowan (2006). Events That Shaped Australia. New Holland. p. 75. ISBN 978-1-74110-492-9.
  2. ^ "Summary of Events". The Illustrated Australian News. Melbourne. 20 February 1884. p. 18.
  3. ^ "Cricket". The Mercury. Hobart. 4 June 1908. p. 8.
  4. ^ "The Ashes History". Lords. Archived from the original on 9 October 2018. Retrieved 21 December 2018.

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