The Ashes, played between Australia and England, is one of the most celebrated, fascinating, and fiercest cricketing sagas.
Ashes has existed for the last 140 years since its origin in 1882-83. Australia and England have so far battled for the urn in 72 series before Ashes 2023. Australia has won the Ashes 34 times, while England has won 32 times with six series ending in a draw. Every cricket fan eagerly awaits the epic encounter between England and Australia, and the Ashes 2023 promise to deliver a thrilling series. As the two cricketing giants gear up to face each other, the battle for redemption and pride is about to begin.
The History of The Ashes: An epic folklore
The word ‘Ashes’ was first used after Australia defeated England for the first time on home soil at the oval on 29th August 1882. A day later, the Sporting Times published a sarcastic obituary of English cricket which states: “In affectionate remembrance of English cricket which died at The Oval on 29th August 1882, R.I.P. – N.B. The body will be cremated and the ashes taken to Australia.
Three weeks later, the England team, captained by the Hon Ivo Bligh, flew on a tour of Australia, with the English hopes to return with “the ashes”. The English media terms the tour “the quest to regain the Ashes”. After the victory of England on the tour, a small urn (Basically a small perfume jar) filled with the ash of bails was presented to the English captain Bligh by a woman named Florence Morphy, whom Bligh married within a year. He returned to England with the Urn and kept it at his home. After his death, The Urn was kept in the MCC Museum at Lord’s.
After that, replicas of the urn are given to winning teams as a symbol of their triumph in the Ashes. Since the 1998–99 Ashes series, an official trophy was created exactly in the shape of the original urn(called the Ashes Trophy) and has been presented to the winners of an Ashes series as the official trophy of that series.
Current Scenario: Bazball Vs The WTC Champions
The Ashes rivalry stars this summer for a highly anticipated clash between an attacking England and the World Test Champions Australia. In the last Ashes, Australia crushed the English team by 4-0 at home. But the introduction of ‘Bazball’ has made this English team attacking and dangerous. England has been phenomenal since coach Brendon McCullum and captain Ben Stokes took charge. On the other hand, Australia has just become the World Test Champions by beating mighty Indians. It is going to be an epic clash between these two cricketing giants with the likes of modern legends Steven Smith and Joe Root taking center stage.