The birth of the Ashes competition can be traced back to a historic cricket match in 1882. During this year, England was defeated by Australia at The Oval in London, marking the first time Australia had won a Test match on English soil. This shocking defeat led to a satirical obituary published in the British newspaper, The Sporting Times. The obituary proclaimed the "death of English cricket" and humorously stated that "the body will be cremated and the ashes taken to Australia." This marked the beginning of the Ashes, one of cricket's oldest rivalries, played between England and Australia.
For more details, you can refer to sources like The Australian Culture and Wikipedia. Here are some images related to the Ashes:
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