England v Australia: The Ashes explained

AFP Sport explains the history behind one of sport's oldest and most intense contests, dating back to 1882.

The facts

The Ashes is the name given to the series of Tests played between England and Australia, generally five matches contested every two years.

The series winner is presented with a replica of the historic Ashes urn.

Australia have been holders since 2017-18, retaining the Ashes after the 2023 showdown in England was drawn 2-2.

The latest clash will be the 74th instalment, with Australia winning 34 series and England 32. Seven have been drawn.

England's last series victory on Australian soil was in 2010-11.

'The body will be cremated'

Although the first Test match was played between the rivals was played in 1877 in Melbourne, the use of the term "Ashes" dates from England's first home defeat to Australia at The Oval in London in 1882.

Sporting Times journalist Reginald Shirley Brooks wrote a satirical article stating that English cricket had died and "the body will be cremated and the ashes taken to Australia".

When England toured Australia later that year, captain Ivo Bligh was given a small terracotta urn purported to contain the ashes of a burnt wooden bail.

It was considered a symbol of the "Ashes" he had sworn to win back.

Standing at little more than 10 centimetres (four inches) tall, the original urn resides at the Marylebone Cricket Club museum at the Lord's ground in London.

Bitter feuds

Few sporting rivalries are fiercer than the Ashes, with battered bodies and bloodied faces all part of nearly 150 years of feuding.

In the 1932-33 "Bodyline" series, England famously aimed fast balls at the Australian batsman's bodies rather than the stumps in the hope they would get out trying to protect themselves.

The 1981 series will be forever known as "Botham's Ashes" after all-rounder Ian Botham's feats with bat and ball inspired England to victory.

Australia leg-spinner Shane Warne provided one of the most famous moments in Ashes history when his "ball of the century" bowled Mike Gatting in 1993.

Arguably the greatest Ashes series was in 2005 when England, powered by Andrew Flintoff and Kevin Pietersen, beat an Australia team packed with stars.

The tone for England's first Ashes triumph since 1986/87 was set early in the first Test when Steve Harmison's bouncer left Australia captain Ricky Ponting with blood streaming down his face.

© 2025 AFP

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