With the Ashes likely to offer most of the cricketing warmth over the next few months, it’s worth remembering (in case it comes up in a pub quiz) that England and Australia have been playing cricket against one another since 1877, but it wasn’t until the 1882/83 tour that the series became known as The Ashes. There’s also a fair amount of uncertainty about whether the mighty urn is actually the container that was presented in 1883 and, for that matter, whether it contains the ashes of a burnt bail, a scorched stump, a cremated cricket ball or, weirdly, the charred remains of one of the player’s future mother-in-law’s veil. Do we really want the answer, or is it better to leave it ambiguous…?

Anyhow, the winners of the November Double Century draw are:

• £90 Peter Chapman (37)
• £45 David Sidwell (52)
• £30 Mark Avery (90)
• £15  David Doyle (95)

If you'd like to join the Double Century Club and support the Tring Park Cricket Club, pick up an entry form behind the bar.

Each share costs £52 per year or £13 per quarter, which works out as a mere £4.25 per month. You can buy as many shares as you like, with half of the money that you put in going directly to the club and the other half into the prize fund for the monthly draw.