History of The Ashes: Here’s all you need to know about Test cricket’s oldest rivalry ahead of Ashes 2023

Ashes History: The Ashes is a Test match series played between England and Australia, the oldest rivals in cricket. They play for a small urn which stayed at the Marylebone Cricket Club at the Lord's Cricket Ground and then shifted to the museum.

Why is England vs Australia Test Series called The Ashes?

The term 'Ashes' was born in 1882, when Australia defeated England's cricket team for the first time on their home soil. After England's defeat, the Sporting Times declared the death of English Cricket in a mock obituary. It 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 taken to Australia." Later, the English media called England's next tour to Australia the quest to regain the ashes. 

During the 1882-23 tour, a group of Melbourne women presented a tiny terracotta urn to the English Captain Ivo Bligh, which allegedly contained the ashes of some cricket item. After Bligh's death, his wife presented the urn to the MCC. Before it was moved to the museum in 1953, the small urn resided in the Long Room. In 1998, the MCC commissioned a trophy that has been played for in the series between Australia and England. The trophy is a larger replica of the urn. In 1903, Pelham Warner, former captain of the England cricket team, wrote a book named How We Recovered The Ashes.

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The Ashes winners over the years

Here are the results of The Ashes between Australia and England since 1882. 

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