The Final Word Cricket Podcast

Season 8, Ep 25: That is the sound of inevitability. No matter who didn't believe it, James Anderson's march did not stop towards the mark that only three spinners had achieved before, 600 wickets in Tests. The Final Word this weeks looks at his work on the last day of the Pakistan-England series, as well as others like Azhar, Buttler, Crawley, Babar and Rizwan. The Australian men take the first ever chartered flight from Perth to Derby direct, the Australian women prepare for New Zealand, the Australian schedule remains a game of Guess Who, the West Indies women fill the breach in England, and Ricky Ponting goes toe to toe with the Patron Saint of The Final Word, Ravi Ashwin. Righteousness will prevail. Your Nerd Pledge numbers this episode: 1.24 – Jesse G. 2.57 – Adam Hewitt & Julian Campbell. 4.69 – Rohit Ramesh. Send us a Nerd Pledge at patreon.com/thefinalword     Find previous episodes at finalwordcricket.com Check out CBUS Super at cbussuper.com.au  Get your Wisden Cricket Monthly discount at bit.ly/wcmtfw The Final Word is produced by Jay Mueller on the Bad Producer Network Title track by Urthboy Support the show: https://patreon.com/thefinalword See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Story Time! This week let us take you through more tales of Ravi "Careless Whisper" Bopara, the human sax solo; some Sehwag madness, an Anzac connection; the 2005 end of Australian Ashes dominance for the women's teams; the least successful promotion to Test level; a reason to love the Gabba; and some excursions back to the Wills Trophy when India used to host every team that was available. Our encore interview is broadcaster Natalie Germanos in a wide-ranging conversation we had at Lord's in 2019 during the men's World Cup. Lots of revisits and correspondence, including our most special piece yet. Your Nerd Pledge numbers are: 3.19 – Gus Crouch. 8.71 – Daniel March. 4.06 – Basab Majumdar. 2.19 – Jack A & Harry Howard. 5.47 – Dan Walsh. 4.10 – Ben N. Send us a Nerd Pledge at patreon.com/thefinalword    
 Find previous episodes at finalwordcricket.com Check out CBUS Super at cbussuper.com.au  Help out the Lord’s Taverners isol8 campaign: www.lordstaverners.org The Final Word is produced by Jay Mueller on the Bad Producer Network 
Title track by Urthboy Support the show: https://patreon.com/thefinalword See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Season 8, Ep. 24: The great MSD has put the cue in the rack, for India at least. In the circumstances, there was nobody better to get back on the show than Bharat Sundaresan, author of The Dhoni Touch.  Earlier in the show, we got our light-meters out to measure the debate after a frustrating second Test between England and Pakistan at Southampton. That's where Australia's men are heading, their white-ball squad named during the week. Unfortunately the same can't be said for South Africa's women. We also return to the summer of 1894-95.  Your Nerd Pledge numbers this week:  6.14 - Jeremy Bourke 1.99 - John Leather and Cumbrian  4.75 - Cameron Manning  Send us a Nerd Pledge at patreon.com/thefinalword      Find previous episodes at finalwordcricket.com  Check out CBUS Super at cbussuper.com.au  Message from anywhere on earth with your ZOLEO, at zoleo.com The Final Word is produced by Jay Mueller on the Bad Producer Podcast Network  Title track by Urthboy    Support the show: https://patreon.com/thefinalword See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Hanif Mohammad! Brian Lara! We advance from 499 to 501 patrons and we couldn’t be happier. Your support has been quite outstanding. We celebrate in the usual way on Story Time with a long Nerd Pledge session. After that, we go back in time to Perth in December 2017 when we interviewed former England spinner, esteemed journalist and radio commentator Vic Marks. Appropriately so - he’s a man of stories.  Your Nerd Pledge numbers this week:  2.90 – Sam Littlejohn & Will Day  2.91 – Satchmo Distel & Dane Hanstead  4.40 – Michael Reichstein  7.35 – Gregory Wellman  3.11 – Brook Quinn  Send us a Nerd Pledge at patreon.com/thefinalword      Find previous episodes at finalwordcricket.com  Help out the Lord’s Taverners isol8 campaign: www.lordstaverners.org  The Final Word is produced by Jay Mueller on the Bad Producer Network  Title track by Urthboy      Support the show: https://patreon.com/thefinalword See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Season 8, Ep 23: Comebacks don’t get much more stylish. England's memorable turnaround in Manchester came when Woakes and Jos Buttler produced a partnership that will be long celebrated. Sleep deprived at both ends of the show, we run a half-closed eye over the Test that was, as well as Ireland’s one-day win over England just beforehand. The Women’s World Cup has been shunted back a year for reasons that don’t stack up. Time for a bit of Nerd Pledge, check in with Sachin, and remind you that months come in sets of twelve per year.  Your Nerd Pledge numbers this week:  6.43 – Sarah Berman  5.31 – Ryan Smith  2.26 – Elise Gane & Sam Ashworth  Send us a Nerd Pledge at patreon.com/thefinalword      Find previous episodes at finalwordcricket.com  Get your Wisden Cricket Monthly discount at bit.ly/wcmfinal  The Final Word is produced by Jay Mueller on the Bad Producer Podcast Network  Title track by Urthboy    Support the show: https://patreon.com/thefinalword See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

