5 cricketers you didn't know played the Ashes 

From a satirical obituary to one of the most hotly contested events in world cricket, the Ashes, more than just an 11-cm urn, is a brewing rivalry that has failed to lose its sheen over the last 130 years. The England-Australia battle has seen a variety of players from different walks of life take the field for the ultimate glory.

A few of them, however, have been unusual names. Here are five of them:

Special mention: The great poet, Lord Alfred Tennyson's grandson Lionel, the 3rd Baron of Tennyson, captained the English side during the 1921 Ashes, playing four of his nine Tests against Australia.

#5 Kepler Wessels

The man who led the ‘new South Africa’ during their memorable series against India at home in 1992, after their long-standing fight against apartheid, is one of the few players to represent two cricketing nations, and the first cricketer to play ODIs for two countries.

Exactly a decade before he played his first game for the Proteas, Wessels had a blockbuster debut for Australia, scoring a sublime 162 in his very first Test at Brisbane, following it up with handy 40s and 50s in the four-Test series, the first Ashes that he played.

He backed it up with another series against England, in 1985, where he got starts but couldn’t post a three-digit score in six games.

#4 KS Ranjitsinhji

KS Ranjitsinhji scored 175 on his Ashes debut

The ruler of Nawanagar, ‘Maharaja Jam Saheb’, and the ‘Midsummer night’s dream of cricket’, Ranjitsinhji was one of the greatest batsmen of all time, and the inventor of the unassuming leg-glance. A move to London to study at Cambridge University introduced the Kathiawar-born to the game of cricket, and he did not look back.

He played only 15 Tests, starting with the 1897-98 Ashes, where he made a cracking debut, scoring 175 in the first Test at Sydney, that remained his only century in Test cricket. He bowed out with the Manchester Test in 1902, and is one of the few cricketers born in India to have played the Ashes.

His nephew, Duleepsinhji, followed suit, and fared better at the Test level, despite playing fewer Tests than Ranji. He featured against Australia in the 1930 Ashes, and much like his uncle, scored a fluent 173 on debut.

A century later, Indian cricket remembers them through the Ranji and Duleep Trophy, two of the country's premier domestic tournaments.

#3 Nawab of Pataudi Sr

Nawab of Pataudi Sr is the only cricketer to play for India and England

The only cricketer to have played Tests for both India and England, Iftikhar Ali Khan Pataudi, the father of Mansoor Ali Khan Pataudi and the grandfather of Bollywood actors Saif Ali Khan and Soha Ali Khan, was a part of the 1932-33 Bodyline Ashes.

While studying at Balliol College in Oxford, he picked up the nuances of the game from MG Slater and Frank Woolley, and went on to represent England in three Tests. On his debut, he scored 102 against Australia at Sydney, against the Bill Woodfull led side.

The Nawab went on to play only five more Tests, but his son, MAK Pataudi, became one of India’s most celebrated cricketers, and went on to play 46 Tests for his country.

#2 Boyd Rankin

Boyd Rankin has played just one Test till now

Boyd Rankin has, till date, played 73 international games, including two World Cups for Ireland (2007 and 2011), two World T20s (2009 and 2012) and the 2014 Ashes for England. A strappy new-ball bowler, Rankin moved from Ireland, his place of birth, to experience greener pastures in England in 2012. He was rewarded with a spot in the 2014 Ashes, but managed to play just one game.

He later conceded that he had played the game despite an injury, picking up the solitary wicket of Peter Siddle in the fifth game at Sydney. He was later chosen for the tour of South Africa, which meant that he missed out on a chance to play for the Irish in the 2015 World Cup. He later shifted allegiance back to Ireland, and played for them during their unsuccessful World T20 qualifier campaign in 2016.

#1 Johnny Douglas

Johnny Douglas was also an Olympic champio

Johnny Douglas can be remembered for a number of things: being England’s captain both pre and post the first World War, as the Wisden Cricketer of the Year in 1915, or perhaps, best as a gold medalist at the 1908 Olympic Games.

In between, he played the Ashes, and even led his side to a victory in the 1911-12 series, fully utilising the wicket-taking exploits of Sydney Barnes, whilst himself picking up a total of 45 wickets from 23 Ashes games.

Built like a bull, Douglas is credited for being perhaps the fittest player of his time, and served in the Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire Regiment during the First World War.

His end came when two ships collided close to Denmark in 1930, drowning at sea in an attempt to save his father who was also an esteemed boxer.