Former England captain Clare Connor said the creation of the Women’s Ashes trophy was “like a fairytale” as Lord’s prepares to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the event.
The Ashes were created by burning bats signed by both England and Australia teams along with a copy of the Women’s Cricket Association rulebook in the Harris Garden at Lord’s in 1998.
It marked a special moment for the current ECB deputy chief executive officer and managing director England Women, who was 21 at the time and remembers the ceremony taking place with the help of a wok grabbed from the MCC kitchen.
“The ceremony was amazing, it was like a little fairytale,” Connor told the PA news agency.
“They built like a makeshift set of bricks in a square raised like a foot off the ground and we were in the Harris Garden with the teams on both sides.
“They got a wok from the MCC kitchen and the Ashes were created from the burning of the old Women’s Cricket Association rule book and miniature bats signed on both sides by Australia and England, so I was one of those signatures.
“There was some other bits of flammable stuff put in there to get it going and there was a little fire.
“The end result was a handful of ashes that then got housed in a really simple, humble, smallish size of a cricket ball trophy.”
The trophy remained intact up until the introduction of the multi-format Ashes series in 2013, but the ball can still be seen inside the new award.
Lord’s will celebrate the 25th anniversary of its creation on Saturday ahead of England’s final T20 clash against Australia.
A range of guests, including some of those involved in the original ceremony, will be in attendance for the unveiling of a plaque by MCC president Stephen Fry at the Harris Garden.
“It was still unbelievably special and wonderful for us back then to be part of Ashes cricket,” said Connor, who believes women’s cricket has come a long way in 25 years.
“To be writing our names in a little piece of women’s cricket history through the creation of that trophy and our own sort of burning, creating our own physical ashes because we didn’t have any.
“There’s something really poignant about that looking back.
“Compare that day in summer of 1998 with Saturday in the summer of 2023 and they’re almost unrecognisable sports really.”
Saturday’s match is being held in partnership with the MCC Foundation in tribute to its ongoing work to promote women and girls’ cricket, reaching thousands each year as part of its cricket projects.
England kept the Women’s Ashes alive with a thrilling three-run victory at the Oval on Wednesday night to tie the T20 contests.
However, they still trail 6-2 in the series and, with three ODI matches to come, the hosts need to win their remaining games to stand a chance of reclaiming the trophy.
Connor, who won the 2005 Ashes, added: “If the crowd on Saturday get to experience what anybody has experienced so far this week at Edgbaston and the Oval then we’re all in for such a treat and another inspiring occasion.”
Tickets for the England v Australia Metro Bank Women’s T20 international at Lord’s are available from lords.org
Starc hails 'fantastic bowler' Bumrah after day one in Perth
Australia seamer Mitchell Starc heaped praise on Jasprit Bumrah's performance on day one of their Test against India in Perth.
India struggled with the bat and finished their first innings on 150, with Rishabh Pant (37) and Nitish Kumar Reddy (41) helping them to improve on a poor start.
However, the tourists wrestled back control, leaving Australia on 67-7 at the close of play, thanks to Bumrah's inspired display.
On Friday, 17 wickets fell, the most on the opening day of a Test in Australia since 1952.
He finished on 4-17, leaving Australia 19-3 inside the seventh over as he took Usman Khawaja, Nathan McSweeney and Steve Smith in quick succession.
Starc will start at the crease alongside Alex Carey on day two, and he was impressed by Bumrah's efficiency with the ball.
"So, there's no surprise that he's [Bumrah] been a fantastic bowler across the formats for a long time," Starc said.
"And again, his skills were on show [on Friday] as to how, how good he is. So, yeah, I'm sure there's something in that release point.
"That's significant to his action. It's something a lot of people can't do, so I'm not, I'm certainly not going to go and try it. I'll probably snap."
Archer back in IPL auction despite being left off the shortlist
Jofra Archer will be in the IPL auction after all, having been left off the shortlist initially.
The fast bowler was an entry on the longlist but did not appear among the names after it had been whittled down to 574 last week.
There had been no word from Archer as to why he had pulled out of the auction and re-entered, although the prospect of playing in the IPL in future could have been key.
According to new rules in the competition, a player will be ineligible to play in the IPL for two years if they do not enter the auction.
Archer has struggled with injury since 2020 and has carefully worked his way back from an elbow problem he suffered last year. Having been part of England's white-ball set-up since May, he has a desire to get back into Test cricket.
The 29-year-old has not played the longest form of the game in nearly four years and, if picked for the IPL, could find it harder to get back into it.
With the early rounds of the County Championship season clashing with the IPL, it could harm Archer's ability to prove his fitness and reduce his chances of playing in a home Test in 2025. Additionally, he could also find it difficult to force his way in for the Ashes in Australia next winter.
Magnificent Bumrah humbles Australia after India batting collapse
India wrestled control back from Australia to leave them 67-7 at the close of play, despite having been bowled out for just 150 earlier on a remarkable first day in Perth.
The tourists chose to bat first, having made six changes from their Test defeat to New Zealand earlier this month, but things did not go well for them as they were reduced to 32-3 and 73-6.
Virat Kohli struggled again and went for just five after being caught by Usman Khawaja. Opener Yashasvi Jaiswal and number three Devdutt Padikkal were both playing in Australia for the first time and were dismissed for ducks.
Rishabh Pant (37) and Nitish Kumar Reddy (41) dragged India to a level of respectability before their bowlers tore through the Australian batting lineup.
Jasprit Bumrah (4-17) was India's saviour, producing a spell to leave the hosts 19-3. Nathan McSweeney (10) went on lbw after a review, Khawaja (8) was caught in the slips and Steve Smith was out on his first ball after another lbw.
Both Travis Head and Mitchell Marsh went for a combined total of 17 runs, with Marnus Labuschagne next to go for two off 52 balls. Pat Cummins was the final wicket of the day, meaning Australia finished on 67-7 with Alex Carey and Mitchell Starc at the crease.
Data debrief: Australia and India go wicket crazy
It was undoubtedly a day for the bowlers on the first day in Perth, with 17 wickets being the most to have fallen on the opening day of a Test in Australia since 1952.
While all 10 of Australia's wickets were caught, India managed four dismissals through either bowling their opponent or lbw.
Following his unplayable performance in Perth, Bumrah now has 177 Test wickets for his country and can count himself unlucky not to have had more.
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