Australia earn second visit of Ashes urn

The Ashes urn will land in Australia next summer for only the second time but supporters wanting a glimpse of cricket's most famous prize will have to visit a mainland museum. Marylebone Cricket Club has released the itinerary for its Ashes exhibition, which will tell the story of the tiny trophy in the five Test cities from October.

However, the tour will not include Tasmania and James Sutherland, the Cricket Australia chief executive, immediately called on MCC to add another stopover. "The Australian Test captain is Tasmanian, Tom Kendall, who played in the very first Test in 1877, is buried in Tasmania, and Keith Bradshaw, the new MCC secretary and chief executive-elect, is Tasmanian," Sutherland said. "We have made the MCC aware we are very disappointed Tasmania is not on the list. I hope it is not too late to reconsider the issue for next summer."

Australia first hosted the urn in 1988 for the bicentenary of the country's European settlement, a year before Allan Border's team reclaimed the Ashes, and the prize will also be in England's hands on this occasion after Michael Vaughan's side raised a replica last September to end a 16-year drought. MCC had planned for the original to travel for the 2002-03 series but the trip was cancelled when an x-ray showed "cracks in the stern".

Michael Vaughan lifts a replica at The Oval in September © Getty Images

An MCC spokesman said the repair work was successful and while its condition was still fragile it was suitable for flying. "In 2005 more than 35,000 people from all over the world came to the MCC Museum at Lord's, where they could see the Ashes urn," Adam Chadwick, the MCC curator, said. "This touring exhibition will enable many more Australian cricket lovers to see the urn and learn more about its long and fascinating history."

The Museum of Sydney will hold the first display and the 14-week tour ends at the Melbourne Cricket Club Museum on January 14. Ashes-related artefacts will also be on show, including the velvet bag presented to Ivo Bligh in which he kept the urn, the original scorebook from the 1882 match that spawned the Ashes and portraits of Fred Spofforth and WG Grace, who both had significant roles in the match.

The urn's itinerary
Museum of Sydney October 21-November 8
Queensland Museum November 12-November 22
South Australian Museum November 26-December 6
Western Australian Museum December 10-December 20
Melbourne Museum December 26-January 7
Melbourne Cricket Club Museum January 9-January 14