Australians will not get their hands on the Ashes

Australia may well win the Ashes this winter but Steve Waugh's side will not get their hands on them after plans for the little urn to be shipped "down under" were postponed on the advice of conservation experts.

Following talks between the Australian Cricket Board and the MCC it was planned that the urn, one of the most prestigious trophies in the sporting world, would be displayed in Melbourne and Sydney during the current Ashes series. But the plan was scuppered after experts concluded that the urn is too fragile to travel. They fear it will break if subjected to sudden, jarring movement. Changes in humidity and air pressure during the long trip south would also imperil the urn's safety.

Its fragility has been caused by the degeneration of the adhesive used to repair the urn at least 75 years ago. Now it will soon be removed from display at Lord's for further analysis and repair. This process will include an X-ray examination of the urn, to identify any other problems not clear to the naked eye.

It would have been the urn's second visit to the antipodes, but Australia yesterday had to settle for disappointment. James Sutherland, the chief executive officer of the ACB, said: "We wanted it to come out so it could at least be shown in the capital cities of Australia, so that as many Australian cricket fans as possible could get to see it at first hand."

Roger Knight, the MCC secretary and chief executive, said: "We had hoped to display the Ashes urn in Australia this winter. We are deeply disappointed that these plans have had to be put on hold. Once the work has been completed, and the current risk of breakage has ended, we hope it will prove possible for the urn to be displayed in Australia."

Where the Ashes should rest has been the subject of debate for years. The Australian captain, Steve Waugh, believes the urn should be passed to the side which holds them. "We would like to have a look at it because we have won it a few times," he said. "It would be great for cricket if it came out here; it would create a lot of interest because it is a special trophy."

Acknowledging the desire of the winning side to be presented with something at the end of each series, the MCC in 1998 commissioned a cut-glass trophy modelled on the Ashes urn. This trophy has been raised by the Australian captain in the last two of their six consecutive Ashes victories.

The term Ashes was first used after England lost to Australia – for the first time on home soil – at The Oval in 1882. The following day the Sporting Times carried a mock obituary of English cricket that ended with: "The body will be cremated and the ashes taken to Australia."

A few weeks later, an English team captained by the Hon Ivo Bligh (later Lord Darnley) set off for Australia with the popular objective of recovering the Ashes. England lost the first Test but went on to win the next two to clinch the series. At the third Test a group of Melbourne ladies (including Bligh's future wife) presented the England captain with a small urn supposedly containing the ashes of a bail used in the game.

Since then there has been much debate over the contents of the urn, which some contest are the ashes of a veil while others suggest it was a ball. After Lord Darnley's death the urn was presented to the MCC, whose property they have remained since.