Cricket's burning passion

When England's cricketers lost the Oval Test against Australia in the summer of 1882, it triggered a number of cynical comments in the press. The "Sporting Times" stated that 'the body of English cricket had been cremated'. Within a few short months, England had regained the mythical Ashes when the 1882/83 touring party, led by the Hon. Ivo Bligh, later Earl of Darnley, won the Test series 2-1. On the tour, Bligh met a young Australian piano teacher, Florence Morphy, whom he later married. When England's series victory was completed, she presented him with an urn containing the ashes of a bail she had burnt. This is not yet public knowledge, but the authors have authentic documents to substantiate the claim.

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