New Delhi: The term Ashes gained currency after Australia’s first Test match win in England. The team from down under had defeated England for the first time in England at the Oval in London on August 21, 1882.
Then, England was at the peak of cricket and this loss was not taken very well by people in the country.
After this loss in 1882, England’s ‘Sunday Times’ carried a mock obituary of cricket in the country, stating that the body of England cricket will be cremated and the ashes would be taken to Australia.
Two months later, the England team led by Hon Ivo Bligh, went to Australia to play the series and the skipper promised to make a comeback with the Ashes. The Australian counterpart at that time, WL Murdoch, had said he would do anything to keep the Ashes. Since then, the series between these two sides gained prominence and it became one of the oldest cricketing rivalries.The ashes trophy is actually an urn which contains the ashes of a cricket bail and was presented to the then English Captian, Ivo Bligh by Florence Murphy and a group of other Melbourne women. After suffering loss against Australia in 1882, England managed to win the next eight series between the two side. Australia recorded their first Ashes series win in 1891-92, when it managed to outclass England 2-1.Another significant moment in the cricketing rivalry between these two sides came in the 1932-33 tour as the series got termed as “Bodyline Series”.
To curb the natural gameplay of Australian great Don Bradman, England had developed a strategy of bowling quickly at the body of the batsmen with most of the fielders placed at close positions on the leg-side.England managed to win the series. (ANI)
