In the cricketing world, The Ashes is the oldest established competition in the sport’s history. In its current format, the men’s competition features five Test matches played between Australia and England usually in two-year cycles, with the host country alternating between Australia and England for each series. The name “The Ashes” was derived from a joke following England’s first cricketing defeat to Australia on home soil in 1882. It was quipped that English cricket had died, and its ashes had been taken to Australia. Later that year, the England team toured Australia and, after winning a three-match competition, was presented with an urn said to contain actual ashes. Although the urn was replaced as the official trophy in 1999, retaining the ashes, symbolic or otherwise, has remained a point of pride between England and Australia.
Which team has been more successful?
The last men’s Ashes series was held in England during the summer of 2023 and ended in a draw. This was the seventh drawn series in the competition's history. Regarding the
number of series won in The Men’s Ashes, Australia still have the upper hand with 34 series wins to England's 32. Australia also spent the
most number of years retaining The Men’s Ashes trophy, having done so for 19 years between 1934 and 1953. The Australian women’s team has been similarly successful, having trumped England in the
number of series won in The Women’s Ashes, with 10 wins to England’s six.
Who have been the competition’s standout players?
A name synonymous with the lore of The Ashes is Sir Donald Bradman. The Australian, whose career spanned from 1928 to 1948, is regarded as the most prolific batter to have played in The Ashes and one of the best batters of all time. Bradman’s most productive Ashes series came in 1930, when he scored 974 runs during seven innings, which was the
most runs ever scored by an individual batsman in an innings of an Ashes series. On the bowling side, the accolade of
all-time leading wicket-taker in The Ashes belongs to Shane Warne, who took 195 wickets while donning Australia’s famous Baggy Green cap.
Where do Australia and England rank in world Test cricket?
Alongside India, Australia and England make up cricket’s “Big Three”. This refers to the three most successful international cricketing nations of the modern era, with all three regularly occupying the top spots of the
International Cricket Council’s (ICC) men’s Test cricket rankings. Individual Test cricket records also feature numerous players who represented Australia and England in men’s international Test cricket, such as Australia’s Ricky Ponting and England’s Alastair Cook who ranked as the second and fifth
all-time highest run-scorers in men’s international Test, respectively. However, top of this list is India’s Sachin Tendulkar, who scored 15,921 runs in a career lasting from 1989 to 2013.
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