How It Works 7 – A Beginners Guide To The Ashes

This summer is a big one for cricket fans as England and Australia renew their 2-yearly battle for possession of The Ashes.

Let’s now take a closer look at this massive cricket tournament, its history, stars and teams.

What Is The History Of The Ashes?

The Ashes gets its name from a mock obituary published in The Sporting Times in 1883, when the paper reported on the “Death of English Cricket” after Australia beat England on English soil for the first time.

The report concluded by stating that the metaphoric body of English cricket would be cremated and The Ashes taken to Australia.

However, it wasn’t until 20 years after that piece was published that “The Ashes” started to be used to describe the series, but since then, it has become the defacto name for the biennial series of test matches between England and Australia.

The tournament has always featured England and Australia meeting in test match cricket although the number of tests played has varied over the years, from one, two or three in earlier times to four, five or even six in more modern times.

• The Ashes Trophy

In terms of the Ashes Trophy, it is well known that the Ashes urn is one of the smallest trophies in the world and is rumoured to contain the ashes of the stumps that were burned after that first defeat to Australia in 1883, although this story is likely apocryphal.

The real Ashes trophy remains on display at Lords at all time, with a small replica awarded to the winning team at the end of each series.

How Are The Ashes Series Organised?Th

For many years, the number of Ashes Test Matches was usually 5 test matches, occasionally four or six, but from 1998/99, each series has comprised of five test matches and that looks likely to remain the case for the foreseeable future.

The Ashes are contested biennially, once every two years, fluctuating between a series held in England during the northern hemisphere summer (Jun, Jul & Aug) and the next series in Australia during the southern hemisphere summer (Dec, Jan & Feb).

The International Cricket Council administrates the Ashes series.

Both England and Australia have a number of venues where Ashes Test Matches typically take place and they are:

Australia Ashes Venues

• The Gabba – Brisbane
• Adelaide Oval
• Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG)
• Sydney Cricket Ground (SCG)
• Perth Stadium (formerly the WACA)
• Bellerive Oval – Hobart (Tasmania)

*tradition dictates the first test is usually held in Brisbane with the Boxing Day test in Melbourne and the New Year’s Day test in Sydney.

England Ashes Venues

• Lords – London
• The Oval – London
• Headingley – Leeds
• Old Trafford – Manchester
• Edgbaston – Birmingham
• Trent Bridge – Nottingham
• Riverside – Middlesbrough
• Sophia Gardens – Cardiff
• The Ageas Bowl – Eastleigh

*tradition is that the Final Ashes test is played at the Oval. Trent Bridge, Riverside and Sophia Gardens will not host an Ashes Series game until 2027 at the earliest.

Each of the five test matches contested can be played to a win for either team, or a draw.

The team with the most wins in the series after the five test wins the Ashes.

If the series is drawn, then the team that currently holds the Ashes trophy retains the trophy.

For each test match, teams are allowed two innings to try and score as many runs as possible with the bat.

The bowling team tries to take ten wickets and hold the batting team to as few a runs as possible.

The team with the most runs after one team has lost all their wickets in both innings, wins.

If either team cannot take all the wickets of their opponent, due to strong batting, a lack of time, poor weather etc, then a draw is declared, regardless of how many runs have been scored by either team.

How Do The Ashes Teams Make Changes to their Squads?

Both England and Australian teams for the Ashes are selected prior to the Test Matches beginning.

The away team will typically name a larger squad than the home team, given that they are touring and likely to need more players to come with them on the tour and to avoid having to call up players, who then have to make the long trip to join up with their teammates.

The home team in the series can change players in their squad during the series, so they tend to name a slightly smaller squad for either the entire series, or from Test Match to Test Match.

During a game a player injured when in the field can be replaced by a sub, while a batsman can either retire hurt, or if they can bat but cannot run, they can ask for a runner to run between the wickets for them.

What Are The Most Popular Ashes Betting Markets?

With the 2023 Ashes on the horizon a look at Bet365 Sport reveals that there are a number of popular betting markets available pre-match and also ahead of the series start.

Betting on whether England or Australia will win The Ashes, or if the series will be a draw, is a popular betting option for those that like longer term bets.

Other longer term bets that prove popular are betting on the top scoring batsman across the series, or which bowler will take the most wickets in the Ashes series.

Other popular bets surround the individual test matches themselves, with bets on which team will win each test, who will top score with the bat, who will take the most wickets etc also popular bets.

Cricket is also a great sport for punters interested in In Play betting as you have more time between each ball being bowled to place your next bet.

