Definition of "Ashes"

The superlatives have been 'wrung dry to describe' that tumultous heart-warming welcome in Sydney and beyond, the kind of picture we needed to stir us from such melancholy contemplations as our cricketers' fall from Ashes glory in the West Indies.

1954 March 1, The Morning Bulletin, Rockhampton, page 2, column 4

My Ashes experiences have led to lifelong friendships with numerous Australians as well as England team-mates.

2015, Steven Lynch, Wisden on the Ashes