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NEW DELHI: England and Australia are facing off in the opening Test of the 2025-26 Ashes series at the Optus Stadium in Perth, renewing one of cricket’s most iconic rivalries. The contest derives its famous name from a mock obituary printed in 1882 after Australia claimed their first Test win on English soil.For both nations, the Ashes series carries immense prestige, often regarded as being on par with the honour of winning a World Cup. Its name has a unique and storied origin rooted in cricket history.
Why is the series called The Ashes?
The term originated on August 29, 1882, when English journalist Reginald Shirley Brooks published a tongue-in-cheek obituary in the Sporting Times following England’s defeat at The Oval.“English cricket was dead and the body will be cremated and the ashes taken to Australia,” Brooks wrote in the Sporting Times.England captain Ivo Bligh vowed to reclaim those “ashes” during the team’s upcoming tour of Australia later that year. England went on to win the series 2-1.After that triumph, a small urn was presented to Bligh’s team, giving rise to the tradition of calling every future Test series between England and Australia “The Ashes.”
What is inside the urn?
What the urn actually contains has long been debated. Some believe it holds the ashes of a bail from the third match of the 1882 series, while others speculate it might contain remnants of a burnt ball cover or stump.In 1998, Bligh’s daughter-in-law offered another theory, claiming the urn held the ashes of her mother-in-law’s burnt veil.The original urn was handed over to the Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) at Lord’s after Bligh’s death in 1927, and since then, teams have competed for a replica of the treasured artifact.Today, the England–Australia rivalry remains one of cricket’s most iconic and fiercely contested battles, with both sides determined to claim the coveted urn.
