It’s more than just a sporting contest. It’s the pride of two nations, where victory couldn’t be sweeter, but defeat is the bitterest taste of all. It’s a rivalry that transcends sport and creates true heroes and villains. This is Legends of the Ashes, hosted by lifelong cricket fan and current Marylebone Cricket Club President, Stephen Fry.
This podcast series will delve deep into the stories that make the England versus Australia rivalry one of the greatest there is. Relive incredible matches and history-altering moments with new, revealing insights from cricketing royalty including Lord Botham, Sir Andrew Strauss, Michael Vaughan, Glenn McGrath, Justin Langer and modern-day heroes such as James Anderson, Stuart Broad and Steve Smith.
Legends of the Ashes is written by ‘The Analyst’ Simon Hughes and produced in collaboration with Goalhanger Podcasts.
Introducing your new F1 podcast: Up To Speed - Up To Speed
We've got a new podcast we think you'll love.
Step inside sport’s greatest soap opera, Formula One, with a brand-new podcast Up To Speed. Hosted by Drive to Survive star Will Buxton, racing driver-turned-broadcaster Naomi Schiff, 13-time Grand Prix winner David Coulthard, and F1 content creator Jolie Sharpe.
Expect razor-sharp reaction, behind-the-scenes insight, blockbuster interviews and answers to the questions you’ve always wanted to ask! With their deep knowledge, expert analysis and infectious love for racing, Will, Naomi, DC & Jolie dive into the stories that matter - on and off the track.
It’s fast-paced, unfiltered and full of the gossip that keeps the paddock buzzing.
They’ll react to the weekend's race drama every Monday. On Thursday they’ll deep dive into the biggest stories of the week.
Watch and listen to episode 1 now Global Player, YouTube and wherever you get your podcasts.
12 Nov 2025
How did a 'rebel circus' transform The Ashes? - How It All Played Out
In the last episode of Season 2, as we gear up for the Ashes, Mark Pougatch and Paul Hayward bring you the story of Australian media magnate Kerry Packer, who all the current players should be thanking.
Packer turned the gentile game of Test cricket upside down as he signed the captains of England, Australia and the West Indies to what some called his 'rebel circus'.
For two years at the end of the 1970s, the traditional world of white flannels, red balls and polite applause collided with coloured clothing, floodlights, music and marketing - cricket was never quite the same again.
So how did Packer lure the best cricketers in the world? And how much of what we see today can directly be traced back to the drive, ambition and vanity of one Sydney businessman?
We hope you've enjoyed Season 2 of How It All Played Out. While we take a short break you can check out all our past episodes on Global Player or wherever you get your podcasts.
Remember to follow or subscribe, and give us a 5 star review too!
We'd love to hear from you! Email us: howitallplayedout@global.com
Get in touch on socials: @playedoutpod
Executive Producer: Adonis Pratsides
Producer: Sophie Penney
Video Producer: Sam Trudgill
Social Media Editor: Calum Scotland
Head of Podcasts: Factual: Al Riddell
Director of Podcasts: Vicky Etchells
12 Mar 2024
53 Minutes: Kicking Off 19th March - 53 Minutes
Ali Dia - it's a name synonymous with footballing failure. How did a below average footballer find his way onto the sport's most elite stage, the Premier League?
Josh Widdicombe and Dara Ó Briain preview their new 6-part podcast series, in which they unearth the weird and wonderful truth behind the biggest mystery in football history.
The series kicks off on Tuesday 19th March.
27 Feb 2024
The Sports Agents: The Trailer - The Sports Agents
Welcome to The Sports Agents, a twice-weekly podcast hosted by two of the UK's top sports broadcasters, Gabby Logan and Mark Chapman.
With new episodes available every Tuesday and Thursday, starting 5th March.
15 Jun 2023
10. Summer of Stokes
In the summer of 2019 England hosted the Cricket World Cup and the Ashes. 48 one-day internationals and six Tests in 14 crazy weeks, it was the stuff of dreams for all cricket lovers. And every dream needs a hero. Step forward Benjamin Andrew Stokes.
After his heroics in that chaotic World Cup final, things looked to be taking a turn for the worse when Australia were about to go 2-0 up in the Ashes at Headingley. But Stokes bowled his heart out to stop the Aussies obliterating England and then played one of the greatest ever Test match innings with the bat to see his side home by one wicket.
Stuart Broad reveals what was going on in the England dressing room as that incredible innings unfolded and why Ben Stokes’ leadership and personality were so vital.
Australia’s coach Justin Langer and star player Steve Smith as they recall the feeling of the game slipping away from them. And Ian Botham gives us his verdict on the man that may well turn out to be “the next Botham”.
15 Jun 2023
9. The Perfect Pair
Many Ashes series have been won by pairs of great bowlers. In this episode, the most potent combinations – from Lillee and Thompson, Botham and Willis, Warne and McGrath to the most recent deadly duo, Anderson and Broad.
James Anderson and Stuart Broad explain how they work together to methodically analyse conditions and opponents and recognise when they need to do the heavy lifting and cover for their mate.
Glenn McGrath and Shane Warne discus the importance of building pressure as a pair and how they would come together to strangle the opposition.
Ian Chappell also gives a telling insight into managing a pair of bowling aces, in his case Lillee and Thompson. He reveals how he first had to get them to stop competing with each other in order to get the best from them.
15 Jun 2023
8. English Conquerors
England planned their 2010/11 campaign in Australia, where they had not won a series for 25 years, with military precision.
The strategy of captain Andrew Strauss and coach Andy Flower was based on patience, stamina, consistency and making mountains of runs.
