Top Interesting Facts About ‘The Ashes’:
1:The Origins of the Series Date Back to the 1800s:
The term ‘Ashes’ was initially mentioned when Australia defeated England in a Test match for the first time which was held at Kennington Oval, London in 1882. The defeat wasn’t really taken well by the English people and the media alike. “The Sporting Times”, a British sporting newspaper, published a satirical obituary to English cricket. The writer stated that the “body will be cremated and the ashes taken to Australia”.
In the subsequent series (1882-83), where England was to tour Australia, captain Ivo Bligh assured the fans that he would bring back "The Ashes of English cricket". It, however, took more than 20 years for the term to get established as an ‘official name’ for the series when Australia captain Pelham Warner, in 1903, took his team to England to regain "the ashes".
2:Australia and England Take Turns to Host the Series:
The Ashes happen every 4 years in England and every 4 years in Australia. When hosting the event, each country usually uses a different venue for each match. English grounds used have included The Oval, Lord’s, Trent Bridge, Old Trafford, Edgbaston, and Headingley. Australia uses grounds like The MCG, The Adelaide Oval, The Gabba, the SCG, and Perth’s WACA.
3:The original urn rests in England:
No matter who wins the series, the Ashes urn always remains in the Lord’s Museum in London. Since the historic and year-old urn is too fragile to travel, the original memento rests at the MCC Museum at Lord’s.
4:England have never completed a Whitewash:
Despite being the birthplace, England, since the 20th century, has never completed a total whitewash over Australia. They have indeed won the series without losing a game, but then the others were drawn. The closest England have come was in 1978-79 when they defeated Australia 5-1.
As for Australia, they have whitewashed their opponent England on three occasions: 1920-21, 2006-07 and 2013-14.
5:The Urn Was Never an Official Trophy:
The main reason that the urn has stayed in the UK is that, although it’s generally thought of as one of the world’s most famous cricket trophies, it has never been presented to the winners. In fact, the tiny terracotta urn was believed to have been a personal gift to Ivo Bligh from his future wife, Florence Morphy, and some other Melbourne ladies.
6:It's a mystery that what’s inside The Ashes Urn:
It's still a mysterious fact that what is actually present inside the real 'Ashes Urn' but according to legends, its contents could be the charred remains of a bail, stumps or a ball’s outer case, although there are also theories that the urn at the MCC isn’t the original. One of Ivo Bligh’s descendants, the Dowager Countess of Darnley, even claimed that it contains the remnants of Florence Morphy’s veil.
7:If a Draw Occurs, the Previous Winners Retain the Title:
If a series is drawn both teams get the same amount of points), the country that won the last time keeps it. This has happened in 1938, 1962-63, 1965-66, 1968 and 1972. On the first four occasions, Australia holds onto the title while England did it in 1972.
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