As such, if you want to try In Play betting for the first time, betting on the Ashes In Play is a great starting point.

Which Team Has Been The Most Successful In The Ashes?

There are two ways you can look at who has been the most successful team in Ashes history, firstly by most Ashes series wins and secondly, by most Ashes Test Matches won.

On both counts, it is Australia that comes out on top.

In terms of Ashes Series wins, Australia hold a narrow 2-series lead over England, winning 34 Ashes series to England’s 32 with just six series’ ending in a draw.

However, when it comes to Ashes Test Match victories, Australia lead the way comfortably having amassed 150 wins compared to 110 for England, with 96 test matches between the two teams finishing as a draw.

One thing to note with Ashes cricket is that the team playing at home tends to have a big advantage over their opponent, with away victories in an Ashes series a relatively rare occurrence (especially for England).

Who Are The Ashes’s Most Famous Players – Past

A list of the best Ashes players from the past represents a list of some of the games greatest ever names. Let’s look at some of the famous names that have featured prominently in this series since it was first contested in 1883.

The letters in brackets denote – (bw) – bowler, (bt) – batsman, (wk) – wicketkeeper, (ar) – all-rounder

Australia Ashes Legends

• Don Bradman (bt)
• Shane Warne (bw)
• Dennis Lillee (ar)
• Ricky Ponting (bt)
• Jack Gregory (bw)
• Ted McDonald (bw)
• Glenn McGrath (bw)
• Adam Gilchrist (bt/wk)
• Allan Border (bt)
• Archie Jackson (bt)
• Stan McCabe (bt)
• Bill Ponsford (bt)
• Bill Woodfull (bt)
• Merv Hughes (bw)
• Ian Healy (wk)
• Steve Waugh (bt)
• Matthew Hayden (bt)
• Justin Langer (bt)
• Jeff Thomson (bw)
• Brett Lee (bw)
• David Boon (bt)
• Hugh Trumble (ar)
• Warwick Armstrong (ar)
• Monty Noble (ar)
• Clem Hill (bt)
• James Kelly (wk)
• Richie Benaud (bw)
• Mark Taylor (bt)
• Jason Gillespie (bw)

England Ashes Legends

• W.G.Grace (bt)
• Harold Larwood (bw)
• Douglas Jardine (bt)
• Bill Voce (bw)
• Jack Hobbs (bt)
• Frank Foster (bw)
• Wally Hammond (bt)
• Len Hutton (bt)
• Jim Laker (bw)
• Kevin Pietersen (bt)
• Bob Willis (bw)
• Ian Botham (ar)
• Andrew Flintoff (ar)
• Fred Trueman (bw)
• Alan Knott (wk)
• Denis Compton (bt)
• Tom Graveney (bt)
• Colin Cowdrey (bt)
• Godfrey Evans (wk)
• Trevor Bailey (ar)
• Ray Illingworth (ar)
• Geoffrey Boycott (bt)
• Mike Brearley (bt)
• Graham Gooch (bt)
• Allam Lamb (bt)
• Robin Smith (bt)
• David Gower (bt)
• Geraint Jones (wk)
• Mike Atherton (bt)
• Alec Stewart (bt/wk)
• Ashley Giles (bw)
• Alistair Cook (bt)
• Matt Prior (wk)
• Mike Gatting (bt)
• Jack Russell (wk)

Who Are The Ashes’s Current Players – Present

Australia

• Pat Cummins (bw)
• Marnus Labuschagne (bt)
• Steve Smith (bt)
• Travis Head (bt)
• Usman Khawaja (bt)
• Nathan Lyon (bw)
• Mitchell Starc (bw)
• David Warner (bt)
• Alex Carey (wk)
• Scott Boland (bw)
• Josh Hazlewood (bw)
• Cam Green (ar)
• Mitchell Marsh (ar)
• Marcus Harris (bt)
• Matt Renshaw (bt)
• Josh Inglis (wk)
• Todd Murphy (bw)

England

• Ben Stokes (ar)
• Jonny Bairstow (wk)
• Ollie Robinson (ar)
• James Anderson (bw)
• Stuart Broad (bw)
• Jack Leach (bw)
• Chris Woakes (bw)
• Mark Wood (bw)
• Zak Crawley (bt)
• Ben Duckett (bt)
• Ollie Pope (bt)
• Harry Brook (bt)
• Dan Lawrence (bt)
• Matthew Potts (bw)
• Josh Tongue (bt)
• Moeen Ali (bt)