Ashes miscellany: all you need to know

England's wig-wearing Joe Root found himself in a bit of late-night bother with Australia's David Warner. Photograph: Paul Childs/Action Images

¦ Tests Eng 102 Aus 133 Drawn 91

¦ Ashes series Eng 30 Aus 31 Drawn 5

¦ Unofficially: Nominal ownership of a Lord's-based six-inch terracotta urn that may or may not contain the ashes of a bail burned in Australia in 1882. ¦ Officially: a 16-inch Waterford Crystal urn. ¦ Also: Anglo-Australian bragging rights until the start of the next series (which on this occasion is after a non-whopping 89 days)

¦ Scrapping: Australia's David Warner punched wig-wearing Joe Root at Birmingham's Walkabout bar last month. He has now served his suspension.

¦ Trumpets: Billy the Trumpet is set to be banned from playing at Trent Bridge, a situation described by Kevin Pietersen as a "disgrace". Matt Prior has made it clear the team want to hear trumpeter Billy Cooper during Tests. What we'll miss: Convict Colony (to the tune of Yellow Submarine), Swann Will Tear You Apart (Love Will Tear Us Apart), the Neighbours theme tune.

¦ Tampergate: Bob Willis suggested during the Champions Trophy that England were manipulating the ball to facilitate reverse swing. The claims were angrily denied.

¦ The venue: cricket was first played on an area of ground behind the Trent Bridge Inn in 1838. The pavilion was built in 1886. The rather unsightly tower block at the Radcliffe Road End contains council offices. The airship shot will show the actual Trent bridge, the City Ground, home of Nottingham Forest, and further away Meadow Lane, home of Notts County.

¦ Ground overview:

Eng in Tests Won 36 Lost 36 Drawn 21

Eng v Aus Eng 4 Aus 7 Drawn 9

¦ Winners of toss in past 10 Tests:

Batted first Won 4 Lost 2 Drawn 1

Bowled first Won 1 Lost 2

Ten of the 13 players picked for the first Test on Saturday were born in England, three in South Africa. The players hail from: Gloucester (Cook), Sheffield (Root), Cape Town (Trott), Pietermaritzburg (Pietersen), Coventry (Bell), Bradford (Bairstow), Johannesburg (Prior), Nottingham (Broad), Burnley (Anderson), Northampton (Swann), Pontefract (Bresnan), Watford (Finn), Gateshead (Onions). Calculating the average birthplace latitude and longitude of the English-born players, the spiritual home of this team is the Derbyshire village of Fritchley – halfway between Derby and Chesterfield

England's top Test wicket-takers

Tests Wickets

Ian Botham 102 383

Bob Willis 90 325

Fred Trueman 67 307

Jimmy Anderson 82 307

Derek Underwood 86 297

Brian Statham 70 252

Matthew Hoggard 67 248

Coach Andy Flower Fielding coach Richard Halsall Batting coach Graham Gooch Bowling coach David Saker Spin bowling coach Mushtaq Ahmed

England have won seven Ashes Tests since 2005. The winning margins have improved in each series. ¦ 2005 – tight: two runs (Edgbaston), three wickets (Trent Bridge); ¦ 2009 – comfortable: 115 runs (Lord's), 197 runs (Oval); ¦ 2010-11 – thrashings: inns & 71 (Adelaide), inns & 157 (Melbourne), inns & 83 (Sydney). What does this mean for 2013? (NB: for all the happy English memories, Australia have won eight Ashes Tests over the same period)

Eng 1-3 Aus 4-1 Drawn 6-1 (William Hill)

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