On Friday the England cricket team leave for Australia. The first game is next week and the final game is not until February 6th. Between now and then they will be playing 19 games, and a total of 47 days of cricket. An awfully long tour.
The first test match between England and Australia was in 1877, the Ashes date to 1882. That year the teams played one test at the Oval in London and England were beaten by the Australians for the first time in England.
After the game legend says one of the bails (part of the wicket) was burned, it’s ashes put in a small perfume bottle. A few days later an obituary was put into a British newspaper that read:
In Affectionate Remembrance of ENGLISH CRICKET, which died at the Oval on 29th AUGUST 1882, Deeply lamented by a large circle of sorrowing friends and acquaintances R.I.P. N.B.—The body will be cremated and the ashes taken to Australia.
And “the Ashes” were born.
The teams played a three test series over the following winter (1882-83) in Australia. The England captain Ivo Bligh promised that the “ashes would be regained”. Over the next 20 or 30 years any test series between England and Australia became known as “the Ashes”.
Since the first test at the Oval there have been 65 ashes series. England have won 29, Australia 31 with 5 draws.
For most of the last 20 years Australia have been the most dominant side in world Cricket. In that time England have played 25 tests in Australia and rather dismally won 3. Yes that’s right, 3.
Ashes tours are huge events in both England and Australia, it can really define a players career. The wickets are hard and bouncy, the crowds rowdy and the weather will be hot. England fans over the last couple of decades have a default setting when talking aobut tours to Australia: A pessimistic we’re going to get hammered. For good reason, the last time they won in Australia was the winter after I left school, 25 years ago by the time the series finishes.
This tour England may be facing one of the weakest Australian sides of the last generation, they did not play well last summer, but that was in England and India. This winter they are at home. Even Shane Waugh has admitted that this is not a great Australia team, but there is something about plating for the Ashes away that brings out the worst in an England team. It’s not an easy place to play and the tour is long, but this time there is a tiny ember of optimism, that almost certainly will be stamped upon very quickly and I’ll return to my default of “of course the got beat, it’s Australia…”
There are a couple of English and Australian bars in Seattle that will be showing the series and after the disapointment of the summer, who knows what may happen. Maybe this is a poor Australia side, maybe Graham Swann will show what he can do, maybe KP will play to his ability. Or Maybe England will get crushed once more…
2 Comments
The team leave tomorrow, my friends from Oz are predicting a thumping, England are due a series win in Australia. But the 3 wins in 25 tests is not a good stat. Going to be a good series. Can you get it in the US?
Sorry Dave, but your boys are going to get beat once again, Even a weak Australian team is enough to give England a thrashing.