The Ashes go to Australia - without a ball being hit
[FONT=Geneva,Arial,sans-serif]Andrew Culf, sports correspondent[/FONT]
[FONT=Geneva,Arial,sans-serif]Tuesday October 10, 2006[/FONT]
[FONT=Geneva,Arial,sans-serif]The Guardian[/FONT]
[FONT=Geneva,Arial,sans-serif]
[/FONT]
[FONT=Geneva,Arial,sans-serif]The Ashes urn. Every time the England and Australia cricket teams play each other, they compete for the Ashes. In 2005, England won the Ashes for the first time since 1987. In December 2006 and January 2007, England and Australia will be competing for the Ashes again. The precious urn is nearly always kept in England even when Australia win the Ashes. The Ashes date back to 1882 when England went in mourning - and a sporting journal lamented the "death of English cricket" - after Australia beat England for the very first time. Now, though, the Ashes urn is being taken on a tour around Australia.[/FONT]
It will occupy a £6,000 business-class seat and spend part of the 10,500-mile journey handcuffed to the wrist of a museum curator. Just 14 months after England's cricketers regained the Ashes, the historic trophy is to tour Australia for the first time to coincide with the latest bout of cricketing rivalry between the two countries.
The 110mm ceramic urn is so fragile it has only left the MCC (Marylebone Cricket Club) museum at Lord's on three occasions, and its glass case will be packed into a metal container which took 18 months to prepare. The urn will spend three months in seven museums across Australia, where it will be displayed alongside other Ashes memorabilia, including a bat used by WG Grace that bears his handwritten inscription: "I played against the Australians with this bat." If the home side triumphs in the five-match series, there are certain to be renewed calls for the urn to remain in Australia. But Keith Bradshaw, the new secretary and chief executive of MCC, who comes from Hobart, Tasmania, said: "Under no circumstances will it be staying in Australia. I think most Australians realise it is symbolic of the competition."
The responsibility for looking after the Ashes - said to be priceless and insured for a seven-figure sum - lies with Adam Chadwick, curator of the MCC museum, who will sit next to the trophy on next week's flight. Security guards will also accompany the cargo, which could be handcuffed to Mr Chadwick during parts of the journey. Preparations for the tour have taken four years. It was only considered possible after repairs to the terracotta urn.
The Ashes trophy was made after a spoof obituary was published in the Sporting Times, stating that English cricket had died and "the body will be cremated and the ashes taken to Australia".
The following tour to Australia in 1882-83 was portrayed as the quest to regain the ashes of English cricket and the urn was presented to England captain Ivo Bligh, later the Earl of Darnley, as a personal memento by Florence Morphy.
Romance flourished between the pair, who married in 1884. When Lord Darnley died in 1927, his widow bequeathed the urn to Lord's.
The exhibition, sponsored by Travelex, will visit six cities, starting with Sydney on October 21.
*******************************************
What are the Ashes?
The Ashes urn - which England and Australia compete with each other for - reputedly contains the ashes of some burned piece of cricket equipment, probably a ball.
The Ashes is a Test cricket contest played between England and Australia - it is one of cricket's fiercest and most celebrated rivalries and the oldest in international cricket dating back to 1882. It is currently played at approximately two yearly intervals, alternately in England and Australia. The Ashes are “held” by the country which last won a series and to “regain” them the other country must win more Test matches in a series than the country that “holds” them. If a series is “drawn” then the country holding the Ashes retains them. The last Ashes series was played in England in 2005 when England regained The Ashes after a gap of 16 years by winning the series 2-1. The next Ashes series will be in Australia in 2006-07 and the next series in England will be in 2009.
The series is named after a satirical obituary published in The Sporting Times in 1882 following the match at The Oval, in which Australia beat England in England 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.
A small terracotta urn was presented to the England captain Ivo Bligh by a group of Melbourne women at some point during the 1882-83 tour. The contents of the urn are reputed to be the ashes of an item of cricket equipment, possibly a bail, ball or stump. The urn is not used as a trophy for the Ashes series, and whichever side "holds" the Ashes, the urn remains in the MCC Museum at Lord's because of its age and frailty. Since the 1998-99 Ashes series, a Waterford crystal trophy has been presented to the winners.
