Although Australia and England first played in Test match cricket in Melbourne in 1877, the mythology of The Ashes, the symbolic prize for which the two sides compete, originated in 1882. Then known as the "Plaque", it was a piece of wood with the wicket-taking balls of The Waugh, Warner and Edrich families engraved on it.
The inaugural Test match was drawn, but Australia won the next two matches to take home the Plaque. This is the only time that has happened in history. Since then, England has won eight out of ten matches, with Australia winning one match and drawing another. The last match was also drawn, so The Ashes will be shared this year for the first time since they were created.
Here are the results of the series up to and including the most recent match: England - winners of 8 matches, tied 1 match; Australia - winners of 1 match, tied 3 matches.
The Ashes, a symbol of victory in the normally biannual cricket Test (international) match series between England and Australia's select national teams, were first held in 1877. Its name is derived from an epitaph published in 1882, following the Australian team's first victory over England in England, at the Oval in London. The inscription on the tombstone read: "Here lies one who was once profligate, proud, and insolent, but now is humble, pious, and obedient."
The current series has 1 win for Australia and 0 wins for England. They will next meet in the 2015-16 series.
Ashes Series are also called "Preliminaries" or "Group A Matches". The term "Ashes" is only used when there is a winner-take-all finale; otherwise, the series are simply called "Series".
An Ashes series is played over several days during which each of the five matches is known as an "innings". There is always a start time and end time for each match, and if one team scores more than 400 runs then they will usually win the match. If the scores are level then there is no result and the match is declared a "draw".
There have been 19 series between England and Australia, with the English holding 12 victories and 5 draws.
The Ashes series, as we all know, is one of the most eagerly anticipated Test series between England and Australia. After Australia's triumph at The Oval in 1882, which occurred to be their first Test win on English soil, the word was used in a humorous obituary published in a British newspaper, The Sporting Times. The article stated that Charles Bannerman had died aged 37, "without having been able to add the Ashes to his collection". This phrase now means that someone has lost something very important.
The origin of the term goes back to the early 20th century when the MCC (Marylebone Cricket Club), who owned the copyright for The Ashes, used it in a promotional video about its tour of Australia. They wanted to highlight how important the series was and why tourists should take it seriously.
The video featured various clips from previous tours, including one where William Scotton, a player on the 1902-03 MCC team, could be seen running down a street with a suitcase full of clothes, which he threw over a fence after realizing he had left them on deck during a storm. When asked about this later, Scotton said: "That's not all they're worth!".
Another episode involves Charles Bannerman, the man who coined the term, who refused to wear shorts on the field. During an early test match at Lord's, he complained about the hot weather to the management who gave him some linen trousers to wear instead.
The Ashes are the only bilateral series between England and Australia. Is a symbol of England and Australia's long-running cricket rivalry. It is generally played twice a year, once between the United Kingdom and once between Australia.
The Ashes, a symbol of victory in the normally biannual cricket Test (international) match series between England and Australia's select national teams, were first held in 1877. Its name is derived from an epitaph published in 1882, following the Australian team's first victory over England in England, at the Oval in London.
England and Australia compete in a test cricket series known as the Ashes. The current holder of the Ashes is England - they won the last test match 4-1.
The first Test match was played at Trent Bridge in August 1877. Australia won this match by an innings and 39 runs to claim victory in their first Test match. Since then, each country has won several matches but has also lost some close games. The last time Australia lost the Ashes was in 2003 - 1-4 down after the third test match. England won the series 3-1.
There have been 25 tests played so far with Australia leading 17-8. The last time England beat Australia in a test match was in 2011 - the Boxing Day Test match at the Melbourne Cricket Ground. Australia won that game by 100 runs to remain undefeated on home soil.
After winning the first two tests by large margins, England suffered one of their biggest defeats when they were beaten by Australia 5-0. However, they responded well by winning next three matches to draw the five-match series 2-2.
Australia again held England without a win during the 2013-14 series.
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