The Ashes: History, The Urn, and Cricket's Greatest Rivalry Explained
The complete history of the Ashes cricket series — the origin of The Urn from the 1882 'death of English cricket', how the series runs every two years, and the famous 2005 and 2019 series that defined modern Ashes cricket.
The Ashes is Test cricket's oldest and most celebrated rivalry — a series contested between England and Australia that has been played, with various interruptions for world wars and global pandemics, since 1882. The name derives from a satirical obituary published in the Sporting Times newspaper following Australia's shock victory at The Oval in August 1882, which declared that English cricket had died and its body would be cremated with the ashes taken to Australia. What began as a piece of journalistic wit became one of sport's most enduring traditions, with a small ceramic urn at the centre of it all.
The Origin: The Urn of 1882
Following Australia's nine-run victory in the 1882 Test at The Oval — England's first home defeat to Australia — the Sporting Times ran a mock obituary: 'In Affectionate Remembrance of English Cricket, which died at The Oval, 29th August 1882... The body will be cremated and the Ashes taken to Australia.' When England toured Australia in 1882-83 and won the series, a group of Australian women presented England captain Ivo Bligh with a small urn containing the ashes of a burnt cricket bail (according to most historical accounts). This tiny terracotta urn — just 10.5cm tall — became the trophy that both nations play for. The actual physical urn lives permanently at the Marylebone Cricket Club museum at Lord's Cricket Ground and is never taken on tour regardless of who wins; instead, a replica Waterford Crystal urn has been used for presentation ceremonies since 1998.
Format and Schedule
An Ashes series consists of five Test matches played over approximately six to seven weeks. The series is staged every two years, alternating between England (English summer, June–September) and Australia (Australian summer, November–January). This means each country hosts an Ashes series every four years, and a full Ashes cycle — home and away — takes four years to complete. The series is contested under standard ICC Test match rules, though Ashes matches carry additional prestige and emotional weight that can unsettle even experienced international players. The team that wins more of the five Tests wins the series and 'holds the Ashes' until the next series. If a series is drawn 2-2 (or 1-1, or no result is reached), the team that previously held the Ashes retains them.
Famous Ashes Series: 2005 and 2019
The 2005 Ashes in England — won by England 2-1 after a gripping five-match contest — is widely considered one of the greatest series in cricket history. England had not held the Ashes since 1987 and had lost 16 consecutive Ashes Tests. The series featured the extraordinary two-run Edgbaston Test (the narrowest Ashes margin ever), Freddie Flintoff's iconic consolation of Brett Lee after the match, and Andrew Flintoff's all-round performances at Old Trafford. The 2019 Ashes in England ended 2-2 — Australia retaining the Ashes — but was equally dramatic, defined almost entirely by Steve Smith's superhuman batting: he scored 774 runs in seven innings, including centuries at Edgbaston and Old Trafford, in his comeback series following his 2018 ban.
Frequently asked questions
Why does the actual Ashes urn never travel to Australia when Australia wins the series?
The decision to keep the original Ashes urn permanently at Lord's Cricket Ground in London is both a preservation necessity and a historical quirk, and it is one of the most frequent sources of confusion for fans following the series. The original urn is extraordinarily fragile. At just 10.5 centimetres tall and made of terracotta clay that is over 140 years old, the urn has already sustained damage during its long history — a crack and repair are visible to close inspection. Transporting it between continents would risk irreparable damage to what is arguably the most recognisable artefact in cricket. The Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC), which owns the urn and houses it in their museum at Lord's, made the decision decades ago that it should remain in a controlled environment where temperature, humidity, and physical security can be maintained. This means the ceremonies around 'winning the Ashes' are, strictly speaking, symbolic. Since 1998, both teams have played for and lifted a Waterford Crystal replica urn that is used for presentation and celebration purposes. When Australia won the 2006-07 Ashes 5-0, captain Ricky Ponting lifted the crystal replica at the Sydney Cricket Ground; when England won in 2005, Andrew Flintoff and Michael Vaughan held the replica aloft at The Oval. The real urn remains in the Long Room at Lord's, viewed by hundreds of thousands of museum visitors each year. There is a deeper historical irony in the arrangement: Australia, despite winning the Ashes more frequently than England across the 140+ year history of the series, has never been able to physically bring the original urn home. Australian cricket fans and officials have occasionally expressed frustration at this, arguing that a winning side should hold the actual trophy. The MCC has consistently maintained that the urn's preservation must take precedence, and this position has been accepted — if not always warmly — by Cricket Australia. The question of who actually 'holds the Ashes' is also more nuanced than casual viewers realise. Since England can retain the Ashes by drawing a series held in Australia, there are scenarios where Australia win more matches in a home series yet England retain the trophy. This adds an extra tactical and psychological dimension to Ashes cricket that no other bilateral series quite replicates.