How the Ashes got their name
Mention the word ‘Ashes’ to any cricket fan and they know you are
talking about a Test contest between England and Australia.
But cricket’s oldest rivals had been playing each other for five
years before the idea of the Ashes was born. It happened in 1882 when,
in a one-off Test at The Oval, Australia, inspired by figures of 14 for
90 from Fred Spofforth, ‘The Demon’, fought back to win a thrilling
match by seven runs.
The Sporting Times reacted to Australia’s first win on English soil
with a mock obituary written by Reginald Shirley Brooks.
Remembrance
It read: “In affectionate remembrance of English cricket which died
at The Oval, 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.” Ivo Bligh, later Lord
Darnley, captained England to a 2-1 victory in the subsequent series in
Australia and, according to many cricket histories, he was presented
with an urn containing the Ashes of a bail used in the third Test by a
group of Melbourne women.
Suggestion
However, it was subsequently suggested that the Ashes were those of a
ball and in 1998 Lord Darnley’s daughter-in-law said they were the
remains of her mother-in-law’s veil.
The urn itself was bequeathed to Lord’s owners Marylebone Cricket
Club (MCC) on Darnley’s death in 1927 and became an exhibit in the
ground’s museum.
Regardless of the result of the Ashes, the urn — which stands just
four inches high — has remained at Lord’s. The justification has been
that the ashes were a private gift to MCC and not a sporting trophy. But
in order to remedy this perceived unfairness MCC commissioned an
Ashes-shaped crystal trophy which was first presented to Australia
captain Mark Taylor after the 1998/99 series.
England currently hold the Ashes following their upset 2-1 win at
home in 2009 which erased the nightmare of a 5-0 whitewash in Australia
two years earlier.
The urn has only been to Australia on a couple of occasions, the
first in 1988 for the country’s bicentennial celebrations.
Serious cracks
MCC had hoped the urn could return to Australia in 2003 but an X-ray
taken at the time revealed several serious cracks, notably in the stem.
But, following repair work, it was taken on a tour of Australia to
coincide with the 2006/07 series.
LONDON, Friday (AFP) |