Comprehension:
Read the passage given below and answer the five questions that follow.
Cricket is a passion for people around the globe. It is played everywhere from test match arenas to village greens, tropical beaches, and dusty backlots. Cricket is the world’s second most popular spectator sport after soccer. The origin of cricket can be traced back to the Dark Ages. All research concedes that the game is derived from a very old, popular and uncomplicated pastime by which one player served up an object, be it a small piece of wood or a ball and another hit it with a suitably fashioned club. The game of cricket was recorded in 16th-century England and it was played in grammar schools, farming communities and everywhere in between. But things really took off when 18th-century nobles realised it was a great sport. The oldest surviving set of cricket laws dates to 1744, which was printed on a handkerchief. Naturally, it’s now in the MCC Museum at Lord’s in London. The first international match was held in 1877 when Australia beat England in Melbourne. The match was dubbed ‘Test’, since the grueling nature of playing over five days was deemed the ultimate test for any one side. However, it was Australia’s first win on the English soil - in 1882 at The Oval in London - that led to matches between the two nations christened as the ‘Ashes.’ Following the defeat, newspapers published an obituary mourning “the death of English cricket”, adding that “the body will be cremated and the ashes taken to Australia.”
What event led to the naming of the cricket series as "The Ashes"?
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 2
The correct answer is Option (2) → Australia's first win on English soil in 1882, followed by a mock obituary mourning the death of English cricket.
The passage says it was Australia's first win on English soil, in 1882 at The Oval, that led to the matches between the two nations being called the Ashes. After the defeat, newspapers published an obituary mourning "the death of English cricket", adding that the body would be cremated and the ashes taken to Australia. It was a mock obituary, one written as a joke, since English cricket had not really died.
Why the Other Options are Incorrect?
Option 1: Australia's first win in 1877, beating England at Melbourne. — Incorrect. Wrong part of the passage: the 1877 match was the first international one, the match called a "Test": "The first international match was held in 1877 when Australia beat England in Melbourne." The Ashes came from "Australia's first win on the English soil - in 1882".
Option 3: The burning of cricket equipment after a match — Incorrect. Not mentioned: nothing was burnt; the cremation exists only in the joking obituary, which said "the body will be cremated and the ashes taken to Australia."
Option 4: The MCC museum acquiring the old cricket laws. — Incorrect. Wrong cause: the 1744 laws printed on a handkerchief are "now in the MCC Museum at Lord's"; this has nothing to do with the name Ashes.