1877-2013: Ashes and its journey in cricket

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The first series dates back to 1877 when England, the inventors of the game were up against the Aussies in a series which was named Ashes afterwards when the former lost a one-off test match in the year 1882.
"In affectionate remembrance of English cricket which died at The Oval, 29th August, 1882. Deeply lamented by a large circle of sorrowing friends and acquaintances. The body will be cremated and the Ashes taken to Australia" - wrote a London journalist, Reginald Shirley Brooks in a mock obituary (which means death notice). It was published by Sporting Times next day.
Ever since then these two countries play against each other every two years and the winner of the series takes the Ashes.
A history spanning close to 150 years and one of the fiercest cricket rivalries in the world, the Ashes has had its fair share of memorable moments over the years. Here is a look at the top five ashes series so far.
Bodyline series, 1932/33
Sir Donald Bradman is arguably one of the greatest players to have taken the cricket field. His name was good enough to give sleepless nights to the opposition and in order to stop this destructive force England came up with a line of attack aimed at the body of the batsman thus giving the name 'Bodyline Series'.
In the Bodyline series, bowlers attacked the leg stump and by bouncing the ball short, were able to attack the body of the batsemn which led to several batsmen being hit during the series which in turn led to strained diplomatic relations between the two countries. England won the series 4-1 and the laws of the game were changed to avoid the body-line attack.
Botham spells his magic, 1981
The series is famously known as the Botham's Ashes because of his heroics both with the bat and ball. England was staring down the barrel having lost and drawn the first two Test matches and was looking for divine intervention in order to save the series.
Australia was well on its way to winning the third Test match as well after enforcing the follow on before Botham cut loose and smashed his way to a 149 not out bailing England out of trouble. Bob Willis did the rest with the ball with figures of 8-43 as England levelled the series.
The next Test saw Botham running through the Aussie middle and lower order as he picked up five wickets giving away only one run which took England to a famous Ashes win.
Ball of the Century, 1993
Shane Keith Warne, known to be a magician with the ball in hand was in his element in the 1993 Ashes series as he bowled Mike Gatting round his legs at Old Trafford which later came to be known as 'the ball of the century'.
Amazingly, it was Warne’s first ever ball in an Ashes Test and Australia went on to win the Ashes 4-1.
Vaughan's men end Ashes draught, 2005
England had not won the Ashes since 1987 and was determined to get it back with Michael Vaughan at the helm of affairs.
The Test series was full of drama and loads of action after Australia won the first Test. England came back well by levelling the series with a two run victory in the second Test, the narrowest win in Ashes history.
England won the series 2-1 after winning the fourth Test with the third and fifth Tests ending in draws.
Strauss gets his team back to winning ways, 2009
The 2009 Ashes series was a closely fought series between the two sides with England having the last laugh by winning the series 2-1 after coming back from a 5-0 drubbing in Australia in the previous series.
This was the first time England won an Ashes test at Lord's since 1934.