A cricket ball striking the wicket
© Corbis/VCG/Getty Images
A cricket ball striking the wicket
Test match tussles between cricketing rivals England and Australia date back to 1882 when the latter won their first Test on English soil at The Oval. After Australia's victory, a mock obituary published in The Sporting Times declared English cricket dead, stating "the body will be cremated and the ashes taken to Australia". On the following tour in Australia, English captain the Hon Ivo Bligh pledged to return with "the ashes" and kept his promise as his team were triumphant. He was then presented with a small terracotta urn – reputed to contain the burnt remains of a bail – as the mythical ashes became a reality.
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