The obituary notice that appeared in The Sporting Times.
The first Test match between England and Australia had been played in 1877, but the Ashes legend dates back only to their ninth Test match, played in 1882.
On the 1882 tour, the Australians played only one Test, at The Oval in London. It was a low-scoring game on a difficult pitch. Australia made only 63 runs in their first innings, and England, led by A N Hornby, took a 38-run lead with a total of 101. In the second innings, Australia made 122, leaving England to score only 85 runs to win. Australian bowler Fred Spofforth refused to give in, declaring, "This thing can be done." He devastated the English batting, taking the final four wickets while conceding only two runs, to leave England a mere seven runs short of victory in one of the closest and most nail-biting finishes in cricket history.
When England's last batsman went in the team needed only 10 runs to win, but the final batsman Ted Peate scored only 2 before being bowled by Boyle. The astonished crowd fell silent, not believing that England could possibly have lost by 7 runs. When what had happened had sunk in, the crowd cheered the Australians.
When Peate returned to the Pavilion he was reprimanded by W. G. Grace for not allowing his partner at the wicket Charles Studd to get the runs. Despite Studd being one of the best batsman in England, Peate replied, "I had no confidence in Mr Studd, sir, so thought I had better do my best."
The defeat was widely recorded in the English press. In the 31st August edition of a magazine called “Cricket: A Weekly Record of The Game” there appeared a now obscure mock obitary to “English Supremacy in the Cricket Field which expired on the 29th day of August at the Oval”. Two days later, September 2, 1882 a second mock obituary, written by Reginald Brooks, appeared in The Sporting Times. This notice read as follows:
"In Affectionate Remembrance of ENGLISH CRICKET, which died at the Oval on 29th AUGUST, 1882, Deeply lamented by a large circle of sorrowing friends and acquaintances R.I.P. N.B. — The body will be cremated and the ashes taken to Australia."
[FONT=Geneva,Arial,sans-serif]Andrew Culf, sports correspondent[/FONT]
[FONT=Geneva,Arial,sans-serif]Tuesday October 10, 2006[/FONT]
[FONT=Geneva,Arial,sans-serif]The Guardian[/FONT]
[FONT=Geneva,Arial,sans-serif]
[FONT=Geneva,Arial,sans-serif]The Ashes urn. Every time the England and Australia cricket teams play each other, they compete for the Ashes. In 2005, England won the Ashes for the first time since 1987. In December 2006 and January 2007, England and Australia will be competing for the Ashes again. The precious urn is nearly always kept in England even when Australia win the Ashes. The Ashes date back to 1882 when England went in mourning - and a sporting journal lamented the "death of English cricket" - after Australia beat England for the very first time. Now, though, the Ashes urn is being taken on a tour around Australia.[/FONT]
It will occupy a £6,000 business-class seat and spend part of the 10,500-mile journey handcuffed to the wrist of a museum curator. Just 14 months after England's cricketers regained the Ashes, the historic trophy is to tour Australia for the first time to coincide with the latest bout of cricketing rivalry between the two countries.
The 110mm ceramic urn is so fragile it has only left the MCC (Marylebone Cricket Club) museum at Lord's on three occasions, and its glass case will be packed into a metal container which took 18 months to prepare. The urn will spend three months in seven museums across Australia, where it will be displayed alongside other Ashes memorabilia, including a bat used by WG Grace that bears his handwritten inscription: "I played against the Australians with this bat." If the home side triumphs in the five-match series, there are certain to be renewed calls for the urn to remain in Australia. But Keith Bradshaw, the new secretary and chief executive of MCC, who comes from Hobart, Tasmania, said: "Under no circumstances will it be staying in Australia. I think most Australians realise it is symbolic of the competition."
