50 Fun Facts About The Ashes

Which two countries contest the Ashes?

The series is played roughly every two years, hosted by each country in turn.

In which newspaper did the 1882 mock obituary for English cricket appear?

Reginald Shirley Brooks wrote that the body would be cremated and the ashes taken to Australia.

At which ground did Australia win the 1882 Test that inspired the Ashes legend?

It was Australia's first Test win on English soil, by seven runs.

Which Australian fast bowler declared 'This thing can be done' before destroying England in 1882?

He took his last four wickets for two runs; the crowd chaired him and Boyle to the pavilion.

Who was England's last batsman, bowled for two with ten needed, in the 1882 Test?

He joked that he had no confidence in his partner Studd, one of England's best batsmen, so thought he had better do his best.

Which England captain vowed to 'recover those ashes' on the 1882-83 tour?

He later became Lord Darnley; his widow gave the urn to the MCC after his death in 1927.

The urn's contents are most likely the ashes of what?

A 2006 MCC official put it at '95% certain', discounting a family story that it was a lady's veil.

Where is the original Ashes urn permanently kept?

It is a private memento, never awarded to either side, and has travelled to Australia only three times.

The Ashes Trophy presented since 1998-99 is made of what?

It is a larger replica of the urn, commissioned because the MCC would not let the fragile original travel.

Roughly how tall is the original urn?

It is terracotta and may originally have been a perfume jar; X-rays in 2006 found cracked handles.

What happens to the Ashes if a series is drawn?

That is how Australia kept them after the 2–2 draw of 2023, having won in 2021-22.

Which captain's 1903 tour and book How We Recovered the Ashes revived the term for good?

For twenty years after Bligh the phrase had largely vanished; Wisden first mentioned it in 1905.

In which city was the first-ever Test match played, in 1877?

The Ashes legend itself only started five years later, after the ninth Test.

Which Australian captain's side inflicted a 5–0 whitewash in 1920-21?

Australia won eight Tests in a row in that stretch; the next 5–0 did not come until 2006-07.

Which England captain adopted the Bodyline tactic in 1932-33?

He called it 'leg theory'; Australians renamed it for the line of the body it aimed at.

At which London hotel did Jardine plan the Bodyline tactic with Larwood and Voce?

Nottinghamshire captain Arthur Carr was at the table too; the aim was to curb Bradman's run-scoring.

Which Nottinghamshire fast bowler was Jardine's main Bodyline weapon?

Diplomats had to intervene to calm Anglo-Australian relations; Larwood later emigrated to Australia.

How many fielders may stand behind square on the leg side under the 1957 law change?

The rule was aimed at negative leg-side bowling, a legacy of the Bodyline furore.

Bradman needed how many runs in his final innings to average exactly 100?

Eric Hollies bowled him second ball with a googly for a duck, leaving the average at 99.94.

Which bowler dismissed Bradman for a duck in his last Test innings?

The wrist-spinner's googly went between bat and pad at The Oval in 1948.

What nickname was given to Bradman's unbeaten 1948 touring side?

Bradman turned 40 during the tour, his last of England.

Len Hutton's then world-record 364 came at The Oval in 1938 as England made how many?

It was a 'timeless' Test, with no limit on the number of days.

How many wickets did Jim Laker take in the 1956 Manchester Test?

He bowled 68 of England's 191 overs; Tony Lock took the only other wicket.

Who replaced Ian Botham as England captain before the 1981 Headingley Test?

Botham's 12 Tests in charge had produced no wins and a pair at Lord's.

What was Botham's unbeaten score in England's second innings at Headingley in 1981?

He came in at 105 for 5 following on; his six sixes stood as an Ashes record until Ben Stokes in 2019.

Who took 8 for 43 to win the 1981 Headingley Test for England?

Brearley switched him to bowl down the slope, and Australia went from 56 for 1 to 111 all out.

In the final Ashes Test of 1981 Botham took five for 11 to win by how many runs?

That was the fourth Test at Edgbaston, where his spell included five wickets for a single run.

What was the final result of the 1981 series, from England's point of view?

England had been 1–0 down after two Tests before winning the next three.

Who was bowled by Shane Warne's 'Ball of the Century' in 1993?

It was Warne's first ball in Ashes cricket, pitching outside leg and clipping the off bail at Old Trafford.

Warne's only Test hat-trick came in an Ashes Test at which ground?

The Boxing Day 1994 victims were DeFreitas, Gough and Malcolm, the last caught by David Boon.

By what margin did England win the 2005 Edgbaston Test, the narrowest in Ashes history?

Kasprowicz gloved Harmison to the keeper with Australia needing three more.

England's 2005 win was their first Ashes series victory since when?

Australia had held the urn for 16 years and eight series.

Whose maiden Test century of 158 at The Oval secured the 2005 Ashes?

The draw gave England the series 2–1 and an open-top bus parade to Trafalgar Square.

Australia's 2006-07 whitewash was the first 5–0 Ashes result since which series?

Langer, Martyn, Warne and McGrath all retired during or after the series.

The 2009 series opened with a tense draw at a ground in which city?

James Anderson and Monty Panesar survived 69 balls at the SWALEC Stadium to save it.

How many runs did Alastair Cook score in the 2010-11 series in Australia?

It was England's first Ashes win in Australia for 24 years, with three victories by an innings.

Which fast bowler took 37 wickets as Australia whitewashed England in 2013-14?

His moustachioed rampage regained the Ashes for the first time since 2006-07.

Whose 135 at Headingley in 2019 broke Botham's Ashes record for sixes in an innings?

Botham had hit six sixes in his 149 not out at the same ground in 1981.

Who became Test cricket's first concussion substitute during the 2019 Lord's Test?

He replaced Steve Smith after a Jofra Archer bouncer struck Smith in the neck.

The 2019 draw was the first drawn Ashes series since which year?

England's win in the fifth Test levelled it 2–2, but Australia retained the urn as holders.

Which wicketkeeper controversially stumped Jonny Bairstow at Lord's in 2023?

Bairstow wandered out of his crease thinking the over was done; the third umpire ruled the ball still live.

Who took a wicket with his final delivery in Test cricket to seal the 2023 series draw?

He had Carey caught behind at The Oval, bowling Australia out for 334 and winning by 49 runs.

England's aggressive approach in the 2023 series was nicknamed what?

It is named for coach Brendon 'Baz' McCullum; England recovered from 2–0 down to draw 2–2.

How many Tests does an Ashes series usually comprise?

The 1882-83 'Quest' had three, plus a disputed fourth match against a United Australian XI.

Which English city hosted a single Ashes Test at Bramall Lane in 1902?

Australia won it; Bramall Lane is now Sheffield United's football ground.

Victor Trumper's famous 104 in 1902 came at which ground, with a hundred before lunch?

Australia won that Test by just three runs on a 'bad wicket'.

Whose memoir With Bat and Ball (1899) helped revive the term 'the Ashes' in Australia?

He used the title as though everyone already knew it, at a time when England had nearly forgotten it.

Before the 2005 series, how many Ashes Tests had Australia won in total?

England had 93 wins and there had been 82 draws; the gap had yawned open during Australia's 1989-2005 run.

When did England last win an Ashes series in Australia before 2010-11?

Mike Gatting's side won 2–1; the 24-year wait ended under Andrew Strauss.

Which Australian hit 55 off 60 balls to set England their fateful target of 85 in 1882?

His dash took Australia to 122 and set England a target of 85 they famously failed to reach.