AUSTRALIAN Prime Minister John Howard says it is time for England to relinquish their grip on the Ashes urn.

"Given our sustained supremacy, it is not unreasonable to argue the urn should be on display in Australia," he told Sydney's Daily Telegraph newspaper.

"I ask our English friends to look at it this way: If the urn were to come to Australia, then they would have a much greater incentive to win it back."

The Ashes are currently housed at the Marylebone Cricket Club at Lord's in London.