Book excerpt: Don Bradman is the Eternal Flame of cricket. As the greatest batsman of them all, Bradman consumed bowlers like a firestorm. Such a fabled and long career cast an immense shadow over Bradman's peers and opponents alike. Their stories are gathered here to make up Bradman's Band, the cricket legends who played alongside or against him in the Test arena. Among them are Larwood, Miller, Compton, Hutton, Headley, Allen, O'Reilly, Mailey, and Kippax.Author Ashley Mallett skilfully rekindles the Bodyline Ashes conflict, and the great religious divide Down Under of the 1930s. His description of the vendettas and jealousies among Bradman's peers are fascinating reflections on the players and the game. Bringing us closer to home is a profile of what The Don describes as his "greatest partnership", his sixty-five-year marriage to Jessie Bradman.The is a fascinating story of the cricket legends in Bradman's Band.