The Ashes were sealed at the Melbourne Cricket Ground when England bowled Australia out for 98 on Boxing Day in front of 90,000 Australians.
Key participants Andrew Strauss and Graeme Swann explain how it was done and why it had nothing to do with a military-style bootcamp in a German forest shortly before the series started.
We also learn how the team’s signature celebration, the 'sprinkler dance' was born on the dance floor of an Australian nightclub.
15 Jun 2023
7. Australian Bullies
Australia reinvented the game in the late 1990’s with three aggressive opening batsmen: Matthew Hayden, Michael Slater and Justin Langer.
To compound England’s woes, they were followed by greats Ricky Ponting, Steve Waugh and adding the coup de grace – Adam Gilchrist, wielding his bat like a Samurai sword.
They intimidated England’s attack, sending them into submission, then Warne and McGrath cleaned up the batsmen. England barely won a match in six series.
Langer and Gilchrist take us inside the Australian dressing room and explain how the ethos they created led to such domination.
England’s Michael Vaughan reveals how intimidating it was to line-up against this 'invincible' side and how he eventually managed to fight back.
15 Jun 2023
6. The Ball of the Century
No-one has burst onto the Ashes scene as dramatically as Shane Warne did in 1993. With his first ever delivery in an Ashes contest he dramatically clean bowled Mike Gatting with a ball that turned and bounced ferociously.
It became simply known as “That Ball”. It transformed not just Ashes matches but the way spin was used worldwide.
The tales of Warne’s words and deeds are legion, and in this episode we reveal new insight into his impact and tricks with the people who had to unravel them, including Mike Gatting, Michael Atherton and Nasser Hussain. We also hear from those that had the pleasure of sharing a dressing room with him - Adam Gilchrist and Glenn McGrath.
15 Jun 2023
5. Botham’s Ashes
In 1981 Ian Botham became a national sporting hero.
From the depths of despair after being sacked as England captain, he fought back to lead a remarkable resurgence. All while playing some of the most scintillating cricket the game had ever seen.
In this episode you'll hear from the key protagonists of one of English crickets finest moments. Botham himself explains how he managed to transform his mindset after being unceremoniously stripped of the captaincy.
His replacement as captain, Mike Brearley, reveals how he used his training as a psychologist to recapture the best from Botham. Bob Willis takes us into that incredible game at Headingley, the turning point for the series, and England batsman Mike Gatting recalls how Botham found a cheeky way to rub salt in the wounds of the Australians - by commandeering their champagne.
15 Jun 2023
4. Bodyline II: The Rivalry Turns Nasty (Again)
The Australian batsman Vic Richardson played in the first Bodyline series and was terrorised by the English bowlers. His grandson was the gimlet-eyed Australian captain Ian Chappell. Having heard so many of his grandfather’s stories, he vowed revenge.
In 1974/5 he unleashed the marauding Dennis Lillee and the supersonic Jeff Thomson on England – the fastest, nastiest pair of bowlers in history. England were battered to a chastening defeat.
We hear from Ian Chappell as he explains the joy he took in exacting revenge for his grandfather whilst David Lloyd tells a hilarious story of being hit in the box and knocking the ‘dints’ out in the changing room before his next innings.
15 Jun 2023
3. Bodyline
The 1932/3 Ashes in Australia was one of the most volatile contests in sporting history.
This was down to the phenomenon that was Donald Bradman and England’s desperate attempts to stop him scoring masses of runs, something they were far too familiar with at that point.
The plan was a revenge mission called Leg Theory, which involved targeting Bradman’s body with quick, hostile bowling.
The brutal approach created bad blood between the sides, a near riot in Adelaide and even forced prime ministers to get involved just to keep the series going.
15 Jun 2023
2. Megastars
Four players have dominated Ashes series more than any others: Donald Bradman, Ian Botham, Shane Warne and Freddie Flintoff. In this episode, their immense impact, most dramatic moments and behind the scenes antics.
You'll hear how the phenomenon Bradman shunned his teammates and never socialised, quite the contrast to Botham who lured leading members of the opposition out for the night so they couldn’t perform the next day.
You'll also hear how Warne undermined opponents with brilliant one-liners and amazing deception, and how Flintoff embraced the title of talisman to be at his destructive best.
15 Jun 2023
1. The Greatest Series Ever Played
The 2005 Ashes is widely thought to be the greatest Test series in the history of the competition. It enthralled two nations and catapulted Andrew ‘Freddie’ Flintoff to icon status.
A titanic battle between bat and ball, featuring one of the closest ever test match finishes, it was the series that had it all and breathed life back into English cricket.
Its dramatic ebb and flow is retold by the likes of Michael Vaughan, Adam Gilchrist, Glenn McGrath, Justin Langer and Andrew Strauss. Narrated by lifelong cricket fan and current Marylebone Cricket Club President, Stephen Fry.
9 Jun 2023
Legends of the Ashes - Trailer
It’s more than just a sporting contest. It’s the pride of two nations, where victory couldn’t be sweeter, but defeat is the bitterest taste of all. It’s a rivalry that transcends sport and creates true heroes and villains. This is Legends of the Ashes, hosted by lifelong cricket fan and current Marylebone Cricket Club President, Stephen Fry.
Over 10 episodes, this podcast series will delve deep into the stories that make the England versus Australia rivalry one of the greatest there is. Relive incredible matches and history-altering moments with new, revealing insights from cricketing royalty including Lord Botham, Sir Andrew Strauss, Michael Vaughan, Glenn McGrath, Justin Langer and modern-day heroes such as James Anderson, Stuart Broad and Steve Smith.
All episodes available now.
You can listen on Global Player. Download it from the App store or search for ‘Legends of the Ashes’ at globalplayer.com
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