'Robust' urn ready to travel

The MCC has relented and the Ashes will finally go to Australia even if they lose the current series. After years of debate over the resting place of the urn, which remains in the museum at Lord's, it is apparently ready for a visit after successful repairs.

There was hope that the Ashes would be in Australia during England's 2002-03 tour, but the trophy stayed at home. "The project was halted when x-rays discovered a crack which needed repairing and by the time the work was done the tour was over," Iain Wilton, the MCC's head of communications, told London's Daily Telegraph. "Now the urn is more robust we hope that it can travel to Australia next winter for the duration of the 2006-07 series."

The MCC has said the Ashes are a symbolic prize and remain its property, but the club will liaise with Cricket Australia over where the trophy will be displayed. Australian players tried to create their own version after the 2001 Test at The Oval but their attempts only caused plenty of smoke.