'Poke the bear' at your peril

Tweet

Australians love their cricket and the Ashes series are played out between England and Australia. In 1882, Australia won a match at the Oval, their first Test win on English soil. A newspaper of the time stated that English cricket had died and that that "the body will be cremated and the ashes taken to Australia”. A small urn supposedly holds the ashes of a wooden cricket ball. The Ashes series of five matches is held about every two years, alternating between England and Australia. The Ashes are currently being held in Australia and, as usual, tensions are running high. I loved the headline which said something about England ‘pokiing the bear’. Whatever they said must have had an effect on the Australian team as they are trouncing the English at the moment. Be that as it may, what a great expression – to poke the bear. The photo is mine but it looks like the site is having trouble with photos again.