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The Australian team last week made sure that The urn or The Ashes remain in Australia by hammering the English side by an innings and 14 runs defeat.
The Ashes is a biennial test match series played between England and Australia, with each side hosting the series every 4 years. Winning The Ashes has always been a dream of any player who played for these two teams. The origin of The Ashes is an intriguing story in itself.
The first official test match between the nations was played in 1877 but it took 5 years for The Ashes to surface. In 1882, the visiting Australian team handed England its first defeat. The English media didn’t take losing to a team from a colony kindly and issued an obituary in the name of English Cricket which read:
“In affectionate remembrance of ENGLISH CRICKET which died at the Oval on 29 August 1882, deeply lamented by a large circle of sorrowing friends and acquaintances. R.I.P“.
The very same year English team toured Australia and prior to leaving; the English Captain Ivo Bligh gave a statement that he will “Recover those Ashes”. The English team defeated Australia and took an unassailable lead at Melbourne in 1883. On an evening, a group of ladies led by the wife of Duke of Durnley took a little jar, burnt the cricket bail, and presented the urn to Mr.Bligh as The Ashes.
The Ashes took a bigger meaning for players who have over the decades contested in fierce matches to get a hold of the urn.
If we introspect 20th century Britain, mocking by the media became a matter of pride for both the nations as Australia was the colony of Britain gaining autonomy only in 1942. It represented an opportunity for the people of Australia to take a stand for their nation and grow out of the colonial shadow of Great Britain.
The victory of the Indian hockey team at the 1948 London Olympics carried a similar meaning of National pride for us. Just like that! Winning The Ashes became a matter of national pride while England fought to Restore its honor.
In 2022, These meanings may have been lost in tantalizing Cricket and the buzz around altercation among players. But, there is no denying the fact that The urn of bail in a 150mm perfume bottle carries great significance not only for Australia but for all the other countries which gained their independence last century and saw sports as an opportunity to make a name for themselves and give their people something to be proud of.