The ashes will travel in style

First for the Americans amongst us a little background. This post is about cricket. Cricket is a bat and ball came invented by the English and then perfected by the colonies and is not to be confused with Krikkit.

Specifically this is about the Test series between the English and Australian national teams.

Test matches are international matches between countries that are rated sufficiently highly by the International Cricket Council or ICC to be awarded test status. (Current test nations are England, Australia, South Africa, West Indies, New Zealand, India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Zimbabwe and Bangladesh.)Test matches are played over five days with each side getting an opportunity to bat twice. The total score between the two innings wins. A match is drawn if a team is behind but hasn't had a chance to get through all its allotted wickets (or outs) before the end of the fifth day. Confused yet? It gets worse but I'll leave you to find out for yourself should you so desire.

Back to England v Australia. This test series, played about once every other year is known as the Ashes series. After the Aussie beat England for the first time (in 1882) the following mock obituary appeared in the Sporting Times:

In Affectionate Rememberance of English Cricket Which Died At The Oval on 29th August 1882, Deeply lamented by a large circle of sorrowing friends and acquaintances R.I.P.

The body will be cremated, and the ashes taken to Australia

In 1882-83 the English team toured Australia supposedly to recover "the Ashes". This is where the story gets confusing. During this tour someone burnt something and put the ashes in a small, terracotta urn and this was, at some point, presented to the English captain Ivo Bligh. After Bligh (then Lord Darnley) died the urn containing the ashes (now known as The Ashes) was given to the Middlesex Cricket Club and held at Lords.

In theory when England play Australia in a test series they are playing for this little urn (only 10 centimetres tall) urn when they meet in a Test series. However even when Australia "hold" the Ashes (which has been much if not most of the time since) they don't get to keep them. Instead they pose for a picture and then they are put back in the museum at Lord's.

This winter, when England tour Australia, the Ashes get to go along. In a handy dandy specially designed travel case they will fly down under in their own business class seat and then will be displayed around the country.

There are however some fairly strict conditions dictated by the MCC:

They must be kept at 20C.
The must be kept at 50% humidity.
They must
not be exposed to more than 50 lux of light.
The MCC will supervise the
placing of the urn and its base in a purpose-built hydraulic, double-alarmed
8mm-thick glass case.
The public will not be allowed within one metre of the
case.

I think the entire membership of the MCC would perish if they could see what happens to the Stanley Cup.