England and Australia have actually been competing in cricket since 1877. However, the Ashes rivalry came to prominence after Australia registered their maiden Test victory in England in 1882 at The Oval. It was a loss so devastating that one English newspaper, The Sporting Times, published a satirical obituary for English cricket, stating the remains would be cremated and taken to Australia.
Before the 1882-83 Ashes series, England's then captain, Ivo Francis Walter Bligh, had promised to "regain
those Ashes". The English media subsequently dubbed the tour the Quest to Regain the Ashes.
Since then, the rivalry has gone from strength to strength. In every edition, it reminds the cricket community why red-ball cricket is considered by many as the pinnacle of the sport.
The 2025-2026 edition of the Ashes gets underway on Friday, November 21. Australia have had possession of the coveted urn since 2017. However, nobody would want to count the strong England side out this time.
Before the fascinating contest between two age-old rivals begins, CricTracker takes a look at four unique incidents from the iconic Ashes rivalry.
Don Bradman once reversed Australia's batting order, scored 270 at number 7
In the famous Ashes Test in 1937 at the historic Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG), England came in with a 2-0 lead after winning the first two matches. In the second innings, Australian captain Don Bradman sent his lower-order batters to open the innings. The idea behind this was to protect the main batters from a difficult, "wet" wicket. While the tail-end batters were sent to open, Bradman came in at No. 7 and smashed 270 runs. The ploy worked wonders and Australia won the match by 365 runs. They went on to win the series 3-2.
Captain once dropped himself from a Test, replacement broke his ribs
During the 1974-75 edition of the Ashes in Australia, Mike Denness, who was the England skipper, didn't manage too many runs with the bat. He aggregated just 65 runs in his previous six innings. The right-handed batter made a selfless call in the fourth Test in Sydney, as he dropped himself from the team. However, John Edrich, who replaced him as captain, was hit by a delivery from Australian pacer Dennis Lillee and suffered a broken rib. The Aussies went on to win the match by 171 runs.
Bowler once didn't bowl to debutant for 19 minutes in Ashes Test
Australian captain Warwick Armstrong didn't bowl to England debutant Frank Woolley for 19 minutes during the 1909 Ashes Test at The Oval. Woolley was making his debut for the Three Lions. However, he was made to wait an extraordinary 19 minutes before facing his first delivery in Test cricket. Armstrong, who was regarded for his gamemanship, continuously bowled "trial balls" (practice deliveries to test the surface and the conditions). Practice deliveries to assess the condition of a surface were a common practice, but not for as long as 19 minutes. The Aussies wanted to frustrate the young Kent batter. The ploy worked, as Woolley was dismissed cheaply shortly after. This incident played a key role in leading to a change in the laws of cricket to prevent such deliberate time-wasting tactics.
Dismissed Australian player once replaced umpire mid-match in Ashes
In an encounter in the Ashes in 1885, Australia's Tom Garrett replaced George Hodges mid-match after the latter shared his decision not to officiate. This incident took place when Hodges, irked by consistent appeals from the English bowlers in favour of the Australian batters, walked off the field after tea. Garnett, who had been dismissed earlier, stepped in to officiate for the rest of the Test match.
