The origins of the Women's Ashes have their own unique story steeped in the history of the game, while also paying tribute to the men's event. In 1998, the Women's Cricket Association was integrated into the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB), aligning both its men's and women's cricket teams under one governing body. To honour the ground-breaking alignment, which came 54 years after England and Australia first played a Test series, the ECB and Cricket Australia, held a ceremony in the Harris Garden inside Lord’s. There, a bat signed by the two competing teams, a copy of the Women’s Cricket Association (WCA) constitution and the rules book were burnt, with the ashes of the items sealed in a 300-year-old yew tree trophy. The leaders of the ceremony were England captain Karen Smithies, outgoing WCA president Norma Izard, MCC Secretary Roger Knight and Australia captain Belinda Clark. The trophy design was redeveloped in 2013 with the original trophy mounted in the centre of a larger frame. Alyssa Healy with the Women's Ashes trophy after the 2023 series in England // Getty The Peden-Archdale Medal The Peden-Archdale Medal is presented to the player of the series for the women's Ashes, honouring the inaugural captains of the first Test between the two nations, Australia's Margaret Peden and her English rival Betty Archdale. The medal was actually inaugurated in the 1999-2000 summer for a four-match ODI series, which was not part of the Women's Ashes contests. The following year it was presented to Australia allrounder Karen Rolton after her world-record score of 209 not out in the second Test at Headingley. Peden Archdale Medal winners 1999-2000: Charmaine Mason (Australia. Not an Ashes series) 2001: Karen Rolton (Australia) 2002-03: Cathryn Fitzpatrick (Australia) 2005: Katherine Brunt (England) 2007-08: Isa Guha (England) 2009: Jodie Fields (Australia) 2010-11: Rene Farrell (Australia) 2013: Heather Knight (England) 2013-14: Ellyse Perry (Australia) 2015: Ellyse Perry (Australia) 2017-18: Heather Knight (England) 2019: Ellyse Perry (Australia) 2021-22: Tahlia McGrath (Australia) 2023: Ashleigh Gardner (Australia) Tahlia McGrath with her Peden-Archdale Medal // cricket.com.au
