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InDepth headlines national business sports cricket regional entertainment technology world travel autos health | in-depth coverage > Ashes Series 2002-2003 > Now Australian PM calls for the Ashes 10.35 IST 04th Dec 2002 By IndiaExpress Bureau Australian Prime Minister John Howard launched an unusual public appeal on Wednesday for England to send the coveted Ashes trophy to Australia, which has dominated the two nations' cricketing rivalry for 16 years. In an open letter printed across the front page of Sydney's Daily Telegraph, Howard said giving up the famed Ashes urn might provide some badly needed incentive to England's embattled cricketers to win the trophy back. "The time has come for The Ashes to return to Australia," wrote Howard, a self-confessed "cricket tragic". He noted that after Australia's victory over England Sunday to clinch the Ashes test for an eighth consecutive time, Australia has "held" the trophy for 16 years without it ever leaving its home at the Lord's ground in London. "Australia's cricketing dominance in recent years is undeniable," Howard said. "Given our sustained supremacy, it is not unreasonable to argue the urn should be on display in Australia," he said. "Some may wonder why does it matter whether The Ashes -- the remains of a burnt cricket bail nestled in a century-old urn -- are housed in a museum in England or Australia," Howard continued. The answer, he said, is that "The Ashes urn is the most treasured sporting trophy in the eyes of most Australians" and that sending it to the country "would be a real gesture on the part of English cricket authorities." More pragmatically, he asked "our English friends to look at it this way: if the urn were to come to Australia, then they would have a much greater incentive to win it back." The England team has failed to win a single match since arriving for the latest Ashes tour last month and face two more Tests even though the best-of-five series has already been decided. The Ashes were created after Australia won its first Test series in England in 1882-83, prompting a London sports newspaper to publish a mock obituary for English cricket. The bails from the match were then "cremated" and placed in a tiny urn becoming The Ashes. English cricket authorities recently said the urn was too fragile to be shipped to Australia. But the Daily Telegraph published pictures Wednesday of a custom-made crate it assured could handle the task of bringing the coveted trophy to Sydney unharmed. in-depth coverage > Ashes Series 2002-2003 > |
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