The Ashes started a long time back in 1882 & the craze for the Series is still the same, may be more as compared to that time. "The Ashes" comprises five Test matches, two innings per match, under the regular rules for international Test-match cricket. If a series is drawn then the country already holding the Ashes retains them.
The series is named after a satirical obituary published in a British newspaper, The Sporting Times, in 1882 after a match at The Ovalin which Australia beat England on an English ground for the first time. The obituary stated that English cricket had died, and the body will be cremated and the ashes taken to Australia. The English media dubbed the next English tour to Australia (1882–83) as the quest to regain The Ashes.
During that tour a small terracotta urn was presented to England captain Ivo Bligh by a group of Melbourne women. The contents of the urn are reputed to be the ashes of an item of cricket equipment, possibly a bail, ball or stump. The Dowager Countess of Darnley claimed recently that her mother-in-law, Bligh's wife Florence Morphy, said that they were the remains of a lady's veil.
The urn is erroneously believed by some to be the trophy of the Ashes series, but it has never been formally adopted as such and Bligh always considered it to be a personal gift. Replicas of the urn are often held aloft by victorious teams as a symbol of their victory in an Ashes series, but the actual urn has never been presented or displayed as a trophy in this way. Whichever side holds the Ashes, the urn normally remains in the Marylebone Cricket Club Museum at Lord's since being presented to the MCC by Bligh's widow upon his death.
Since the 1998-99 Ashes series, a Waterford Crystal representation of the Ashes urn has been presented to the winners of an Ashes series as the official trophy of that series.
LIST OF ASHES SERIES
| Series | Season | Played in | Tests | Tests won | Tests won | Tests | Series | Holder at |
| 1 | 1882–83 | Australia | 3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | England | England |
| 2 | 1884 | England | 3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | England | England |
| 3 | 1884–85 | Australia | 5 | 2 | 3 | 0 | England | England |
| 4 | 1886 | England | 3 | 0 | 3 | 0 | England | England |
| 5 | 1886–87 | Australia | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | England | England |
| 6 | 1887–88 | Australia | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | England | England |
| 7 | 1888 | England | 3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | England | England |
| 8 | 1890 | England | 2 (3) | 0 | 2 | 0 | England | England |
| 9 | 1891–92 | Australia | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | Australia | Australia |
| 10 | 1893 | England | 3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | England | England |
| 11 | 1894–95 | Australia | 5 | 2 | 3 | 0 | England | England |
| 12 | 1896 | England | 3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | England | England |
| 13 | 1897–98 | Australia | 5 | 4 | 1 | 0 | Australia | Australia |
| 14 | 1899 | England | 5 | 1 | 0 | 4 | Australia | Australia |
| 15 | 1901–02 | Australia | 5 | 4 | 1 | 0 | Australia | Australia |
| 16 | 1902 | England | 5 | 2 | 1 | 2 | Australia | Australia |
| 17 | 1903–04 | Australia | 5 | 2 | 3 | 0 | England | England |
| 18 | 1905 | England | 5 | 0 | 2 | 3 | England | England |
| 19 | 1907–08 | Australia | 5 | 4 | 1 | 0 | Australia | Australia |
| 20 | 1909 | England | 5 | 2 | 1 | 2 | Australia | Australia |
| 21 | 1911–12 | Australia | 5 | 1 | 4 | 0 | England | England |
| 22 | England | 3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | England | England | |
| 23 | 1920–21 | Australia | 5 | 5 | 0 | 0 | Australia | Australia |
| 24 | 1921 | England | 5 | 3 | 0 | 2 | Australia | Australia |
| 25 | 1924–25 | Australia | 5 | 4 | 1 | 0 | Australia | Australia |
| 26 | 1926 | England | 5 | 0 | 1 | 4 | England | England |
| 27 | 1928–29 | Australia | 5 | 1 | 4 | 0 | England | England |
| 28 | 1930 | England | 5 | 2 | 1 | 2 | Australia | Australia |
| 29 | 1932–33 | Australia | 5 | 1 | 4 | 0 | England | England |
| 30 | 1934 | England | 5 | 2 | 1 | 2 | Australia | Australia |
| 31 | 1936–37 | Australia | 5 | 3 | 2 | 0 | Australia | Australia |
| 32 | 1938 | England | 4 (5) | 1 | 1 | 2 | Drawn | Australia |
| 33 | 1946–47 | Australia | 5 | 3 | 0 | 2 | Australia | Australia |
| 34 | 1948 | England | 5 | 4 | 0 | 1 | Australia | Australia |
| 35 | 1950–51 | Australia | 5 | 4 | 1 | 0 | Australia | Australia |
| 36 | 1953 | England | 5 | 0 | 1 | 4 | England | England |
| 37 | 1954–55 | Australia | 5 | 1 | 3 | 1 | England | England |
| 38 | 1956 | England | 5 | 1 | 2 | 2 | England | England |
| 39 | 1958–59 | Australia | 5 | 4 | 0 | 1 | Australia | Australia |
| 40 | 1961 | England | 5 | 2 | 1 | 2 | Australia | Australia |
| 41 | 1962–63 | Australia | 5 | 1 | 1 | 3 | Drawn | Australia |
| 42 | 1964 | England | 5 | 1 | 0 | 4 | Australia | Australia |
| 43 | 1965–66 | Australia | 5 | 1 | 1 | 3 | Drawn | Australia |
| 44 | 1968 | England | 5 | 1 | 1 | 3 | Drawn | Australia |
| 45 | 1970–71[8] | Australia | 6 (7) | 0 | 2 | 4 | England | England |
| 46 | 1972 | England | 5 | 2 | 2 | 1 | Drawn | England |
| 47 | 1974–75 | Australia | 6 | 4 | 1 | 1 | Australia | Australia |
| 48 | 1975 | England | 4 | 1 | 0 | 3 | Australia | Australia |
| 49 | 1977 | England | 5 | 0 | 3 | 2 | England | England |
| 50 | 1978–79 | Australia | 6 | 1 | 5 | 0 | England | England |
| 51 | 1981 | England | 6 | 1 | 3 | 2 | England | England |
| 52 | 1982–83 | Australia | 5 | 2 | 1 | 2 | Australia | Australia |
| 53 | 1985 | England | 6 | 1 | 3 | 2 | England | England |
| 54 | 1986–87 | Australia | 5 | 1 | 2 | 2 | England | England |
| 55 | 1989 | England | 6 | 4 | 0 | 2 | Australia | Australia |
| 56 | 1990–91 | Australia | 5 | 3 | 0 | 2 | Australia | Australia |
| 57 | 1993 | England | 6 | 4 | 1 | 1 | Australia | Australia |
| 58 | 1994–95 | Australia | 5 | 3 | 1 | 1 | Australia | Australia |
| 59 | 1997 | England | 6 | 3 | 2 | 1 | Australia | Australia |
| 60 | 1998–99 | Australia | 5 | 3 | 1 | 1 | Australia | Australia |
| 61 | 2001 | England | 5 | 4 | 1 | 0 | Australia | Australia |
| 62 | 2002–03 | Australia | 5 | 4 | 1 | 0 | Australia | Australia |
| 63 | 2005 | England | 5 | 1 | 2 | 2 | England | England |
| 64 | 2006–07 | Australia | 5 | 5 | 0 | 0 | Australia | Australia |
| 65 | 2009 | England | 5 | 1 | 2 | 2 | England | England |
| 66 | 2010–11 | Australia | 5 |
Summary
| Totals up to and including the 5th Test of the 2009 series in England. | ||||
| Played | Won by | Won by | Drawn | |
| All Tests | 305 | 122 (40%) | 97 (31.8%) | 86 (28.2%) |
| Tests in Australia | 152 | 76 (50%) | 53 (34.8%) | 23 (15.2%) |
| Tests in England | 153 | 46 (30.1%) | 44 (28.7%) | 63 (41.2%) |
| All series | 65 | 31 (48.4%) | 29 (43.8%) | 5 (7.8%) |
| Series in Australia | 32 | 17 (53.1%) | 13 (40.6%) | 2 (6.3%) |
| Series in England | 33 | 14 (42.4%) | 16 (48.5%) | 3 (9.1%) |
By the above list we can see that The Ashes is a fiercely contested competition. England won the first eight series in a row and only lost one in the first twelve. Australia then won four series in a row, before England reclaimed the Ashes in the 1926 series. The contest after 1934 has been dominated by Australia who has held the Ashes for long periods of time, including from 1934 to 1953, from 1959 to 1971 and from 1989 to 2005. The longest period of time that England has held the Ashes after 1934 was from 1953 to 1959.
England currently holds the Ashes after regaining them on 23 August 2009. Overall, the Australians have won 31 series, England has won 29 and there have been 5 drawn series. A total of 65 Ashes series have been played; the next will be played in Australia in 2010/11.
More to come on what to expect from Ashes 2010
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