Ashes Cricket Begins

In August 1882, Australia defeated England at The Oval in London by seven runs, the first loss for an English side on home soil to Australia. The result shocked the English public and prompted a mock obituary in a newspaper that gave rise to the Ashes, now one of the oldest and most celebrated rivalries in international sport. The contest still takes its name from that notice.

Test cricket was young at the time. The first matches between representative English and Australian sides had been played in Melbourne in 1877, and the two countries had met sporadically since. England was widely regarded as the home of the game and the stronger side, while Australian cricket was developing quickly. A touring Australian team visited England in 1882, and its bowlers, notably Fred Spofforth, had already caused problems for strong opposition during the tour.

The match at The Oval was low-scoring and tense. Australia made a modest total, England replied with a somewhat better one, and Australia's second innings left England needing a small target, commonly given as around 85 runs, to win. Accounts describe an increasingly nervous English batting side and a crowd gripped by the tension. Spofforth bowled with great fury and effectiveness, and England fell short by seven runs. Contemporary reports, some of them probably embellished, tell of spectators being overcome by the drama, though such stories are hard to verify.

Shortly afterward, the Sporting Times published a satirical notice declaring that English cricket had died at The Oval, and that "the body will be cremated and the ashes taken to Australia." The joke was tongue-in-cheek, but it stuck. When an English team under Ivo Bligh travelled to Australia in the winter of 1882-83, the press spoke of their quest to regain the Ashes. England won the series, and Bligh was afterward presented with a small urn, traditionally said to contain the ashes of a burnt wooden object, though what exactly was burned is uncertain and has been debated.

The urn became a symbol of the contest, though it was kept at Lord's in London rather than being passed between winners. The Ashes series evolved into a regular, closely followed event, played over multiple Tests every few years, alternating between the two countries. It has produced celebrated players and controversies, including the Bodyline series of 1932-33. More than a century later, the rivalry still draws huge audiences, and an 1882 newspaper joke remains central to the language and traditions of cricket.