Best Posts in Thread: Looks like the Aussies are losing their touch!

The term originated in a satirical obituary published in a British newspaper, The Sporting Times, immediately after Australia's 1882 victory at The Oval, their first Test win on English soil. The obituary stated that English cricket had died, and the body will be cremated and the ashes taken to Australia.[1] The mythical ashes immediately became associated with the 1882–83 series played in Australia, before which the English captain Ivo Bligh had vowed to "regain those ashes". The English media therefore dubbed the tour the quest to regain the Ashes.

After England had won two of the three Tests on the tour, a small urn was presented to Bligh by a group of Melbourne women including Florence Morphy, whom Bligh married within a year.[2] The contents of the urn are reputed to be the ashes of a wooden bail, and were humorously described as "the ashes of Australian cricket".[3] It is not clear whether that "tiny silver urn" is the same as the small terracotta urn given to the MCC by Bligh's widow after his death in 1927.

 

England regained the Ashes after wrapping up a spectacular victory over Australia on the third morning of the fourth Test at Trent Bridge.

The hosts took Australia's three remaining second-innings wickets in 39 minutes of play to win by an innings and 78 runs, with Ben Stokes taking 6-36.

England's second successive three-day victory over their oldest rivals gives them an unassailable 3-1 lead in the series with one match to play.

The margin of victory is all the more remarkable given it is only 19 months since England were on the receiving end of a 5-0 thrashing by the Australians down under.

England have now beaten Australia in four consecutive home series - their best sequence since 1896
BBC Sport - Ashes 2015: England hammer Australia to regain the urn