Episode 34: Beginnings, Bradman, Bodyline and Benaud (The Ashes, Part 2) - The Birth of a Rivalry.

"Media were never allowed into an Australian dressing room until I became skipper. I changed that and invited them in at the close of play each day, thereby confirming for many administrators they had appointed a madman as captain." - Australia captain and broadcasting legend Richie Benaud.

England have lost the first test, but rather than slide into familiar darkness and misery Jack and Ben instead go back into the early history of the Ashes to rediscover what it is that makes this contest so special, what makes them keep coming back even when the outcome feels like an inevitability.

It's a dive into the contests origins, an obituary notice and a quest by Ivo Bligh to regain what was lost. Into WG Grace and Billy Midwinter, whose careers intersected as teammates and opponents and, on one memorable occasion, as kidnapper and kidnappee. Into the greatest man to ever wield the willow in Sir Don Bradman, and how Douglas Jardine hatched a dastardly plan to stop him, and nearly set Anglo-Australian relations back a generation or two in the process. And into a man whose voice and passion for the game made him as beloved in England as in Australia - Richie Benaud.

Because through good and bad, the Ashes remain memorable, occasionally maddening, frequently controversial and - when all is said and done - utterly marvellous.

Intro Music: Bensound.com

License code: MZ7BOE03DMJ0CYB5

Artist: Benjamin Tissot