of
ENGLISH CRICKET,
which died at the Oval
on
29th AUGUST, 1882,
Deeply lamented by a large circle of sorrowing
friends and acquaintances
——
R.I.P.
——
N.B. 'The body will be cremated and the
ashes taken to Australia.'"
Roughly biennial (18 months and 30 months alternating gaps due to the differing seasons between the two countries) Test Cricket contest between England and Australia, competed over a series of five matches. The 2013 series ended with England retaining the Ashes 3 matches to none, the other two being draws. The next Ashes series of 2013–14 started in November, only 3 months after the end of the 2013 series, and was won by Australia in a 5-0 whitewash. This was a deliberate decision to reset the cycle, since Ashes series held in Australia had immediately preceded the Cricket World Cup. The traditional intervals returned after the 2015 series in England, which the home nation won before Australia went on to win the next two Ashes series.
Started in 1882 after England lost their first match on an English ground to the Aussies. A paper printed a satirical obituary for English cricket, declaring that its 'ashes' would be "taken to Australia". England captain the Hon. Ivo Bligh promised to "regain the ashes" on the next English tour to Australia. When England won, Bligh's (Australian) fiancee presented him with a small engraved urn containing the literal ash of a burnt wooden bail, part of one of the wickets used in the game.
This isn't a whole lot of ash, making the container quite comically small (roughly 10 cm tall by 3 cm wide) for its significance, especially compared to the rather more ostentatious and gaudy trophies of other sports. Nonetheless it's Serious bloody Business, to Australians and Brits at least.
The actual urn is kept at the Marylebone Cricket Club in London - a replica is used as the trophy for the series, which is something that annoys the Aussies. This is unlikely to ever change, as according to The Other Wiki Bligh regarded the urn as a private gift and not a trophy, and so it was merely donated to the MCC museum upon his death, apart from which the thing is 133 years old and somewhat fragile and attempting to move it might well prove disastrous.
Made more widely-known outside of cricketing circles recently when, after eight consecutive defeats, England won the 2005 Ashes 2-1 (with two draws). However, a combination of English fatigue and Australian determination led to the next series in 06/07 being a 5-0 whitewash for Australia. The 2009 Ashes were distinguished by the two batting sides trying to outdo the other in collapsing more rapidly than seems possible in first class cricket. Australia, in the end, did better at that, and England won the series 2-1, with two draws. There was no repeat of history, however, as England won the 2010/11 series in Australia 3-1, with each of their victories by an innings, the first series win in Australia for 24 years.
As of 2014, Australia once again whitewashed England 5 - 0 to reclaim the Ashes in Australia, after having lost 0 - 3 in England in the English summer of 2013.
Meanwhile in 2015, The Australians being bowled out for just 60 runs at Trent Bridge has added greatly to the gaiety of the English Nation.
Appearances in fiction:
- Featured in Life, the Universe and Everything, where cricket is based on folk memories of the most devastating war the galaxy has ever seen, leading most other planets to think Earth has remarkably bad taste.
- The Final Test
- That Mitchell and Webb Look with their The Full Number of Overs that are Scheduled to be Bowled that Day sketch. Or was that referring to the World Cup? Or indeed anything remotely resembling sanity?
- There's references to Cool Runnings and Brassed Off - and maybe also Dodgeball - within the first thirty seconds.
- Bodyline is a dramatisation of the 1932-33 series, in which the unorthodox and dangerous tactics of the British captain (devised in a desperate attempt to bring The Ace Don Bradman under control) caused a diplomatic incident.
- The tactics worked, England won the series. Bowlers commend the playing style, batsmen hate it. England eventually hated it when it got used on them by the West Indies a few years later. Australians think it was unfair and the English think the Aussies are whiners about it. Heated debates will start between people who played different positions bowler/batter even if they are both from the same country.
- The season two finale of Hustle opened with the team selling a replica of the Ashes urn to an Aussie gangster - who believed it was the genuine article that the team had stolen - for £90,000.
- Game and competition shows have occasionally borrowed the "ashes" name and idea for UK vs. Australia events of their own, including Sale of the Century and Gladiators.
- In the same fashion, a book and thus episode of Inspector Lynley, was called ''Playing for the Ashes'' because it featured a cricketer who died via arson.
- The censored Australian of Left 4 Dead 2 features a cricket bat as a weapon. It includes a special design and is engraved with the dates that Australia has won the Ashes.
