Ashes urn and Paul Bunyan Axe - the 13 weirdest trophies in sport – in pictures

Check out our list of the most unconventional pieces of silverware being hand out to winners across various sports

You are looking at a tiny urn being held by captain Steve Smith, left, and vice-captain David Warner after Australia beat England in a five-match cricket Test series in 2017. It is a replica of the actual urn which supposedly holds the ashes of a burnt cricket bail, which was presented to England captain Ivo Bligh as a personal gift after a friendly match during the 1882/83 tour in Australia. The replica is handed to the winner of this Test series usually held every two years between the game's traditional rivals. Getty Images

The Ashes is not the only unconventional-looking trophy given out in cricket. The Warne-Muralitharan Trophy, named after former Australia leg-spinner Shane Warne and former Sri Lanka off-spinner Muttiah Muralitharan (and hence the sculptures of two hands giving the cricket ball a good rip), is presented to the winner of a Test series between these two teams. AFP

Closer to home, the winner of the annual Dubai Desert Classic golf tournament gets to pose with the 'Dallah', which means coffee pot in Arabic. This makes sense as the Arabia coffee is a staple drink in these parts. Bryson Dechambeau is the current owner of the Dallah, having won the title in 2019. AFP

The Castello Masters, which was an European Tour golf tournament played annually between 2008 and 2011in Spain, dished out a strange-looking figurine giving the 'thumbs up'. Getty Images

The trophy given out at the Manulife LPGA Classic, held every year in Ontario, Canada, in an odd one because it looks like an Easter egg. Getty Images

Coming back to the UAE, the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships trophy is a lovely piece of silverware in the shape of a boat (after all, Dubai is a port city so this makes perfect sense). It is currently in Roger Federer's possession after the former world No 1 won his 100th career title in the emirate this year. EPA

Sticking with tennis, what you see in Simona Halep's hands is the Madrid Open trophy. It is in the shape of a staff with small racquets coming out of the it and which includes names of some of the greats to have graced the game, including Roger Federer and Serena Williams. Getty Images

The Hamburg Open gave out a very strange-looking trophy this year. Getty Images

The Stanley Cup, given to the winners of the North American ice hockey league champions, has to be one of the biggest trophies across sport. Hockey players are known to be a tough lot, and they also look big and strong enough to be able to hold that beast of a trophy up high (unless it's adrenaline). Reuters

The Commissioner's Trophy, given to the annual World Series Baseball champions, is peculiar-looking in that it contains flags representing each team in North America's top two leagues - the National League and the American League. Getty Images

If you are a Nascar driver competing in the Nascar Cup Series and you win the race at the Martinsville Speedway, you are probably going to need a big house. Because the winner ends up getting the 'Grandfather Clock' trophy, which is a prize that has been around for more than six decades. Wins elsewhere in this circuit can earn you all kinds of trophies - from live lobsters to gladiator swords. But the Grandfather Clock has to be special. AFP

If you think some of the trophies already listed in this photo gallery can cause physical harm, take a look at the Paul Bunyan Axe trophy. Yes, it is in the shape of an axe and given to the winners of the college football fixture between arch-rivals, the Wisconsin Badgers and the Minnesota Golden Gophers. Handed out for the first time in 1948 before it became a tradition, the axe is named after a giant lumberback in American folklore named Paul Bunyan. At the end of the game, if the team already holding the trophy won, they would run to their own sideline, take the axe and carry it around the field and 'chop down' one or both goal posts. If the team not holding the axe won, they could run to their opponents' sideline and 'steal' the axe. AFP

The Golden Slipper Stakes is a prestigious Group 1 turf race for two-year-old thoroughbreds run over 1,200 metres and held in Sydney. Which makes it a bit strange for the winner to receive the Golden Slipper for a trophy. Getty Images

The 71st edition of the historic 'Ashes' cricket series is upon us as England host reigning champions Australia during the course of the next two months for the right to hold aloft a very tiny urn.

Neither England captain Joe Root not Tim Paine, his Australian counterpart, need any enlightenment on the significance of a series whose history dates all the way back to the late 1800s. But those of you not tuned into cricket but, nonetheless, have a passing fancy are likely to have some fun reading about its history and why it is such a big deal for players from both of these countries to hold a trophy that is all of 11 centimetres in height.

Granted, the urn is a very peculiar trophy to hand out. But as you will discover from this photo gallery we have put together for you, there are plenty other prizes across sports that are both weird and wonderful to look at.

To check out 14 of the most unconventional trophies, browse through the photo gallery above.