Cricket · Explainer
The Ashes explained: the urn, the rules and why it matters to England
Test cricket's oldest rivalry is decided over five matches, and the holder keeps the urn if the series is drawn. Here is how it works, and the series that made it.
Photo: Ank Kumar / Wikimedia Commons (CC0)
The Ashes is contested between England and Australia in Test cricket. It is the oldest rivalry in the sport, and for many England players it is the series that defines a career.
Where the name comes from
Australia beat England by seven runs at The Oval in August 1882, their first Test win in England. Days later, The Sporting Times printed a mock obituary for English cricket.
In affectionate remembrance of English cricket, which died at the Oval on 29th August, 1882 ... The body will be cremated and the ashes taken to Australia.
England
101 & 77 
Australia
63 & 122 England's captain for the following winter's tour, Ivo Bligh, promised to bring the ashes back. England won that series 2–1, and a small urn presented to Bligh became the symbol of the rivalry. The urn itself stays in the MCC Museum at Lord's whoever wins; a replica is presented to the winning captain.
How a series is decided
Modern Ashes series are played over five Tests, each scheduled for up to five days. The team that wins more Tests wins the series. If the series is level, the side that already holds the Ashes keeps them, so the holder needs only a draw while the challenger has to win outright.
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Why 2–2 was not enough
England drew the home series of 2019 and 2023 2–2, but Australia held the Ashes going into both, so they kept the urn each time.
Every Ashes series
- Won by England
- 31
- Won by Australia
- 35
- Drawn
- 7
The series that made the rivalry
- 1882–83 Bligh brings the urn home England win the first series played for the Ashes 2–1.
- 1932–33 Bodyline Douglas Jardine's side win 4–1 in Australia with a fast, short-pitched plan of attack aimed at the body.
- 1981 Botham's Ashes England win at Headingley by 18 runs after following on, and take the series 3–1.
- 2005 The Ashes regained England's first series win since 1986–87, including a two-run win at Edgbaston. Won 2–1.
- 2010–11 Victory in Australia England's first series win in Australia since 1986–87, sealed with an innings win at the MCG. Won 3–1.
- 2019 Headingley again Ben Stokes's unbeaten hundred wins the third Test by one wicket. The series is drawn 2–2.
- 2025–26 Australia keep the urn Australia win 4–1 at home.
England
67 & 362/9
Australia
179 & 246 Home and away
Series alternate between England and Australia, roughly every two years. England's next home Ashes summer is 2027. Beyond the series themselves, England and Australia have met in more Tests than any other pairing in the game, and the record below covers every one of them.
Head-to-head · Cricket · Tests
England v
Australia
- First meeting
- 15 Mar 1877 · Australia v England · Australia won by 45 runs
- Most recent
- 4 Jan 2026 · Australia v England · Australia won by 5 wickets
- Biggest England win
- 20 Aug 1938 · England v Australia · England won by an innings and 579 runs
Fixtures, squads and the outright market are on our Ashes hub. The Women's Ashes is decided on points across Tests, ODIs and T20Is.
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