Anupama Nair
Cricket is my favorite sport and for many in the British Commonwealth countries, as it was invented by the British, and became popular in the countries ruled by them. Test cricket is the form of the sport of cricket with the longest match duration i.e., five days and is considered the toughest, and a true test of a batsman or bowler’s caliber for the entire five days. Each team plays two innings each, and the best wins… not always, you can drag a match to a boring draw too.
Now I am going to take you down memory lane to the history of Test Cricket. India is a country where cricket is very popular and cricketers are treated as Gods. Cricket is most popular in India and Pakistan. The movie Lagaan was a super hit because of the Cricket theme and villagers defeating the mighty British. The first officially recognized Test match took place between 15 and 19 March 1877 and was played between England and Australia at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG), Australia, with Aussies winning the match comfortably. In those days even United States and Canada played cricket.
The Ashes is a Test series played by England and Australia. In the late 19th and early 20th century, only England and Australia played biennial matches. Why was the test series called Ashes and how did the term originate? The term ‘Ashes’ was first used after England lost to Australia, for the first time on home soil at The Oval on 29th August 1882. A day later, the Sporting Times carried a mock obituary of English cricket which stated: “the body will be cremated and the ashes taken to Australia”. Ashes today is not about the sporting history between “a small island nation and its former colony”, it provides lot of entertainment and competition.
Australia is the current holder of the Ashes. They won the last series 4-0, in 2017. Overall, Australia has won the Ashes 33 times while England has won 32, and five series have been drawn. So, the Ashes which will be held in December this year is a particularly important one! England last won the series in 1986-1987.
Before the memorable Ashes series, an English team, captained by the Ivo Bligh (later Lord Darnley), went on to tour Australia, with Bligh vowing to return with “the ashes” and his Australian counterpart, WL Murdoch, had similarly vowed to defend them. They played three scheduled matches against the Australian national side, and Bligh and his team participated in many social matches too. It was after one such match, at the Ruperts Wood Estate outside Melbourne, Bligh was given the “small terracotta urn as a symbol of the ashes that he had traveled to Australia to regain”.
On the same occasion, he met his future wife – Florence Morphy, who was the companion to Lady Janet Clarke, mistress of Ruperts Wood, and governess to the Clark children. In February 1884, Bligh married Florence. Shortly afterward, they returned to England, taking the urn, which Bligh always regarded as a personal gift with them. It stayed on the mantelpiece at the Bligh family home in Cobham Hall, in Kent till Bligh’s death 43 years later. Florence bequeathed the urn to Marylebone Cricket Club or MCC as per his request.
The Ashes Series 2021, will be scheduled to be played at five venues across Australia between 8 December 2021 and 18 January 2022.
This is series I sure wouldn’t want to miss.
ians
