I have been asked a couple of times over the last couple of days why I was so excited about the Ashes kicking off and why I was more than happy to spend hours that I would normally be sleeping with my eyes glued to my TV screen watching a game of cricket. It begs the question: what is it about the Ashes that so obsesses the populus of two countries and leaves, depending on the part of the world you are in, the bulk of the population with blood shot eyes and ordering an extra shot of coffee in the morning.

There are some obvious historical aspects to this given that the two combatants used to be one and, indeed, hail from the same kingdom as well as the class war of the convict against the potentate in the struggle of supremacy both of which combine into a genetic inability to allow one team best the other in anything let alone cricket. There is the fact that the Ashes is a celebration of the very commencement of test match cricket; albeit, the burning of the bail occurred after such commencement of hostilities (indeed some 9 tests after the first 1877 in 1882).

An aside here for those that do not know the story: the nomenclature “the Ashes” for the series of test cricket matches came from an obituary published on 2 September 1882 in the Sporting Times that read:

In Affectionate Remembrance of ENGLISH CRICKET, which died at the Oval on 29th AUGUST 1882, Deeply lamented by a large circle of sorrowing friends and acquaintances R.I.P. N.B.—The body will be cremated and the ashes taken to Australia.

On the next tour, the English captain, Ivo Bligh promised that he would regain “the Ashes” referred to in the Sporting Time Obituary and indeed he was presented with an urn encasing the ashes of an old bail when England won the test series on that tour.

Of course there are all of the famous series’ that we have read about and seen highlights of which captivate the mind and enhance the appreciation one has for the historical fervour for which this contest above all others between these two countries stands out: Warwick Armstrongs 1921 tourists who dominated England and all other comers, Jardine’s Bodyline theorem and its execution by Larwood and Voce in 1934, Don Bradman’s Invincibles in 1948, the mastery of Jim Laker in 1956, Lillee and Thompson scaring the lives out of most Englishmen in 1974-5 only for MC Cowdrey to come out of retirement and face them and, of course, the Centenary Test in 1977. It is the remembrance of these series, and others, that pique the minds of cricket fans from England and Australia and are part of the fabric of the obsession that is the Ashes.

All of that said though, one obsession with any sport is an inherently personal journey. So then: where did it all start for me? Well I have been a cricket tragic for as long I can remember. I was not much of a player but I read everything I could find about the game. It would be fair to say that my obsession was built around reading about those tours outlined above. However, I can still remember vividly the moment that the Ashes became THE series for me: 1989. Before I launch into what happened in 1989, you have to remember that I grew up in a period before pay television and 20/20 cricket where test match cricket had no substitute and the only time you got to see any cricket your team played on an overseas tour was in a 90 second grab on the TV sports news or when 60 Minutes decided to cause trouble in Pakistan that time. The exception was the Ashes, albeit you did not see it on your TV you heard it on ABC radio.

And that is where my obsession for the Ashes, and I confess cricket, grew: listening to the descriptions of the 1989 Ashes tour. I remember I was allowed to listen to the cricket until I fell asleep or until the morning session was completed (fair play: I was 11 afterall). The fact that I would quite often get to the luncheon break was not lost on my parents and they became accustomed to my immediate need upon awaking to find out the score: during the winter of 1989 there was no talking at the Humphreys family breakfast table until the sports news had been read. The fact is: I got to listen to some pretty epic sessions of play in England during that winter in my bedroom in Ipswich none more so that one M Taylor bringing up his maiden hundred in the early moments of day 2 of the first test at Headingly and listening on the first and second mornings of fifth test as Taylor and Marsh started and continued their epic partnership. I fell in love with the game then and there and my obsession about the Ashes was firmly entrenched from that moment.

That passion for this series has only grown as the years have rolled on. How could one not be enamoured by a series that has given us moments like: all of the bowling of the great Merv Hughes in 1993 (ignore Warne mania for a moment and check out the work of Merv in this series: right out of the top drawer), Steve Waugh’s dual hundreds at Old Trafford in 1997, Hatricks from Warne and Gough, Flintoff and Lee at the end of the second test in 2005 at Edgbaston and the miracle of Adelaide in 2006.

I have been privileged to witness the first day of consecutive Ashes’ series in Australia in 1998, 2002, 2006 and 2010. Those days always started with the dawn procession to the members gate to get a good starting “alley” for the run to the seats when the gates opened in the members at 9am and gave me moments like Waugh and Healy’s fight back in 1998, the murmur that went around the crowd when it was announced that Hussian had won the toss and would bowl, the Harmison ball and Siddle’s hatrick. I maintain and will always maintain that the roar I was a part of when Siddle got that third wicket was the loudest I have ever heard at an any sporting event. That includes: an NRL grand final, multiple State of Origins, a World Cup (Rugby) final and Hockey and Basketball games in the US to name but a few of the live sporting events I have witnessed.

Those events aside, the totality of those days at the cricket represented everything I love about the Ashes and the game. The cricket was hard fought and the fans in full voice BUT more to the point the fans, to a metaphorical man were entranced in the contest and the energy in the ground was palpable.

As I sat up last night waiting for the start of play I again felt the excitement and expectation and as play kicked off I was again entranced by the contest. It is a combination of the history and my personal experiences that have built my obsession and it is the excitement and expectation that comes from every ball bowled and shot played that will never allow that obsession to wane.