The Ashes dates back to 1882 when it was first played in Australia. It is generally played biennially and has varied in length, ranging from one to seven Test matches. Since 1998 there have been consistently five Test matches in the series. Cricketing greats from both the countries have made some of the highest appearances in Ashes.
Most Appearances by a Player in Ashes :
| Span | Player | Matches | Runs | Wickets | Team |
| 1890-1912 | Syd Gregory | 52 | 2193 | 0 | Australia |
| 1986-2003 | Steve Waugh | 45 | 3173 | 19 | Australia |
| 1954-1975 | Colin Cowdrey | 43 | 2433 | 0 | England |
| 1902-1921 | Warwick Armstrong | 42 | 2172 | 74 | Australia |
| 1978-1993 | Allan Border | 42 | 3222 | 4 | Australia |
| 1896-1912 | Clem Hill | 41 | 2660 | - | Australia |
| 1908-1930 | Sir Jack Hobbs | 41 | 3636 | 0 | England |
| 1899-1926 | Wilfred Rhodes | 41 | 1706 | 109 | England |
| 1899-1912 | Victor Trumper | 40 | 2263 | 2 | Australia |
| 1975-1995 | Graham Gooch | 39 | 2436 | 6 | England |
Syd Gregory of Australia holds the record of most matches played in Ashes by a player. In the span of 1890 to 1912 he played a total of 52 matches. Other than him, highest ashes matches played by a player list has famous names like Steve Waugh, Allan Border and GA Gooch.
Most Matches Played as Captain in Ashes :
| Captain | Team | Matches | Won | Lost | Draw |
| Allan Border | Australia | 28 | 13 | 6 | 9 |
| Archie MacLaren | England | 22 | 4 | 11 | 7 |
| Don Bradman | Australia | 19 | 11 | 3 | 5 |
| Ricky Ponting | Australia | 19 | 8 | 6 | 5 |
| Joe Darling | Australia | 18 | 5 | 4 | 9 |
| Ian Chappell | Australia | 16 | 7 | 4 | 5 |
| Michael Clarke | Australia | 16 | 7 | 7 | 2 |
| Mark Taylor | Australia | 16 | 9 | 4 | 3 |
| Michael Atherton | England | 15 | 4 | 9 | 2 |
| Mike Brearley | England | 15 | 11 | 1 | 3 |
The record of highest matches played as captain in Ashes belongs to Allan Border. He played 28 times in the span of 1985-1993, which is the most matches played as captain in Ashes. He won 13 of these matches and lost six. Eight of them ended in a draw. He is also fifth on the Ashes most matches played by a player with 42 matches.
The Ashes most matches as captain list also includes players like AC MacLaren who is second on the list with 22 matches. Sir Don Bradman and Ricky Ponting, both captained their side 19 times in the Ashes.
