The third episode of ‘Tales from The Oval’, presented by Tom Holland – host of The Rest is History - and Jon Surtees from Surrey CCC takes you inside the birth of the Ashes and incredible story of how international cricket was brought to the UK by The Oval.

Tom and Jon discuss Surrey's contribution to England's first ever tour of Australia; the extraordinary legacy of Charles Alcock – probably the most influential sports administrator of all time – and his vision to stage the first ever Test Match to be held in England, at The Oval, in 1880.

The podcast also tells the story of the historic Tests of 1880 and 1882, the Test that was so dramatic it ultimately created The Ashes – dwelling on some extraordinary parallels in cricketing history and truly laying out why The Oval is the most historically important cricket ground in the world.

Future episodes will be released every Wednesday, with episode 4 – coming on Wednesday June 12th – naming Tom and Jon’s choice for the greatest Surrey player of all time and telling their amazing story.

Twitter:

@surreycricket

@holland_tom

@JonnySurtees

Producer: Will Lewis
Executive Producers: Matt Thacker + Jon Surtees