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The English media played up the subsequent tour to Australia in 1882/83 as a quest to "regain the Ashes". On this tour, the English captain Hon. Ivo Bligh was presented with a small wooden urn containing some ashes. The most common story is that these were the ashes of a burnt bail taken from one of the games played on the tour. However, evidence raised in 1982 suggests that the ashes are those of a ball and the urn was presented to Bligh before the series began. Whatever the origin, Bligh kept the urn and his widow donated it to the Marylebone Cricket Club after his death in 1927.
Despite the teams playing for the right to hold the Ashes trophy, the Ashes urn itself is never physically awarded to Australia, but is kept permanently in the Cricket Museum at Lords. It has been to Australia only once, in 1988 for a museum tour as part of Australia's Bicentennial celebrations. In the 1990s, given Australia's long dominance of the series the idea was mooted of the victorious team being awarded the trophy. Instead the MCC commissioned a Waterford crystal replica, which is now awarded to the winning team.
The Ashes is generally regarded as the greatest cricketing competition, at least by inhabitants of the countries involved. Notable Ashes series took place in 1932/33 (the Bodyline tour), 1948 ( Bradman's "Invincibles" Australian side) and 1981 (in which an England team spearheaded by Ian Botham won a thrilling series).
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The ninth Test match played between England and Australia was the birth of the Ashes legend. (The first Test match had been played in 1877.) Australia toured England and played only one Test, at The Oval in LondonLondon is the capital of the United Kingdom and of England, and with over seven million inhabitants in the Greater London area, is the second-most populous conurbation in Europe (after Moscow). From being Londinium the capital of the Roman province of Bri.
The game was a low-scoring affair on a difficult pitchA cricket pitch is the central strip of the playing area between the wickets. The pitch is 22 yards long and 10 feet wide. The surface is very flat and normally covered with extremely short grass though this grass is soon removed by wear at the ends of th. Australia made only 63 runs in their first innings, and England took a 38-run lead with a total of 101. In the second innings, Australia posted 122, leaving England to score only 85 runs to win. Australian bowler Fred Spofforth refused to give in, declaring, "This thing can be done." He devastated the English batting, taking the final 4 wickets for ony 2 runs to leave England 7 runs short of victory in one of the closest and most nail-biting finishes in cricket historyThe sport of cricket has a long and rich history . Origins The precise origins of cricket, and even of its name, remain unclear. Some manuscripts from the 12th and 13th centuries show diagrams of early forms of cricket. Written evidence exists for a sport.
It was this result that inspired the famous obituary and gave birth to the Ashes.