Ashes urn goes on tour

The Ashes urn

One of cricket's most valuable artefacts is poised to tour Australia this winter when the original Ashes urn embarks on a 94-day trip Down Under.

The urn will be accompanied by Adam Chadwick, the curator at the MCC, who will also take other priceless pieces of memorabilia, including the hand-written team list from the 1882 Oval match when Australia beat England for the first time on English soil, sparked the Ashes legacy.

They will visit museums in Brisbane, Adelaide, Perth and Melbourne at the same time as England attempt to retain the Ashes. It will be only the third time the urn has left the MCC museum.

The trip has been called 'The Ashes Exhibition in association with Travelex', and Keith Bradshaw, who becomes secretary and chief executive of MCC on October 1, said: "The Ashes Urn is a potent symbol of the competition that exists between the Australian and English cricket teams.

"As the Urn makes its 26,000-mile journey to and around Australia, I hope that as many cricket fans as possible will take this unique chance to view a remarkable reminder of our shared heritage."

Mike Gatting, the last England captain to retain the Ashes in Australia in 1986-7, said: "The Ashes Exhibition is a fantastic idea.

"I hope that it will inspire the England team to repeat the feat of our team 20 years ago by retaining the Ashes 'down under'."

Ashes Exhibition Itinerary:

Oct 21-Nov 8: The Museum of Sydney
Nov 12-22: Queensland Museum, Brisbane
Nov 26-Dec 6: South Australian Museum, Adelaide
Dec 10-20: Western Australian Museum, Perth
Dec 26-Jan 7, 2007: Melbourne Museum
Jan 9-14: Melbourne Cricket Club Museum