The Origin And The History Of The Ashes

The term Ashes came into existence in 1882, when England lost for the first time to Australia on home soil in the Lord’s Stadium. The loss initiated an unusual reaction from the public and it was considered as the end of the English Cricket since the National team lost of the home ground.

A day after the match, a mock obituary of the English Cricket was published in the Sporting Time. The obituary ended with the line, "The body will be cremated and the ashes taken to Australia". The phrase caught the attention of the public and within a few days almost everyone had heard it. The public was devastated and so was the team captain Hon Ivo Bligh.

The circumstances lead to the formation of a national cricket team that was captained by Hon Ivo Bligh. The team was set to go on a tour to Australia to bring back the reclaim the Ashes of the English Cricket. Three test matches were scheduled between England and Australia in Australia a few weeks after the match.

Mr. Bligh vowed to turn the ashes of the English Cricket to Lord’s whereas on the other hand, the Australian Cricket team captain, WL Murdoch, vowed to defend them. The first match was played between the two teams and England lost one more time.

The public was devastated but Bligh still had hope. England won the rest of the two matches in Australia and according to the rules won the Test match series thus reclaimed the Ashes of the English Cricket. On his victory, he was presented with an urn that contained the ashes of the wicket bail that was used in the third match.

Although there are some alternating stories that state that the urn doesn’t contain the ashes of the cricket bail but that is what most people believe nowadays. Bligh found his life partner in Australia and got married to her and become a Lord.

The couple returned to England in 1884, a short while after the wedding and the urn was gifted to Bligh as a personal gift that stayed in the family until he died 43 years later. According to his wishes, the urn was then handed over to the MCC.

After the match, the series became a tradition. Every year since 1882, a test match series is either held between England and Australia the winning team wins the Ashes. Although the series was held every year but no physical urn was awarded to the winning team. It was only until 1990 when the MMC commissioned an urn-shaped Waterford Crystal trophy to be presented to the winning team.

Till now the test series is being carried out and the winning captain is awarded with the trophy which he takes home as a symbol of victory.

The original urn, on the other hand, resides at the MCC Museum at Lord’s where you can visit and witness the glory of the irreplaceable artifact. The urn did leave Lord’s in 2006 for the MCC Travelex Ashes Exhibition, which was held in seven museums in six Australian states.

Hudson Drew is fun loving professional blogger. He now works with the Ticket Merchants to help people to find the best Ashes tickets Australia.