A match in progress at the Sydney Cricket Ground, Sydney, Australia, circa 1880. (Photo/Getty Images) “In loving memory of an English cricketer who died at the Oval, 29th August 1882. Deeply lamented by a large circle of bereaved friends and acquaintances, RIP. Note. Body to be cremated and ashes taken to Australia.”Australia’s first win on English soil against a full-strength English side on 29 August 1882 led to this fake “obituary” written by a young London journalist, Reginald Shirley Brooks. It appeared in the Sporting Times and laid the foundation for what would later become one of cricket’s most enduring traditions.England’s seventh defeat at The Oval was followed by plans to tour Australia. The Honorable Ivo Bligh, later the 8th Earl of Darnley, had been chosen to lead the side even before this loss. But the tone of the tour changed after the defeat. Three weeks later, when the team set sail, the mission was clear: retrieve the ashes.The inspection included three tests. Australia won the first Test in Melbourne by nine wickets. England responded in the second Test at the same venue, winning by 27 runs. With the series level, the third Test became decisive. England won by 69 runs and it was widely accepted that they had “regained” the Ashes.With honors deemed restored, both teams agreed to play another match. This game, later retrospectively designated as the fourth Test (Test No. 13 in chronological order), was played at the Sydney Cricket Ground from 17 February 1883. It is this match that stands out in the history of cricket not only for its result, but also for an experiment that has never been repeated.Bligh won the toss and elected to bat. England made 263 in their first innings. AG Steel remained unbeaten on 135. Four of Australia’s six bowlers shared the wickets. George Giffen, who was carrying a leg injury, did not bowl.Australia replied with 262. George Bonnor, who opened the batting, scored 87 in 165 minutes, hitting seven fours. Captain Billy Murdoch was dismissed without scoring but ran between the wickets for the injured Giffen, who made 27. Wicketkeeper Jack Blackham added 57. England used seven bowlers, five of whom took wickets.England’s second innings produced 197. Billy Bates, a round-arm Yorkshire slow bowler known to his friends as “The Duke” because of his taste in dress, top-scored with 48. Australia used five bowlers and each finished with two wickets.Australia then chased down 199. Alec Bannerman scored 63 in 175 minutes, with six fours and a six. Murdoch again bid for Giffen, who added 32 to his earlier 27. Australia won by four wickets.The match officials were Edward Elliott, who played eight first-class matches mainly for Victoria, and James Swift, who had only one first-class appearance. Four innings totals — 263, 262, 197 and 199 — showed how close the contest was, with a factor of just two runs conceded.However, what set this match apart was the agreement reached before the game started. In a decision unique in the history of cricket, it was decided that each innings would be played on a different pitch. Four innings, four separate goals. Wisden recorded the experiment with restraint, noting simply: “Each innings was played for a new wicket.”This decision, taken jointly by both teams, was never repeated at Test or first-class level. More than a century later, this forgotten Test remains the only match where the idea was put into practice, leaving behind a brief but remarkable example of how early cricket was still willing to test the limits of its own laws.After this tour, The Ashes were returned to England on 30 January 1883 in the form of a burnt deposit in an urn. It was long thought that the Ashes – a small urn believed to contain the remains of a bail burnt after the third match – were donated to Bligh by a group of women in Melbourne. However, in 1998 Lord Darnley’s daughter-in-law, then aged 82, said the contents were actually the ashes of her mother-in-law’s veil, not bail. Other accounts suggest that the ashes may have come from a ball. As a result, the exact origins of the Ashes remain disputed.After Lord Darnley died in 1927, the urn was presented to the MCC by his Australian-born widow, Florence. The urn is now housed in the cricket museum at Lord’s, along with the red and gold velvet bag that was made for it and the score card from the 1882 match.The text on the urn is as follows:When Ivo returns with the urn, the urn;Studds, Steel, Read, and Tylecote return, return;Welkin rings loudly,A great crowd will be proudTo see Barlow and Bates with an urn, an urn;And the rest will come home with the urn.
