They’re ancient rivals who’ll normally do just about anything to get one over the other and win the rights to keep the Ashes urn. For England and Australia, the curious little memento has massive significance, and it’s all a great matter of national pride. First presented in 1882, the Ashes is the ultimate symbol of this sporting and broader rivalry played in an extremely tough but mostly gentlemanly fashion.
So what exactly are the Ashes? In 1882 a small terracotta urn was apparently presented to England captain Ivo Bligh by a group of Melbourne women. The contents of the urn are reputed to be the ashes of an item of cricket equipment, possibly a bail, ball or stump.
The urn is erroneously believed by some to be the trophy of the Ashes series, but it’s never been formally adopted as such and Bligh always considered it to be a personal gift.
As the two teams lined up and wrapped up the first day’s play in this series – in which a fancied England team could scrape together just 260 runs in their first innings – it’s worth taking a look at the two main protagonists, who’ll no doubt play a huge role in the outcome of the series. They are the two skippers, Ricky Ponting of Australia and Andrew Strauss of England.
Ponting’s not a hugely popular figure among South Africans. His abrasive character, gum chewing and competitive nature have tended to get up South Africa fans’ noses. But look at his record, particularly with the bat, and you’ll see why he’s such a highly regarded skipper. For my money, he edges Strauss because he’s mentally tougher and because of the volume of runs he’ll contribute to the side. Record: 148 Tests, average 54. Highest score 257, 39 hundreds. Test runs 12 250.
What he said: “This is our turf (The Gabba) especially here in Brisbane. We play great cricket here and we have done for a long time. It has never been about revenge. Revenge is a pretty strong word. But it’s about us getting back to playing the level of cricket that we are capable of.”
Steely determination
Andrew Strauss. South African born (like Jonathon Trott and Kevin Pietersen), polite but with steely determination. Does he have what it takes to outplay Ponting in the mind game stakes? I’m not sure. A good technician with the bat, here’s his record: 77 Tests, averages 43. Highest score 177, 18 hundreds. Test runs 5 777.
What he said: “We know that any XI Australia put on the park is going to be a strong one – and each of their bowlers have their particular strengths and weaknesses. We’ve got to be good enough to counteract them. I think we have got a good opportunity, there’s no doubt about it.”
As these two scrum down, the British bulldogs and the rough and ready Aussies, which team will have what it takes mentally to stroll off with that weird little urn? Whichever way it turns, it’s going to make riveting viewing. I’m backing the Aussies . . . watch this space. – Garth Johnstone
Stats: Ashes records over the years: Cricinfo
Sources: Wikipedia/cricinfo.com