After the tumultuous Bodyline series, Australia toured England in 1934 and 1938. The technology of the day wasn't up to live direct broadcasts from the other side of the world, so a different method of bringing cricket to Australian audiences was developed. Make believe was involved!

Cables were sent from the match venue on the other side of the world to the ABC. From this brief information, commentators in the Sydney studio elaborated a description of the play. They added their own sound effects of the ball being hit, and crowd noise was played off a gramophone recording.

It was ingenious but what did listeners at the time think they were hearing? Did they know it was largely made up?