Ashes fever has been vividly captured on a special England v Australia 2009 miniature sheet, containing three postage stamps, to be released by the Isle of Man Post Office in association with the Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) and the Isle of Man Cricket Association, on June 29.
The Queen has granted royal approval for the three engaging £1 stamps that include a silhouette of her head and depict the legendary "W G Grace at Lord's"; "The MCC Ashes Trophy & Urn"; "England v Australia, Lord's 2005".
The idea for the Ashes Series 2009 miniature sheet was conceived by this correspondent during Spring STAMPEX 2009 at the Business Design Centre, Islington - a stamp show that featured some wonderful displays of "Cricket and Stamps", never seen before in public. The MCC Museum at Lord's Cricket Ground, Chapman and Mitchell covers (Terry Mitchell and John Chapman), and the Isle of Man Cricket Association provided invaluable help and advice.
The miniature sheet was designed by Gautam Saha, and printed by BDT international, the security printers based in Ireland, using four colour offset lithography. The text for the special presentation pack and first-day cover insert was written by this correspondent. The dramatic painting "Two to Win" on the front of the presentation pack and the illustration "Umpire" on the first day cover are by well-known cricket artist Christina Pierce.
The legendary Dr William Gilbert Grace, (1848-1915) was the outstanding English all-round amateur cricketer of his day - a right- handed batsman and a bowler - who captained England and Gloucestershire. Grace, who qualified as a medical practitioner in 1879, was known as "the doctor". He played first-class cricket for 44 seasons, 1865-1908. Only Bradman stands beside him in cricket's history.
W G Grace - depicted on the first stamp - shown in a painting batting at Lord's Cricket Ground in 1895, played for the MCC, 1869-1904; Gloucestershire, 1870-1899; and London County, 1900-1904. He captained England on 24 occasions.
Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) was founded in 1787. Before then aristocrats and noblemen played their cricket in White Conduit Fields at lslington, London. Cricket was considered a manly sport for the elite who asked Thomas Lord, a bowler with White Conduit CC, to set up a new private ground. Lord leased a ground on Dorset Fields in Marylebone - now Dorset Square.
The first match was played on May 31 1787 and Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) was formed. After a short stay at North Bank, Regent's Park, between 1811 and 1813, Lord's moved to a new rural ground in St John’s Wood during 1814.
Lord's cricket ground, depicted on the third stamp in a vibrant painting "England v Australia, Lord's 2005" by Karen Neale, remains the home of MCC.
Karen, MCC's "Young Cricket Artist for 2005", based at Lord's, told The Times: "My passion is sketching and painting the world around me."
In 1998 MCC commissioned a Waterford crystal trophy modeled on the world famous Ashes Urn - both the trophy and the urn are shown on the second stamp in the miniature sheet - which is now presented to the winner of each Ashes series. This trophy was first presented to the Australians after their success in the 1998-99 series.
The term "Ashes" was first used after England lost to Australia - for the first time on home soil - at The Oval on August 29 1882. A day later, the "Sporting Times" carried a mock obituary to English cricket that concluded: "The body will be cremated and the ashes taken to Australia".
A few weeks later an English team captained by the Hon lvo Bligh (later Lord Darnley), set off to tour Australia. The side lost the first of the three scheduled Tests but won the next two. Before Christmas 1882 a fun match was played at the Rupertswood estate of Sir William Clarke, President of the Melbourne Cricket Club. Lady Clarke burnt a bail and presented the "Ashes" in an urn to the England Captain as a memento of his visit. Bligh subsequently took the urn back to England, and following his death his widow presented the urn to MCC, where it remains permanently in the Museum at Lord's.
The iconic four-inch urn arrived at Lord's in 1929 and went on display in the Long Room. It was moved to the museum when that opened in 1953. It has rarely moved from Lord's, but in 2006/07 was displayed in six Australian cities during a unique 14- week exhibition tour. The Ashes Urn, which was never intended as a trophy, is extremely fragile. Recognising the need for a trophy for the series MCC in 1998 commissioned a magnificent Waterford Crystal Trophy for the 1998-99 Ashes Series. Up until the summer of 2009 only one England Captain - Michael Vaughan of Yorkshire - has had the honour of lifting the trophy, during the never-to-be-forgotten English summer of 2005.
The Isle of Man Cricket Club was formed in April 1930 to foster the interests of cricket on the Island and assist existing clubs - Ramsey, Fencibles and Castletown. In July 2004 the Isle of Man Cricket Association was elected as the 90th member of the International Cricket Council (ICC) and in 2005 competed in a European Championship for the first time. Each year the MCC sends a touring side to the Island to play against King William's College, and a fixture against the Island senior side is always included.
Cricket and stamp collecting is a winning combination and this topical Ashes 2009 miniature sheet will appeal to stamp collectors and cricket enthusiast alike. It will certainly rekindle vivid memories of great cricket matches in past years. Non-collectors stumped for new ideas could do no better than open a new innings: "Cricket and Stamps".
Cricket used to be a quintessentially English game played by gentlemen. But no more. In recent years television has brought cricket to many of the countries listed in the Stanley Gibbons Commonwealth Catalogue and all the countries which are members of the ICC (International Cricket Council) – founded on June 15 1909.
Stanley Gibbons Catalogue Editor, Hugh Jefferies, confirmed to The Times: "The Isle of Man Post cricket miniature sheet will be listed in the 2010 Stanley Gibbons stamp catalogues because it is on sale at post offices at £3, the face value of the three postage stamps." Mr Jefferies added: "The three £1 stamps will not be listed separately because they are not available as singe stamps but only as a miniature sheet."
If England win, in what is likely to be a closely fought home Ashes series this summer, Royal Mail will have an opportunity to issue a miniature sheet to complement the "The Ashes England Winners 2005" released on October 6 2005. Stamp collectors and non collectors alike will eagerly anticipate the Isle of Man "England v Australia 2009" miniature sheet re-issued with the memorable overprint "ENGLAND WINNERS". Cricket, Lovely Cricket!
Date of Issue: 29th June 2009
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