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Test Matches - The Ashes
The Ashes is the name for the Test match series between old time rivals England and Australia. They play for a trophy - a small urn which stays at the Marylebone Cricket Club at the Lord’s Cricket Ground.
The Ashes legend was born in 1882, when the English cricket team was beaten by Australia for the first time on its own soil. Two days later, a mock obituary in the Sporting Times declared the death of English Cricket (see image). The obituary also stated that the body would be cremated and the ashes taken to Australia. Following this, the English media called the next tour to Australia by England as the quest to regain the ashes.
During the 1882-83 tour, a small terracotta urn was presented to the English Captain Ivo Bligh by a group of Melbourne women. The contents of the urn is believed to be the ashes of an item of cricket equipment, possibly a bail, ball or stump. Following this, the urn disappeared for many years, reappearing in 1927 when it was presented to the Marylebone Cricket Club, where it has been held ever since.
