Australia vs England: What is the story of 'The Ashes'?

Everyone is aware of the rivalry between Australia and England, be it in any format of cricket. However, the Ashes rivals reserve their best for Test cricket, which is where the rivalry began in the first place. 21st November 2025 marks the beginning of a fresh Ashes series, one that dates back to 1882!

 

The origin of the Ashes series was in 1882 after England were defeated at home by Australia for the first time in Test cricket. While such a result in today's era wouldn't come as a surprise to anybody, it certainly was a shock in those days. In fact, it was an upset of the highest order and a day later, on 30th August 1882, the Sporting Times carried a line that would be the start of a legacy.

 

"The body will be cremated and the ashes taken to Australia" read the final line of an article on Sporting Times and this innovative bit of reporting created waves among the public. A month or so later, an English team travelled to Australia for what is considered as the first 'Ashes' series between the two sides, although it wasn't official by then.

 

England ended up winning that series and their captain was given a small terracotta urn as a symbol of the ashes that the visitors had come to regain. This became a scheduled tradition with England and Australia announcing the Ashes as an ever-rolling trophy presented to the winner of each series. If a series was drawn, the winner of the previous one would continue to have control over the urn.

 

In the 1990s, the urn underwent a makeover to sync with the modern times, with an actual trophy being commissioned by the MCC who completed the process with cooperation from the ECB and CA. The 1998-99 Ashes series was the first such occasion where both teams fought for an actual trophy, and the Aussies under Mark Taylor emerged victorious.

 

Prior to the 2025-26 series in Australia, it is the home side who have the urn at their disposal. The previous series in England (2023) ended in a thrilling 2-2 draw while the one before that in Australia (2020-21) was 4-0 in favour of Pat Cummins' side.

 

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