“I want to witness the old Ashes games!” exclaimed Scorch.
“And I don’t want to witness you burning another of my plants to ashes,” replied Felix.
“It was a mistake, Felix,” said a frustrated Scorch, “Anyway, I was talking about the 100-year-old cricket game called The Ashes. The first Ashes game was played in 1882. The Ashes is played between Australia and England.”
“Why is the game called Ashes?” inquired Felix.
“Australia won its first test match against England in 1882. It was the first win for Australia in an English cricket ground. So, a British Newspaper jokingly said that the English cricket had died and the ashes would be sent to Australia.
That term became famous, and the next tour was called ‘the quest to regain the Ashes. Since then, it has been called The Ashes,” explained Scorch.
Scorch continued, “This year the Ashes was played in England. Australia won the first two test matches. But England won the third test. All eyes were on the fourth test, deciding who would win the Ashes.
England was on the verge of victory when heavy rains came down. The match was cancelled, and it was a draw. England came bouncing back at the fifth test and secured a great win. The Ashes were drawn (2-2) and Australia retained the trophy.”
“If the match is drawn, how come Australia retained the trophy?” asked Felix.
“If there is a draw in the Ashes,” Scorch started, “the team who won the previous Ashes game will keep the trophy. Australia won the previous Ashes game and hence kept the trophy.”
Orak heard the conversation and announced, “The Ashes trophy is an urn (a vase used to store the ashes of the deceased) made of terracotta (a type of earthenware). It is believed that the urn contains the ashes of a wooden ball.”
“Interesting!” said Felix. The Mysticals rode on Orak’s Tempus Machine to witness the first Ashes game.