Inside The Tour

Episode 1: The Ashes ’86/87 - The Wooden Spoon Series

English cricket is in a bad place and Australia isn’t faring much better. As they prepare to meet in the Ashes of 1986/87, cricket’s ultimate contest dating back to the 1800s, there are tongue-in-cheek suggestions this is the battle for test cricket’s ‘wooden spoon’. England had lost 5-0 to the West Indies on their previous tour, to India and New Zealand at home that summer, banned their best player and changed their captain. It’s hard to imagine worse preparation. Australia were also feeling the impact of retirements and rebel tours, draining their team of talent. Did Allan Border really want to be the captain? Do the selectors know what they’re doing? This is the story of two proud nations, in cricketing disarray…
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The inside story of the most triumphant tours in sporting history.

Season 2 returns this December as a box set, following the England cricket team on their astonishing 1986/87 series. A tour hugely significant for both nations – after this, England wouldn’t win the Ashes again for 18 years. The embarrassing defeat sent Allan Border’s Australia to rock bottom and yet, somehow, they recovered to become a cricket superpower. This is the story of that incredible journey, told by players from both teams plus host Mark Pougatch, who was a backpacking 18-year-old in Australia at the time. His diary brings to life an incredible story of unknown call-ups, unlikely heroes, and a result that shocked the sporting world.

In series 1, presenter Alastair Eykyn took us back to the legendary British and Irish Lions rugby tour in South Africa, 1997. With few giving them a chance, a disparate group of characters bonded into a band of brothers that upset the reigning world champions.

This is Inside The Tour – giving you the inside story, told by those who were there.