Etymology

the Ashes

Today it means: A trophy played for by England and Australia in Test cricket; in the form of a small urn containing the ashes of a cremated cricket stump or set of bails. Full definition →

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The story

From a satirical obituary published in an English newspaper after its loss to Australia in 1882, announcing the death of English cricket and that "the body would be cremated and the ashes taken to Australia".

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.