Author: frankie

The Ashes 2015 Facts and Figures

Australia have the Ashes' all-time leaders in terms of both runs and wickets, respectively Bradman with 5,028 and Shane Warne with 195. England's benchmarks are Jack Hobbs' 3,636 runs and 1981 hero Ian Botham's 148 wickets. How many more runs has Bradman scored than Jack Hobbs? How many wickets have Shane Warne and Ian Botham taken in total?

England and Australia met in the first ever Test cricket match in 1877, (How long ago was this?) Australia winning by 45 runs at the Melbourne Cricket Ground before England won a second Test two weeks later by four wickets. The 336 meetings between the sides have brought 138 Australian wins to 105 for England, with 93 draws. (What percentage of wins have been by Australia? England? And what percentage have been draws?)

Shane Warne is stranger to no cricket fan, specially not for England fans as he is the highest wicket taker in Ashes series = 172 wickets from 31 Ashes matches. What is Shane Warne’s average wicket haul for each of the ashes matches?
Four triple centuries for Australia - 304, 307, 311 and 334 by Don Bradman in 1930 at Leeds but the only one triple century by England batsmen in Ashes series - 364 by L Hutton as I mentioned earlier, is alone the highest score by any batsmen in Ashes series. What is Don Bradman’s total for his four triple centuries?

The term "the Ashes" is widely attributed to Reginald Brooks' mock obituary for English cricket following defeat in 1882's one-off Test at the Oval, which concluded: "The body will be cremated and the ashes taken to Australia". Ahead of the 1882-83 tour Down Under, England captain Ivo Bligh vowed to "recover those Ashes", and was presented with the enduringly famous terracotta urn during the tour.

Australia captain Michael Clarke has compiled 2,109 runs in 30 Ashes Tests, with opposite number Alastair Cook one of two England batsmen in line to follow him past 2,000 this summer - Cook has 1,787 in 25 games, Ian Bell 1,768 in 28. (What is the average run score for Alastair Cook in his 25 games? What is the average run score for Ian Bell in his 28 games?