It's our new show! Or, same show, new name. STORY TIME will be the weekend wander through the weeds, where we get into some of the more obscure and less obscure corners of cricket history to find the stories therein. This weekend, boxers and communists who were not jazz saxophonists, what really happened on Adam's 21st birthday, more info on which cricketers have punched selectors, and plenty more. Our encore interview this week is with Barney Douglas, director of brilliant cricket documentary The Edge, which is on the BBC iPlayer right now if you want to watch it, and Felix White of the Maccabees who wrote the musical score. So much Nerd Pledge! Your numbers: 4.45 – Rory Denis & Jack Firth 3.71 – David Windram 1.81 – Peter Halton 6.79 – Anna Forsyth & Jono Baruch 1.35 – Owen Brasier & datGriffin Send us a Nerd Pledge at patreon.com/thefinalword     Find previous episodes at finalwordcricket.com  Help out the Lord’s Taverners isol8 campaign: www.lordstaverners.org The Final Word is produced by Jay Mueller on the Bad Producer Network Title track by Urthboy Support the show: https://patreon.com/thefinalword See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Season 8, Ep 22: As Ireland, one of cricket’s green machines, prepare to leave England, the other, Pakistan are ready to start their Test series at Old Trafford. We speak to Zainab Abbas, journalist and television presenter, about Azhar Ali’s men before looking at her own remarkable rise to fame in recent years. Earlier, we look at the comings and goings at both Cricket Australia and the WBBL while thinking ahead to the likely tour of England that Australia’s men will be making in September.   Your Nerd Pledge numbers this week:  2.10 – Mark Fenton  5.57 – Rob O’Neill  Send us a Nerd Pledge at patreon.com/thefinalword      Find previous episodes at finalwordcricket.com   Message from anywhere on earth with your ZOLEO, at zoleo.com  The Final Word is produced by Jay Mueller on the Bad Producer Podcast Network  Title track by Urthboy  Support the show: https://patreon.com/thefinalword See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

One of our most heartfelt interviews with the man behind the music of The Final Word, and pioneer of the Australian hip hop scene, Urthboy. Of course, being a weekend edition of the show, you better believe we have a massive round of correspondence and Nerd Pledge to get us in the mood.  What should we call our second show each week? Jump into our Patreon DMs and let us know!  Your Nerd Pledge numbers are: 2.07 – Jamo. 7.54 – Michael Brown. 9.41 – Mark Henderson. Guess away. Our answers are in the episode. Send us a Nerd Pledge at patreon.com/thefinalword      Find previous episodes at finalwordcricket.com   Message from anywhere on earth with your ZOLEO, at zoleo.com  The Final Word is produced by Jay Mueller on the Bad Producer Podcast Network  Title track by Urthboy    Support the show: https://patreon.com/thefinalword See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Season 8, Ep 21: The Irish are coming, and what better time than before their games against England to sit down with their CEO Warren Deutrom to tell us their story from St Patrick’s Day at the 2007 World Cup to the present day as a Test nation. The problems and challenges though are as steep as they have ever been.  Before that, Stuart Broad takes his 500th Test wicket as England bounce back to beat West Indies 2-1, Ravi Ashwin makes himself the patron saint of this show, and Ian Botham responds to yet another gong in unimpressive style. Winnie is awake, and Adam is soon to be going into the bubble.  Your Nerd Pledge numbers this week:  7.05 – Alan Edgar.  3.76 – Peter Lewis.  1.18 – Tobias and Zak.  Guess away. Our answers are in the episode. Send us a Nerd Pledge at patreon.com/thefinalword      Find previous episodes at finalwordcricket.com   Message from anywhere on earth with your ZOLEO, at zoleo.com  The Final Word is produced by Jay Mueller on the Bad Producer Podcast Network  Title track by Urthboy  Support the show: https://patreon.com/thefinalword See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

"I certainly want to win this World Cup, but I can live with myself if we don’t," said Jimmy Neesham a few weeks before that famous final. One of the funniest and sharpest minds in cricket, he was also beautifully honest about his perfection and the unhappiness he had put himself through. "It started a downward spiral for me where my expectations were so far beyond reasonable that it wasn't possible for me to have a good day." One of the most perceptive conversations we've had on The Final Word, during a key few weeks in cricket history. Our cover image today is Boonie, who recently wrapped up a long and happy life getting on the beers. Best friend of Paul, Melsie, and Alby. Also, the weekend show is morphing into The Final Word History Hour, or whatever we end up calling it. That means lots of Nerd Pledge. 2.14 – Tamra Palmer 7.40 – Daniel Kelly & Stephen Sargeant 2.13 – Skye Raye 2.24 – Desmond Cave 2.35 – Hamish Colley 16.50 – FP Hicks Plus our Julio pledges from Graham Hartley, Alex Durie, and John Landsell. Thanks everyone, you're the best.   Send us a Nerd Pledge at patreon.com/thefinalword     Find previous episodes at finalwordcricket.com    Help out the Lord’s Taverners and their isol8 campaign: www.lordstaverners.org   The Final Word is produced by Jay Mueller on the Bad Producer Network Title track by Urthboy Support the show: https://patreon.com/thefinalword See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices