When Australia defeated England for the first time on English soil in 1882, a mock obituary notice was inserted in the Sporting Times lamenting the 'death' of English cricket and stating that the body was to be cremated and the ashes taken to Australia. Later, an urn containing ashes came to be recognised as the cricketing trophy, and now resides permanently at Lord's cricket ground. The mystery is this: where did the Ashes come from, and are they in fact still there' The author examines the official story and other, alternative suggestions, and details the personalities involved in the...