Longest periods of time spent retaining The Ashes 2023

As of 2023, Australia’s men’s cricket team had retained The Ashes for five years. However, this record was dwarfed by the 19 years for which Australia kept hold of the competition’s famous urn trophy from 1934 until 1953, which has remained the longest time spent retaining The Ashes for either England or Australia. For the majority of these years, legendary Australian batsman Donald Bradman played for his national side and accrued 5,028 runs, which gained him the top spot in the list of all-time leading run-scorers in The Ashes.

What is meant by retaining The Ashes?

The Ashes is cricket’s longest-running competition and, since its inception in 1882, has been fiercely-fought by its competitors, England and Australia. The term “retaining The Ashes” refers to Australia or England winning an Ashes series and then either winning or drawing subsequent series. In the competition’s history, Australia has been the more successful team with a higher number of Ashes series won since 1882, recording 34 series victories to England’s 32.

Who retained The Ashes for the longest time in the modern era?

Between 1989 and 2005, Australia enjoyed 16 years of unbridled success in The Ashes, which was the longest period of time The Ashes was retained in the modern era. At the heart of this success were players such as Steve Waugh, Glenn McGrath, and Shane Warne, the latter of whom topped the list of all-time leading wicket-takers in the Ashes, with 195 wickets. Despite the talent in the Australian side that toured England in 2005, the hosts won the series by the finest of margins. England, however, could not retain the urn during the following series and suffered a 5-0 series whitewash.