The Battle for the Urn
by Louis Cooke

England's Premiership soccer season started two-and-a-half weeks ago. Normally, its arrival signals the end of the brief summer sports calendar and the beginning of a long winter and spring in which the tabloids' back pages, and sometimes the front, are dominated by the "Beautiful Game." But this year, soccer is facing strong competition for space in the sports sections, because the summer is not quite over: 2005 is an Ashes year.

Cricket's most famous fixture, the Ashes are contested every two years in a five-match Test series between Australia and England. It is one of sport's fiercest and most enduring rivalries. The first game between the two countries took place more than 125 years ago.

Of cricket's various forms, Test cricket is the most complicated, but also the most fascinating, and in the eyes of many the most pure. Matches can last for five days (and still end in a tie) and factors other than the performance of the players have an impact: the condition of the pitch (particularly the wicket), the ball, and the weather — very relevant if the series is being played in England, with its often unpredictable, showery summers.

The name "the Ashes" comes from the prize: a replica of a small terra cotta urn, 4 inches tall, said to contain the cremated remains of a ball or a bail from a game between Australia and England in 1882. Australia defeated England improbably and, shocked at the loss, the Sporting Times ran a mock obituary of English cricket: "Deeply lamented by a large circle of friends and acquaintances. R.I.P. N.B. — The body will be cremated and the ashes returned to Australia."

Since then, the challenge for England has been to win back the Ashes. They have been passed back and forth several times over the past century, although England has not held them since winning in Australia in 1986/7.

As an object, the urn seems incongruous in shots of victory poses — so tiny a trophy for so large a sporting event, the other extreme to the Indianapolis 500's Borg-Warner trophy. But the sense of history surrounding the Ashes makes up for their lack of physical presence.

Rivalry between England and Australia exists in every sport — Aussies take few greater delights than putting one over the motherland — but it is most intense in cricket. At times in the long history of the Ashes the relationship between the two countries has become fraught. The notorious "Bodyline" tour of the 1930s, where England's controversial aggressive bowling tactics, to counter the skill of batsman Don Bradman, led not only to injuries and the laws of the game being altered but sparked a diplomatic row between the two countries. Visitors from one country to the other were persecuted, and a statue of Prince Albert in Sydney Harbor was defaced.

The Ashes have become inseparable from the history of the links between the two countries. Much as a soccer match between England and Germany rarely fails to spew up at least one media reference to the first or second World War, so an Ashes series brings with it Australia's past as an English penal colony. English TV commercials in the intense build-up to this year's series featured former English cricket stars in period dress, holding shackles, awaiting the return of a convict — Australian spin bowler Shane Warne. One breed of cricket fan watches the game from the stands in fancy dress; several shots during TV coverage so far have zoomed in on cheering spectators in black and white prison uniforms — or the distinctive paunch, beard, and baggy cap of W.G. Grace, an English legend who played in the match that gave the Ashes their name.

This year's series has been one of the most hyped in recent years, partly because there are no soccer or rugby world cups or Olympic games battling for its attention, and partly because of the advances the England side has made in the past few years — it is now a close second to Australia's first in the world rankings.

And so far, the series has lived up to its billing. Australia won the first match, but only after batsman Justin Langer and captain Ricky Ponting were hit by mean bowls on the elbow and cheek respectively. The second match will be remembered as one of the most famous in history. The advantage swung back and forth between the two teams, until England scraped a win by just two runs — its closest Test victory ever. (For an idea of exactly how close that is, England's aggregate score over its two innings was 589 runs.) The third match ended in a tie, after almost a full day's play was lost to bad weather.

The quality of play and drama of this year's series is good news for English cricket, which often plays second fiddle to soccer. The matches have attracted near sell-out crowds, viewing figures for TV coverage are high and the players are quickly becoming household names — most notably Andrew "Freddie" Flintoff, England's all-rounder whose electric performances and down-to-earth swagger have turned him into the nation's favorite. It is hoped the increased interest in the game, especially from children and younger players, will be augmented by England winning back the Ashes for the first time in nearly 20 years.

The series is currently tied 1-1. The fourth match begins today, but the final match is not scheduled to start until Sept. 8, when the soccer season will be a month old, and already have included 2006 World Cup qualifiers. If the Ashes continues to be as tense and exciting as it has been so far, by then fans of both sports won't know which way to look.

E-mail Louis Cooke at louis at mintcake dot com.