An Ashes Test match is scheduled for five days, with each day featuring approximately 90 overs of play. Matches can end earlier if a team wins before the full five days, or they can end in a draw if the full five days are completed without a winner. Play typically runs from 11:00 AM to 6:00 PM local time, with breaks for lunch and tea.

An Ashes series typically consists of five Test matches, played at different venues across England (in home series for England) or Australia (in home series for Australia). The team that wins the majority of the matches wins the series. If the series is drawn 2-2, the current holder retains the Ashes urn.

The Ashes urn is a tiny terracotta trophy, standing just 15 cm tall, that symbolizes the Ashes series. It contains the symbolic ashes of a cricket bail. The original urn is permanently displayed at the MCC Museum at Lord's Cricket Ground. The winning team is presented with a replica trophy.

Teams score runs by hitting the ball and running between the wickets, or by hitting boundaries (4 runs for ball reaching the boundary, 6 runs for clearing it without bouncing). The bowling team takes wickets by dismissing batsmen. The team with the most runs in their two innings wins the match.

The Ashes began in 1882 after Australia defeated England at The Oval. A mock obituary in the Sporting Times declared that "English cricket had died" and "the body will be cremated and the ashes taken to Australia." The subsequent tour to Australia was dubbed "the quest to regain the Ashes," creating one of sport's greatest rivalries.