3 The Ashes - great balls of fire

The urn and its contents rank as the tiny tot of world sports trophies at 150mm high, and is probably the most famous and enigmatic of them all.

Indeed, during test cricket's darkest moments, what was a mock obituary to the English team has helped keep the game alive.

Australia and England battle gloriously (usually) in the name of this vessel and its charred remains within every couple of years.

The obituary appeared in a sports newspaper in the late 1800s after England snatched defeat from the jaws of victory against Australia at The Oval.

The English captain swore he would regain the "ashes" in Australia, and the famous urn was presented to an English side by a group of Melbourne women.

Its contents are probably a burnt cricket ball.

The actual urn lives at the Lord's ground in London, and replicas are presented to the series winners.

Maybe the most truly, incredible, remarkable thing about The Ashes is that England have won them twice in the past four years.

Footnote: After digesting the initial shock of defeat, the Victorian era crowd at The Oval carried two of the Aussie bowlers from the field. Magnificent. Warnie never got that sort of ride.