Introduction

Season 14, Episode 11: Go back 20 years, and Irish cricket was considered a contradiction in terms. Now Ireland is one of the game's success stories, rising to Full Member status and trying to grow in all directions. Lucky then that Andy Balbirnie isn't afraid of hard work. Since taking over as men's captain in 2019 he has had plenty of it, needing to combine being a batting lynchpin with being a strategist, motivator, statesman and advocate, and keeping an eye firmly fixed on how things can improve in the future. During the final series of Ireland's World Cup qualifying stage, he tells his story with The Final Word.

Support the show with a Nerd Pledge at patreon.com/thefinalword

Find previous episodes at finalwordcricket.com

Help our Edinburgh Marathon runners raise funds for the Lord's Taverners at bit.ly/eddiemarathon, or learn about other Tavs projects with bit.ly/tavssignup.

Title track by Urthboy

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices