CRICKET:Ian Botham and Allan Border have joined British entrepreneur Richard Branson in calling for the Ashes urn to remain in Australia but MCC officials have played a straight bat to their appeal.

The MCC said the little brown pot which symbolises 124 years of Test cricket between the sport's oldest rivals would return to London even though Australia had won back the title it surrendered in 2005.

"The urn was never intended to be the trophy for the cricket series, and has never changed hands between the two countries," the MCC said.

The tiny Ashes urn has been on display in Australia since last month.