England’s home defeat. A mock obituary. And a sense of redemption.
This is what gave birth to what we now know as ‘the Ashes’.
You must’ve seen Australia and England fight for a tiny ‘urn’ in Test cricket. While the urn might be tiny, there’s a significant history behind it.
So, how did the Ashes come to be?
The story dates back to August 1882. Australia toured England for a one-off Test at The Oval.
The visitors chose to bat first. But the decision didn’t go down well, as England’s bowlers ran through them and bowled them out for 63 runs.
The hosts didn’t really have a great outing with the bat either. England managed to put together 101 runs. But a 38-run lead put them in the driver’s seat.
Australia came out again and had a better outing. They were all out for 122 and set an 85-run target for the hosts.
Not a tough target, right? Even England must’ve thought so and looked set to cruise past.
But there was a twist. England mustered 77 runs to lose by seven runs. This marked their first Test defeat on home soil!
The shocking defeat resulted in a London-based journalist mocking the English cricket’s death. Reginald Shirley Brooks, the journalist, published a mock obituary in the Sporting Times newspaper.
The obituary read: “In affectionate remembrance of English cricket, which died at The Oval, 29th August, 1882. Deeply lamented by a large circle of sorrowing friends and acquaintances, RIP. NB The body will be cremated and the Ashes taken to Australia.”
Also Read | Top Ten Ashes Tests of All Time
England Regain the Ashes
The mock obituary was no less than an insult. So the Englishmen, led by Ivo Bligh, promised to regain the Ashes.
England then toured Australia in late 1882. They had three Tests to fulfil their promise.
The first Test didn’t go well, losing it by nine wickets in Melbourne. England, however, bounced back in the second Test. They defeated the hosts by an innings and 27 runs.
The series was now level. And England couldn’t afford any mistakes here.
The stage was set in Sydney. England played better cricket than the Aussies to win the third Test and, of course, the Ashes. (Check out the winners of every Ashes series here.)
After the match, a few Australian ladies burnt a bail and put the Ashes in the small urn. They presented the urn to Bligh, England’s captain. And that’s how the Ashes took birth.
The original urn was with Bligh till his death in 1927. Following that, Bligh’s widowed wife, Florence, handed the urn to the Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC). The MCC has kept the urn on display in a museum at Lord’s.
There’s also the Women’s Ashes contested between Australia and England. Here’s the story behind its origin.
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