The Ashes

The Ashes is a Test cricket contest between England and Australia, usually played as a series in alternating countries. Its name comes from a small terracotta urn associated with the rivalry.

1882 Australia–England Test: A Test at The Oval in 1882 in which Australia defeated England on English soil for the first time. England’s defeat prompted the obituary that first spoke of English cricket’s ashes.
Test cricket: The longest form of international cricket, played over up to five days between national teams. The Ashes is contested exclusively in this format.
Bodyline: A controversial fast-leg-theory bowling tactic used by England against Australia in the 1932–33 series. Its use in an Ashes tour provoked a diplomatic dispute as well as a cricketing one.
England cricket team: The national cricket team representing England in international competition. It is one of the two sides whose contests constitute the Ashes.
The Sporting Times: A British sports newspaper founded in 1865 and published until 1924. Its mock obituary after the 1882 defeat coined the phrase that named the contest.
Ashes series format: The conventions governing the number and scheduling of Tests in an Ashes series. A multi-match series, rather than a single Test, determines the contest’s outcome.
1981 Ashes series: The Test series in which England recovered from two early defeats to beat Australia 3–1. Ian Botham’s performances made this comeback one of the contest’s defining episodes.
Australia men's national cricket team: The national men's cricket team representing Australia in international competition. Its rivalry with England gives the Ashes its enduring two-sided character.
Ivo Bligh: An English cricketer who captained the 1882–83 touring side to Australia. He promised to recover the ashes during the tour that followed the newspaper’s joke.
Ashes retention: The convention that the incumbent holder keeps the Ashes when a series is drawn. A drawn series does not transfer the symbolic distinction to the challenger.

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