History of The Ashes - DVD

Get set for 126 minutes of non stop coverage of the most famous competition in the cricketing World - The Ashes. Featuring footage from Movitetone news, British Pathe, the BBC and more recently Channel 4 and Sky, the DVD covers all the important events in the 123 year history. Presented by ex -England captain David Gower, footage begins in 1905 (the earliest on record) and ends with the 2002/3 England tour to Australia. Buy The DVD Now

The interface is simple, smart and easy to navigate; you have a choice of viewing decade by decade or playing the documentary in its entirety. Also provided is a bonus section, found in the main menu, it houses an interview with David Gower, exclusive to Green Umbrella, a Lord’s Taveners promo video and an in-depth look at the 2002/3 Ashes series held in Australia. The quality is astonishing given the age of the material, Green Umbrella have done a remarkable job re-mastering some of the earlier material, especially the pre war archive and the 1930’s era.

As with all decades, footage is a plenty. It's great to see the grounds in Australia and England in their "raw" state without the modern day stadiums. One of the great advantages of owning a DVD of this kind is to chart the growth of the grounds from the early 1900's to their current state in 2003. One could imagine that the game was being played on a local park on some grounds; such is the lack of development - that is until you see the thousands of spectators clambering at the boundary's edge watching every delivery with anticipation.

Apart from making an appointment or a visit to the National Library to view rare footage from yester-year, how many cricket fans get the opportunity to watch Larwood in action, Benaud in the nets or Jardine commanding his troops in the Bodyline series? Very few would be the answer but with this collection, it has been made available to all.

It's amazing to think that the rare footage of the 1930's has been made available to the ordinary cricket lover in such good quality. The DVD relies heavily on British Movietone News for the earlier years, the transition to colour used in 1968 by the BBC is seamless.

An introduction on the Ashes is given by none other than John Arlott including the story of how the ashes and urn were created. The first footage available on film is of the 1905 Australian tourists, names such as Trumper, Noble, Darling and Clem Hill practising their fielding in Blazers! The batting is staged but does give a glimpse of the batting style. There is a limited amount of real Test action, quite remarkable considering it was played a century ago. Footage and history following the first World War is included as is early coverage of Jack Hobbs batting originally shown on newsreels of the time.

We move along quickly to the late 1920's and 1930's when Bradman began his reign as the number one batsman in the World, scoring a world record 334 at Headingley. The DVD includes plenty of Bradman both on and off the field including an after dinner speech at the Savoy and the 1948 Invincibles setting sail for England in 1948. Rare footage of the voyage on board the Straithard, Bradman laughing and exchanging hats with the captain, the voice over suggesting Bradman takes control of the ship! An on board cricket match is also shown including retired O'Reilly bowling to a passenger and Fingleton now a journalist covering the tour fielding at slip.

The DVD has some real gems including rare film footage of the leg side field set by Jardine in 1933, Oldfield and Woodfull hit during the Test matches, Hassett and Miller fighting over a stump at the conclusion of a test match at Lord's (they both fall over and play fight like children, superb stuff!), Botham's 1981 Ashes where he hit two amazing centuries and bagged a five wicket haul. Later footage in 1993 includes Shane Warne bowling Gatting with the ball of the century, something he almost repeated twice 12 years later at Lord's!

The DVD compilation is an invaluable resource and keep sake that no cricket fan should be without. It chronicles the history superbly giving the majority of fans of this generation their first opportunity to view such rare footage. Just think back to how the Australian's delivered live coverage to their radio listeners before live television coverage began. A cable would be sent with a description of the shot played from England and an operator in Australia would relay the details to the radio studio only for the announcer to give continued "live" commentary to the thousands listening at home, complete with pencil sound effects!

The way the game is played has changed too, the effects of modernisation all too evident as the DVD progresses through the decades. We see in the early years how batsmen congratulated the bowlers on achieving a particular milestone, even if that included loosing his wicket to the bowler! Interesting to note how the players interact with the fielders upon dismissal, the friendly banter certainly wouldn't exist in today’s modern day cricket, that is unless it was to challenge one’s heritage!

Highly recommened, the DVD is one of its kind on the market today, offering a rare glimpse into Test cricket from the past. The footage is excellent and is a must for any cricketing buff out there. Don't miss out, grab your copy today.

The DVD is Published by Green Umbrella and priced £13.99

Back to Book Review Index

334notout.com blog: Deep Fine Leg - Latest Posts