The Ashes: What to know about cricket’s most storied rivalry

Few sporting contests carry the history, drama and aura of the Ashes. Born from a mock newspaper obituary in 1882 and symbolized by a tiny urn, the rivalry between Australia and England has shaped more than a century of test cricket.

Ahead of one of the biggest contests on the cricket calendar, here’s what to know about the upcoming five-match series.

The Ashes is one of the oldest and most iconic rivalries in international sport, featuring test cricket contests between Australia and England. Cricket tests between English and Australian teams started in 1877. According to the Marylebone Cricket Club, the Lord’s-based custodian of the laws of the game, the term “Ashes” was first used in August 1882 in a satirical obituary for English cricket printed in The Sporting Times after the representative team lost on home soil to Australia for the first time.

The obituary reported that the body of English cricket would be cremated and the Ashes taken to Australia. English captain Ivo Bligh led a team to Australia later that year with a vow to reclaim “the ashes.”

A fan presented Bligh with a small terracotta urn as a symbol of the Ashes after an England victory. And that’s how the Ashes and the urn became intrinsically connected.

Bligh met his future wife on that day. The couple moved to England and took the urn with them, keeping it in the family until after Bligh died and it was bequeathed to the MCC.

The Ashes series has evolved into a regular event, held approximately every two years and alternating between the two countries.

The 1932-33 “Bodyline” series remains one of the sport’s great flashpoints, with England using hostile “fast leg theory” bowling tactics to intimidate the Australian batters, especially Don Bradman. England reclaimed the Ashes, but the rules were later modified to restrict similar tactics.

Shane Warne produced the “Ball of the Century” at Old Trafford in 1993, his first Ashes delivery for Australia drifting and spinning almost incomprehensibly to bowl Mike Gatting. It announced Warne as a generational star.

Ben Stokes delivered one of the greatest test innings ever at Headingley in 2019. His unbeaten 135, mixing supreme composure with fearless hitting, dragged England to an improbable one-wicket victory and etched a new legend into Ashes folklore.

In 2023, the Ashes produced another flashpoint when England’s Jonny Bairstow was controversially stumped at Lord’s after wandering out of his crease, believing the ball to be out of play. The moment was entirely within the laws but fiercely debated for its spirit-of-cricket implications. The incident ignited a storm across the cricketing world with Australian players verbally abused in the members’ Long Room and political leaders weighing in, cementing the dismissal as one of the most polarizing in Ashes history.

Australia has held the Ashes since 2017, retaining the urn with series wins at home and drawn series in England, including a 2-2 result in a highly-charged tour two years ago that has simmered since with the predictable verbal jousting.

England has not won an Ashes test in Australia since 2011 – also the last time it won a series in Australia. That span includes a 5-0 loss in 2013-14, an 4-0 defeats in 2017-18 and 2021-22.

The 3-1 series loss to England in 2010-11 was Australia’s only Ashes series loss at home since it reclaimed the urn in England in 1989.

Joe Root – The No. 1-ranked batter and second-highest scorer in test cricket has never scored an Ashes century in Australia. His average of 35.68 in 14 tests here lags far behind his career mark of 51.29.

Ben Stokes – England’s talismanic captain and “Bazball” figurehead. Stokes can win matches almost single-handed. Despite being test cricket’s leading six-hitter, though, he averages just 28.61 with the bat and 41 with the ball in Australia.

Jofra Archer – Playing his first Ashes in Australia but already famous for his express pace, including the 2019 blows to Smith and Labuschagne. Injuries have stalled his career since his 22-wicket breakout series, and England will hope he stays fit.

Steven Smith – Australia’s premier batter for more than a decade and the anchor of an unsettled lineup. With 10,447 runs, 36 centuries and an average of 56.02, he sits just behind Bradman among Australia’s test greats. Smith has 12 Ashes hundreds, including a best of 239 at Perth.

Mitchell Starc – The last fit member of Australia’s first-choice pace trio, with Pat Cummins and Josh Hazlewood sidelined because of injuries. An excellent new-ball bowler, left-armer Starc famously bowled Rory Burns first ball of the last home Ashes. His 402 wickets in 100 tests place him fourth on Australia’s all-time list.

Scott Boland – A cult hero since his remarkable 6-7 on debut at the MCG in 2021. Boland’s 62 wickets at 16.53 in 14 tests would make him an automatic pick on most teams, but the 36-year-old has often been squeezed out behind Cummins, Starc and Hazlewood.

The five-test series starts Friday in Perth, Western Australia. The second test, a day-nighter at the Gabba in Brisbane, starts Dec. 4. Adelaide Oval will host the third test from Dec. 17-21. The Melbourne Cricket Ground will host its traditional Boxing Day test beginning Dec. 26, and the fifth test starts Jan. 4 in Sydney.