What Is the History Behind the Ashes Series?

The legend of The Ashes series started as far back as the late 1800s, signifying Australia’s victory over England. So if you’re reading this, it means you’ve heard about this term and are curious about its meaning.

In this article, you’ll read the story behind The Ashes and how it started. You’ll also learn about the duel between Australia and England on the cricket field over the trophy.

The Legend of the Ashes Series

The Ashes Series started five years after Australia and England met and had their first cricket competition. Australia and England met for the first time in 1877 at the Test cricket match in Melbourne, which England won.

However, the legend of the Ashes only started in 1882 when, for the first time, Australia won against England – in England. The match occurred at the Oval in London, and Australia beat England by seven runs in a two-day cricket match.

After the win, a journalist in The Sporting Times, Reginald Shirley Brooks, wrote a mock obituary lamenting England’s loss. In the obituary, he mockingly lamented the “death” of English cricket at the Oval on August 29, 1882.

Then, he added that the body of the English cricketer would be cremated, and its ashes would be taken to Australia. From then on, that loss is referred to as The Ashes, starting with England’s captain, who promised to regain them.

Between 1882 and 1883, Ivo Bligh, England’s captain for the return series held in Australia, vowed to return those ashes. During the tour, some Victorian ladies, including Florence Morphy, who later became Ivo’s wife, gave him a terracotta urn.

The terracotta urn was six inches long, resembling a perfume bottle, and sealed with a cork. The urn was believed to have contained the ashes of a burned bail.

Later, Ivo got a velvet bag to keep the urn; in a letter, he thanked Mrs. Ann Fletcher for the bag. The letter is now held at the MCC (Marylebone Cricket Club) Museum in London at Lord’s Cricket Ground. After Ivo Bligh, who later became Lord Danley, died in 1927, the urn was presented to the MCC. Its first appearance was in the Long Room before the club moved it to the Museum in 1953.

The Urn and the Trophy

While the urn is a recognized symbol in cricket tournaments, it isn’t the formal trophy the teams played for. After the urn was displayed in the Museum, it left the place to be taken to Australia on two occasions.

The first was in 1988 to celebrate Australia’s Bicentenary and then in 2006/2007 at the summer cricket Test series between England and Australia. Nevertheless, the trophy the two countries played for in the series was commissioned by the MCC in 1998/1999.

The Death and Resurrection of The Ashes Series

Most people soon forget the tale of The Ashes for twenty years after the 1882/1883 tour. However, it was revived after the series in 1903/1904 when the England team’s captain, Pelham Warner, wrote a book on it.

Pelham wrote a book on the tour titled “How We Recovered The Ashes,” detailing England’s wins against Australia after that tour. Since then, the series between England and Australia has been fondly and popularly referred to as “The Ashes.”

The Illustrated London News published the first photograph of the urn in January 1921. On the urn were “The Ashes” and a six-line verse from the fourth verse of “Who’s in the cricket field.” Meanwhile, England had won thirteen times in the first eighteen series between the teams before the Ashes Series legend was born. Immediately after World War I, Australia won the Test matches and took the urn eight times in a row.

England and Australia: Battle for The Ashes

In a four-one series featuring the Bodyline tactic so-called, England regained custody of the Ashes in the 1932/1933 series. The series featured England’s fast bowlers constantly targeting the Australian batters’ bodies instead of stumps.

This approach was developed by England’s captain, Douglas Jardine, to reduce the effectiveness of Donald Bradman, Australia’s greatest cricket player. Harold Larwood and Bill Voce, the principal fast bowlers of the England side, effectively delivered the strategy.

However, that 1932/1933 win would be England’s last series victory for two decades. Australia thrived in the days following World War II, featuring Bradman’s victory in every match.

He won the Test series, beating England by 4 points, and produced the highest run-chase in history, then at 3-404. Thanks to Donald Bradman, Australia got a name: “The Invincibles,” which they enjoyed until 1953.

The winning streak was finally broken in 1953 when Hutton won three successive series for England. Then, in 1958/1959, Australia regained The Ashes, protecting it throughout the 1960s. England got it back in 1970/1971 under Ray Illingworth in a series featuring seven Tests.

One hundred years after their meeting, Australia and England contested an animated Centenary Test in Melbourne, where England won. This series was the last before the World Series Cricket, a rival competition to official internationals, began. Undoubtedly, the rich history of the Ashes Series plays a major role when betting on https://parimatch.in/en/cricket-ashes.

Conclusion

The legend of The Ashes is interesting and rather amusing, but definitely, one worth knowing – especially if you’re a cricket fan. It is a tale describing how Australia took the trophy from England for the first time in a cricket match.