Christmas Sporting Dreams Trivia Quiz

Answer: The Ashes

The name The Ashes derives from a newspaper story that claimed that English cricket was dead (after a loss to Australia) and that the ashes had been sent to Australia. The next season an English cricketer supposedly said that he wanted England to "reclaim the ashes" and the legendary series was born. The sides have been quite evenly matched over the years, with the urn carrying The Ashes passing back and forth numerous times. What is actually inside the urn is uncertain, as various stories claim the contents to be the ashes of a stump, or a bail, or the casing of a cricket ball.

The Commissioner's Trophy is awarded to major league baseball's World Series victors. The Stanley Cup is contested each year in the National Hockey League, and the Davis Cup is an international tennis competition.

The photo shows two cricket bats.

Answer: Lawn bowls

The photo shows three jacks, of which only one would be used in competition. The jack is delivered first, after which players attempt to place their bowls closer to the jack than the bowls of their opponent(s). While hitting the jack is not a foul, it is not always desirable, as you might move it away from your own bowl and closer to your opponent's. Although often thought of as a sport for senior citizens, international bowls competitions cover all ages from under-25s to the aforementioned elders. The sport has been contested in the Commonwealth Games (and their predecessor Empire Games) since 1930.

Curling employs similar strategies, though played on ice with a target that does not move. Horseshoes involves throwing metal shoes at a post. Stoolball is a sport similar to cricket played in the south of England, largely in Sussex.

Answer: Wire wickets

At its most basic, croquet is a game played on one's lawn or other open area, and involves hitting your ball through a series of hoops (or wickets) in a prescribed order. The object is to complete the course and hit the peg (a wooden stick) at the end before your opponent does so. Mallets and balls are colour-coded so you know which belongs to whom. An international body exists, which governs play of a number of different variations of the sport and holds tournaments to determine world champions.

Answer: South Africa

Not only was the 2010 World Cup the first held in the African continent, it introduced the world to a new type of noisemaker - the vuvuzela! The noise created by the plastic horns was deafening and could be a distraction for onlookers, but did not stop the national team from Spain from defeating the Netherlands in the final.

Having once been a poor relative amongst major sports in North America, soccer has enjoyed a renewed interest since the USA hosted the World Cup in 1994, though it is unlikely to ever be as prominent there as it is in Europe and South America.

Answer: Hayley Wickenheiser

Along with teammates Jayna Hefford and Caroline Ouellette, Wickenheiser has received four gold medals for her work with the Canadian ladies' ice hockey team between 2002 and 2014. She also has a silver medal from the 1998 Olympics. She has been called the greatest female hockey player in the world, before her retirement in early 2017.

Soviet goalie Tretiak won Olympic gold three times, in 1972, 1976 and 1984. The great Mario Lemieux only had one Olympic gold to his name, from 2002 in Salt Lake City, while retired American Angela Ruggiero's only gold came in 1998 at Nagano.

Answer: Phil Taylor

If nothing else, darts has some great nicknames. Phil Taylor, from Stoke-on-Trent, England, was given the nickname "The Power" during the 1995 World Matchplay broadcast from Blackpool. Some regard him as the greatest of all darts players, with numerous championships and records to his name.

Spaniard Alcinas is "El Dartador" and Aussie Whitlock is "The Wizard". Irishman Shane O'Connor is "Maverick".

I personally enjoy watching a televised darts match, if only for the announcer's call of "One hundred and eighty!" whenever a player hits the three dart maximum.

Answer: Cue ball

One must tap the white cue ball with the cue, in the hope that it will hit the object ball and sink it into a pocket. Should this happen your turn will continue and you can line up a shot on the next ball you wish to sink. House rules can vary as to what happens should you fail to hit a ball, or sink the cue ball into a pocket.

One variation of pool that is fun to watch on television is 9-ball, which can be fast and furious. The Mosconi Cup was inaugurated in 1994, and pits teams from Europe against the best of the USA's pool players. Snooker players like Jimmy "Whirlwind" White and Steve Davis have been known to represent Europe effectively.

Answer: Ice

These are brushes used in curling, used to sweep the ice in front of a delivered stone as it makes its way towards the house, hopefully to settle closer to the central button than those of your opponents. Brushes don't make the same lovely thwack-thwack sound as the old-fashioned corn brooms, but they do the job without leaving debris on the ice.

The sound of curling has become the cry of "Hurry hard!" from your skip. After a few appearances as a demonstration sport, curling became an official part of the Winter Olympics in 1998.

Answer: Gold Glove

The Gold Glove for fielding excellence has been awarded since 1957, when one player from each position was voted the best in baseball. From 1958 separate American League and National League awards have been made for each position. In 2016 an award for a female softball player, in the National Pro Fastpitch League was announced, with A.J. Andrews of the Akron Racers becoming the first recipient. In 2007 an all-time Gold Glove team was named, including such players as Brooks Robinson, Willie Mays and Greg Maddux.

The Silver Slugger is a hitting award for each position, established in 1980. The Hank Aaron Award (est. 1999) goes to the player elected by fans and the media as the best hitter in each league. The Roberto Clemente Award, established in 1971, is given for sportsmanship, kindness and community involvement.

Answer: Fed Cup

Established in 1963, and known as the Federation Cup until 1995, the Fed Cup (now the Billie Jean King Cup) is the women's equivalent of the men's Davis Cup competition. The most successful nations have been the USA and Czechoslovakia/Czech Republic, with Australia not far behind.

The Ryder Cup is a golf competition between Europe and the United States, and the Grey Cup is the main prize for the annual champions of the Canadian Football League.