The rivalry of English and Australian cricket dates back to over 100 years ago. Initially it was thought that Australia would not be able to beat England in England. However, Australia managed to win its first ever test match on English soil in the year 1882. After that British Newspaper published a statement against England’s performance, that mentioned the death of English cricket, and the ashes will be carried to Australia. That is from where the Ashes word was taken, to name the cricket rivalry of English and Australian cricket. This is certainly a very dramatic way to start a rivalry.
Beginning of the rivalry
The rivalry between the fans of English and Australian cricket started, when a particular statement was published in a British newspaper, during the 19th century. The statement basically stated that, “Nothing of interest comes from Australia, except Gold and black cricketers.” This statement certainly had a bit of colonial superiority. However, it went on to mark the beginning of one of the greatest cricket rivalries of all time.
Barmy Army
Barmy is an English Cricket Fans Club. It is known to provide tickets and some other facilities to its members. It has been seen in the past, that the members of the Barmy Army at times, were not able to control their emotion, because of which they have even indulged in fights. This shows the amount of passion and emotion they carry in their heart for English cricket.
Ashes Rivalry
There is no doubt about the fact that nowadays, test cricket is most followed in England and Australia. It will be interesting to go through some of the stats.
- Total number of Ashes matches that have been played are 340.
- Australia has won 140 test matches.
- England has won 108 test matches.
So, the stats above shows that both the teams have won over 100 test matches against each other. That means the Ashes this year is certainly going to be more exciting than any other.