The responsibility for looking after the Ashes - said to be priceless and insured for a seven-figure sum - lies with Adam Chadwick, curator of the MCC museum, who will sit next to the trophy on next week's flight. Security guards will also accompany the cargo, which could be handcuffed to Mr Chadwick during parts of the journey. Preparations for the tour have taken four years. It was only considered possible after repairs to the terracotta urn.
The Ashes trophy was made after a spoof obituary was published in the Sporting Times, stating that English cricket had died and "the body will be cremated and the ashes taken to Australia".
The following tour to Australia in 1882-83 was portrayed as the quest to regain the ashes of English cricket and the urn was presented to England captain Ivo Bligh, later the Earl of Darnley, as a personal memento by Florence Morphy.
Romance flourished between the pair, who married in 1884. When Lord Darnley died in 1927, his widow bequeathed the urn to Lord's.
The exhibition, sponsored by Travelex, will visit six cities, starting with Sydney on October 21.
*******************************************
What are the Ashes?
The Ashes urn - which England and Australia compete with each other for - reputedly contains the ashes of some burned piece of cricket equipment, probably a ball.
The Ashes is a Test cricket contest played between England and Australia - it is one of cricket's fiercest and most celebrated rivalries and the oldest in international cricket dating back to 1882. It is currently played at approximately two yearly intervals, alternately in England and Australia. The Ashes are “held” by the country which last won a series and to “regain” them the other country must win more Test matches in a series than the country that “holds” them. If a series is “drawn” then the country holding the Ashes retains them. The last Ashes series was played in England in 2005 when England regained The Ashes after a gap of 16 years by winning the series 2-1. The next Ashes series will be in Australia in 2006-07 and the next series in England will be in 2009.
The series is named after a satirical obituary published in The Sporting Times in 1882 following the match at The Oval, in which Australia beat England in England 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.
A small terracotta urn was presented to the England captain Ivo Bligh by a group of Melbourne women at some point during the 1882-83 tour. The contents of the urn are reputed to be the ashes of an item of cricket equipment, possibly a bail, ball or stump. The urn is not used as a trophy for the Ashes series, and whichever side "holds" the Ashes, the urn remains in the MCC Museum at Lord's because of its age and frailty. Since the 1998-99 Ashes series, a Waterford crystal trophy has been presented to the winners.
The obituary notice that appeared in The Sporting Times.
The first Test match between England and Australia had been played in 1877, but the Ashes legend dates back only to their ninth Test match, played in 1882.
On the 1882 tour, the Australians played only one Test, at The Oval in London. It was a low-scoring game on a difficult pitch. Australia made only 63 runs in their first innings, and England, led by A N Hornby, took a 38-run lead with a total of 101. In the second innings, Australia made 122, leaving England to score only 85 runs to win. Australian bowler Fred Spofforth refused to give in, declaring, "This thing can be done." He devastated the English batting, taking the final four wickets while conceding only two runs, to leave England a mere seven runs short of victory in one of the closest and most nail-biting finishes in cricket history.
When England's last batsman went in the team needed only 10 runs to win, but the final batsman Ted Peate scored only 2 before being bowled by Boyle. The astonished crowd fell silent, not believing that England could possibly have lost by 7 runs. When what had happened had sunk in, the crowd cheered the Australians.
When Peate returned to the Pavilion he was reprimanded by W. G. Grace for not allowing his partner at the wicket Charles Studd to get the runs. Despite Studd being one of the best batsman in England, Peate replied, "I had no confidence in Mr Studd, sir, so thought I had better do my best."
The defeat was widely recorded in the English press. In the 31st August edition of a magazine called “Cricket: A Weekly Record of The Game” there appeared a now obscure mock obitary to “English Supremacy in the Cricket Field which expired on the 29th day of August at the Oval”. Two days later, September 2, 1882 a second mock obituary, written by Reginald Brooks, appeared in The Sporting Times. This notice read as follows:
"In Affectionate Remembrance of ENGLISH CRICKET, which died at the Oval on 29th AUGUST, 1882, Deeply lamented by a large circle of sorrowing friends and acquaintances R.I.P. N.B. — The body will be cremated and the ashes taken to Australia."
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