THE Bishop of London, the Rt Revd Richard Chartres, has marked 16 July as a holy day in London, in memory of the three Studd brothers (right), whose family name is inscribed on the Ashes urn, writes Hattie Williams.

The Bishop added the cricketers Charles Thomas Studd, George Brown Studd, and Sir John Edward Kynaston Studd to the London Kalendar, a list of holy days for use in the diocese of London.

In a statement released on Thursday of last week, coinciding with the first day of the second Ashes test at Lord’s, the Bishop said: "The Studd brothers were great servants of two of this country’s most historic institutions: the Church, and the game of cricket. May their memory inspire England as they take on Australia this week at Lord’s."

Born in the 1800s, the Studd brothers were from a large cricketing and Evangelical family. All three captained Cambridge University and played for Middlesex, and one, Charles, competed for England in the test match that gave rise to the Ashes. He was in the losing side in the 1882 Oval match that prompted the Sporting Times mock obituary: "The body will be cremated and the Ashes taken to Australia."

Charles and his brother George were also members of the touring side that recovered the Ashes of 1882-83, during which the England captain was presented with the famous urn. They both went on to become missionaries in China, the United States, and the Congo. Sir John became president of the Marylebone Cricket Club.