#TheUrnReturns to Australia

By
Sunday, 5 January 2014

Who would have thought that Australia would have won the #Ashes 5-0 at the start of the summer? Neither teams @CricketAUS or @ECB_cricket would have imagined Australian Captain @MClarke23 tweeting this after just the third test:

While the Aussies dominated the English on the field, there was another battle brewing on Twitter, with millions of people from around the world enjoying ‘Only on Twitter’ #Ashes moments between players, pundits, officials, celebrities and cricket-loving fans.

Records broken

On the day Australia won the first test, Twitter users in Australia recorded our highest-ever day for active users, with Australian’s taking to Twitter to celebrate the win in record numbers:

Man of the match, Australian fast bowler @MitchJohnson398, shared his joy with a simple tweet:

Comedian @Wil_Anderson perhaps summed up the thoughts of the nation with his praise for match-winning Mitch and his magnificant mo:

These record numbers were achieved thanks to the support of the host broadcasters @wwos9, @CricketAUS and @ABCGrandstand and their innovative use of Twitter.

@CricketAUS covered the series with an amazing range of exclusive content including photos and video, including some behind-the-scenes access only on Twitter:

First, they announced the initial squad exclusively on Twitter (one which astoundingly remained the same throughout the series!):

And also broke their record for most-retweeted Tweet ever, as the Aussies claimed the series on December 17:

The #Ashes series also saw the first use of our Lead Generation Card by an Australian sporting body, with @CricketAUS celebrating @MClarke23’s 100th Test:

…by collecting fan Twitter handles to #CongratsPup:

More than 4.8 million #Ashes-related tweets were sent during the five test series, peaking on November 21 (the first day of the first test) with over 310,000 tweets. The official #Ashes hashtag was the most frequently used hashtag, with over 1.1 million mentions throughout the summer.

While they were defeated on the field, @ECB_Cricket never missed a beat, providing an array of content for UK fans on tour in Australia, and those at home following all the action in the very early hours of a particularly cold English winter.

The @ECB_Cricket#TwelfieSelfie photo competition also ensured that fans at home felt part of the action and provided some classic images of English fans watching the series from afar:

The best of @ECB_Cricket

The series also saw the retirement of English spinner @Swannyg66, who had become a must-follow on Twitter thanks to his sense of humour and behind the scenes photos:

@CricketAUS celebrate each Test victory in style on Twitter

English players, pundits and fans turn to Twitter to lick their wounds

Australian players and fans celebrated on Twitter throughout the series

One of the most talked-about moments of the #Ashes series did not actually take place on the field of battle. Well-known cricket tragic and TV host @PiersMorgan started it all with a single tweet:

After which he was inundated with replies from nearly 4 million followers, challenging him to do better. @WWOS9 and @BrettLee_58 saw the Tweet and set out to ensure he regretted his words. This is how it unfolded on Twitter:

#TearsForPiers

No worries, though. It all resolved itself off-Twitter during the @WWOS9 broadcast:

To sum it up perfectly, we will leave the final few tweets to former England captain @MichaelVaughan:

Our Prime Minister @TonyAbbottMHR:

And the sweetest of all tweets to end the series from @CricketAUS: