The most talked about Test cricket series in the world, The Ashes, takes place every two years between England and Australia. The series between these two cricketing nations was christened 'The Ashes' by an English newspaper, The Sporting Times, after the Aussies won against England in 1882 at The Oval, the same ground where they recently scripted their World Test Championship victory over India.
The Sporting Times had written a satirical obituary of English cricket after the aformentioned match, where it proclaimed the demise of English cricket and said that its "body will be cremated and the ashes taken to Australia".
The very next series between the two countries was dubbed as England's tour to regain the Ashes, as per the vow made by the then England captain, Ivo Bligh. After England won two matches in the series, an urn was presented to Bligh by a group of Australian women. Among them was Florence Morphy, whom Bligh would later marry.
As the two teams jostle against each other to win the urn, it is the right time to look back (in chronological order) at some of the most iconic moments of this storied series.
Trumper trumps Australia at Old Trafford:
Long before Hitler marched through Poland and Sir Don weilded his willow, another stunning Australian batter was taking England to the cleaners in the 1902 Ashes series. On the opening day of the Test, even before lunch, Trumper reached 104 in an innings laced with 14 boundaries. Such an innings would surely be the envy of today's high-flying T20 batters.
The exploits of Hobbs and Barnes:
The second Test of the 1911-12 series saw some of the best bowling in Ashes history by the phenomenal Sydney Barnes. In the match at Melbourne, Barnes, within the very first hour, reduced the Aussies to 11 for 4. And on the ultimate day it was England's Jack Hobbs who scored a brilliant 126 to win the match for the visitng side.
The Don dawns:
The 1930 Headingley match between the two countries will always be remembered for a lanky 21-year-old Donald Bradman, who smashed a solid England bowling attack to all parts of the ground, scripting a brilliant 334 in the process. On the very opening day, Sir Don took his score to 309, a feat that is yet to be repeated.
Bradman and Bodyline:
The infamous 1932-33 Ashes series, for which England visited Australia, has been dubbed the Bodyline series. England, under the captaincy of Douglas Jardine, decided to counter Australia's superior batting prowess by bowling directly at bodies of the hosts' batters. This physically threatening approach was not taken kindly to by observers of the game in both the countries. A number of books, and even a TV miniseries have been based on the events of this momentuous series in the history of the game.
Laker's Match:
Jim Laker, in Manchester's Old Trafford, scripted a feat so unique that it is unlikely to be repeated ever again. Laker registered 19 Aussie scalps in two innings, thus inscribing the most outlandish bowling figures of all time in Test cricket- 19 for 90. His clean sweep of the Aussie batting order in the second innings has been repeated only twice in the history of Test cricket, by India's Anil Kumble in 1999 and recently by New Zealand's Ajaz Patel in 2021.
Lillee and Thommo rip through England:
The 1974-75 Ashes saw the fearsome Aussie bowling duo of Dennis Lillee and Jeff Thompson spreading terror in English hearts as their supporters famously chanted "Ashes to Ashes/Dust to dust/If Lillee don't get you,/Thommo must". In the series they both took a combined 58 wickets.
Botham's Ashes:
The 1981 Ashes series will be remembered for the exploits of one Ian Botham, who despite giving up the England captaincy after the first match, took the series by the scruff of its neck and dragged his team to victory. In the second Test, he took 6 for 95 and then helped England take a lead of 111 after they were down 101/5. He smashed 149 not out and helped England bowl out Australia within 111.
Ball of the century:
“First ball! Bail is off! He’s bowled him! Gatting can’t believe it! First ball!”: thus claimed Tony Lewis on the BBC when the King of Spin, Shane Warne, let one rip in his inimitable fashion in his very first ball against England in the first Ashes series of his career, bowling out a completely baffled Mark Gatting. Warne pitched his delivery outside the leg stump and Gatting went for a traditional defence, but the ball kept spinning and miraculously knocked off the off stump, thus registering, both the moment and Warne himself, into the annals of cricketing folklore.
Edge-of-the-seat at Edgbaston:
The 2005 Ashes series began with favourites Australia on the backfoot when their most treasured fast bowler, the legendary Glenn McGrath, was out due to a freak injury. England started the match in great fashion, and secured a first-innings lead of 99. The match was dragged to the very end, until a controverial dismissal of Kasprowicz by Steven Harmison won the match for England.
Johnson's rampage:
In the Ashes 2013-14, Mitchell Johnson absolutely annihilated the English batting line up helping Australia clean sweep the Ashes 5-0. Johnson evoked fear in the minds of English batter with his relentless accuracy and express speed. England were clueless in the series losing matches by massive margins as the left-arm pacer took a total of 37 wickets in five games.
Ben Stokes and the comeback king:
In the third Test of the 2019 Ashes, England were at 286/9 when they were chasing 359. England's only hope was Ben Stokes, who had Jack Leach with him for some backing. At the end of the match, Stokes was still standing tall, with a score of 135 not out in 2019 balls. His solid knock would help England level the series.
This series will also be remembered as the comeback of the great Steve Smith after the dark days of 'sandpapergate'. On his return to the Test circuit, Smith scored a century in his very first innings, going on to register 774 runs in the series with a mammoth average of 110.57 and a highest score of 211.
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