The Ashes is the name given to the Test series played between Australia and England. It was first played in 1882 and every series between the two teams has been named as that.
The first Test match had been played in 1877 between Australia and England but it was in 1882 that the English lost a home series to Australia. This was translated into a mock obituary of English cricket by a sporting newspaper.
Since then, the two sides, play regularly against each other to contest for the Ashes.
The Ashes have been keenly fought for over the years and in the 129 years of the rivalry, a total of 66 Ashes series have been played. Of these, Australia has won the series 31 times, while England have won it 30 times – only five ending in drawn series.
In the case of a drawn series, the previous holders of the Ashes retain the urn. Of the five drawn series, Australia have retained the Ashes four times, while England has done it once.
In recent times, England have had the upper hand, having won three of the last four series. The lone loss for England came in 2007 when they were crushed in all five Test matches of the series.
Before that, Australia were the holders of the Ashes from 1989 to 2005. In the last Ashes that was played, England won the series 3-1 with the first Test match at Brisbane ending in a draw. All three wins came by an innings for England which was a first for an Ashes series.
England have been led by Michael Vaughan and Andrew Strauss in recent Ashes series while Ricky Ponting has been at the helm of the previous series. Michael Clarke should lead the side in the next edition of the Ashes for Australia.
