Ashes Cup is one of the oldest and most fierce competitions in Test cricket’s history. It was in the late 19th century that the first Ashes Cup came into existence and since then it is going strong. With the advent of modern cricket, the series just grew in popularity so much so that it is being played once every two years now. Earlier, it was once in four years.
If you are one of the fans of Ashes, then you have come to the right place.
In this article, we will take a look at the history of Ashes, the teams, and how they fared over the years. We will also see the top run-scorer and top wicket-takers in the history of this series.
Brief History of Ashes Cup
Ashes Cup was not conceived in the first place, it came into existence as a result of an emotional reaction from a British newspaper that had berated the England Cricket Board in the aftermath of their first Test series loss to arch-rivals Australia.
After the series loss to England, some of the supporters had burnt the bails of the stumps and gifted the ‘ashes’ to the Australian team captain as they set sail for their home country.
In retaliation, then England Test skipper promised his fans that he would return with the urn when his team tours Australia that same summer.
Since then, this five-match Test series came to be known as the Ashes.
Ashes Cup Teams:
Unlike a World Cup or IPL, Ashes is more of a bilateral series with just two teams featuring in it for years.
- Australia
- England
Why Ashes Cup is so popular?
Ashes is not like any other cricket series. Go through the top 3 reasons of the popularity of Ashes Cup.
- Emotions: Ashes Cup was originally conceived as a normal standalone series. However, after what happened in 1882-83, the series became a symbol of the raw emotions of the parties involved.
- Rivalry: It is very similar to India vs Pakistan where the series is associated with the raw emotions as well as the rivalry that these two nations had. Australia and England too have that sort of rivalry since it was the Biritishers who had founded the nation of Australia.
- Colonial Past: The Englishmen had a patronizing attitude towards their former colony. So when they lost, they had to equalize. Similarly, Australian fans wouldn’t like to go down to England. This made this rivalry extra heated and fiery.
Ashes Cup Winners List:
As mentioned earlier, Ashes has been one of the oldest rivalries in cricket history. Hundreds of series are played between these two sides. Since we can’t enumerate all those series, we would like to give you the result of the last ten series.
As can be seen in the table below, England has managed to break Australia’s dominance in recent years. Here’s the table which will give you a fair idea.
However, one pattern emerges that Australia has been quite dominant in its backyard where they have whitewashed England multiple times.
| Series | Winner |
| 2020-21 | Australia (4-0) |
| 2019-20 | Drawn (2–2) |
| 2017-18 | Australia (4-0) |
| 2015 | England (3-2) |
| 2013-14 | Australia (5-0) |
| 2013 | England (3-0) |
| 2010-11 | England (3-1) |
| 2009 | England (2-1) |
| 2006-07 | Australia (5-0) |
Most Runs in Ashes Test Series
This honor goes to Aussie great Donald Bradman who had accounted for 5028 runs in 37 matches. He was at his menacing best during his career but especially against arch-rivals England whom he liked very much to play against. He accounted for 19 hundreds against them with an average of close to 60.
For England, the highest scorer was the ever-reliant John Hobbs. Just like Bradman, these players featured in the early part of the 20th century. He featured in 36 Test matches against Australia, accounting for 3636 runs with an average of 54. He also scored 12 hundred.
Most Wickets in Ashes Test Series:
Meanwhile, this honor goes to Australia’s Shane Warne. The Aussie maestro who passed away recently, played for 14 years, serving his best against England. He went into account for 195 wickets in 13 matches which also had 11 five-wicket hauls as well as 4 ten-wicket hauls.
As far as England is concerned, it is fast bowler Stuart Broad who has the more number of wickets to his name. He played 35 matches and went on to pick 131 wickets against arch-rivals. This included 8 five-wicket hauls and a single ten-wicket haul. He also bowled his heart out in a Test match in 2015 where he picked up eight wickets for 15 runs.
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Concluding Thoughts:
As can be seen above, Ashes Cup is one of the most emotionally surcharged series in recent history. Although, India vs Pakistan is one of the best series, according to the fans, Ashes Cup history goes back a long time. Not to forget that the series was played in 1882 for the first time and was one of the erstwhile cricket series in the world.
Its popularity has already grown in recent years. With the advent of social media and the internet, more and more people are watching it across the globe which means it is growing more popular.
