The Final Word Cricket Podcast

Women’s World Cup Day 8, England v Bangladesh. Whilst it looks like a routine victory on the scorecard, this was anything but comfortable for England, who had to call upon all the nous and experience of Heather Knight to hold off a spirited and fighting Bangladesh that refused to give up. Cameron Ponsonby joins Adam Collins to discuss the game of the tournament so far. Support the show with a Nerd...

Women’s World Cup Day 7, South Africa New Zealand: Tazmin Brits belatedly kicked off South Africa’s tournament, and in some style. Have they done enough to wipe out the damage from the first game? New Zealand wilted under the Proteas fire and need to find some answers outside of the dependable Sophie Devine and Amelia Kerr. Firdose Moonda joins Geoff Lemon. Support the show with a Nerd Pledge at ⁠...

Women’s World Cup Day 6, India v Pakistan. It’s the biggest event of any ICC tournament, and the action off the pitch was yet again as much of a focus as that on it. It was flying termites that stole the show from the ongoing handshake farrago, with the fumigator playing a key role. On the pitch, Pakistan had their moments, but India’s power and experience shone through. Daniel Norcross is joined...

Women’s World Cup Day 5, Sri Lanka v Australia: Sri Lanka will be the happier of the two teams as they come away with an unexpected point against Australia. Will this kickstart Sri Lanka’s tournament and drive interest locally? We also look towards tomorrow and the next instalment in the increasingly heated India-Pakistan rivalry. Will tensions rise even further, or will the early Northeast Monsoo...

It's Story Time, our walk through cricket history via your listener quiz challenges. This week, dare we suggest a very slight case of pledger error, or will this hubris ultimately destroy us all? There's a story detour back to Scotland, there's a fate that still has its effect on so many in the game, and there's the time when the biggest of big guns had to face down an unexpected opponent in what...

Women’s World Cup Day 4, England v South Africa: England have arrived at the World Cup with a resounding victory over a South Africa team that many thought could be a potential banana skin. It was the unsung bowling of Linsey Smith that set the ball rolling for England, with South Africa seemingly powerless to prevent a disaster. Firdose Moonda joins Cameron Ponsonby. Support the show with a Nerd...

Women’s World Cup Day 3, Pakistan v Bangladesh: The first upset of the tournament comes in only its third game, and the first of 11 matches in Colombo. We already know that Marufa Akter is a star, and she flexed her muscles literally and figuratively to send the Tigers to second on the table. Firdose Moonda joins Geoff Lemon. Support the show with a Nerd Pledge at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠...

Women’s World Cup Day 2, Australia v New Zealand: It was a battle of class v experience and century versus century, thanks to Ash Gardner and Sophie Devine. Contributions with the ball came from Annabel Sutherland and Sophie Molineux for Australia, and New Zealand’s Jess Kerr and Lea Tahuhu, but it was a batter's game in Indore Support the show with a Nerd Pledge at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠...

2025 Women's World Cup, Day 1, India v Sri Lanka: It wasn't always easy, but India's muscle and skill showed through when it mattered most, overcoming their co-host on the opening day of the World Cup. Join Geoff and Adam as they consider whether Harmanpreet's side can win it all. Support the show with a Nerd Pledge at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠patreon.com/thefinalword⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠...

Season 18, Episode 35: It's the end of our season (with another to start tomorrow). We'll be covering the Women's World Cup on every match day. But first, England's Ashes squad is out, and it's all about pace. India and Pakistan have a bad-tempered finale to what was actually a good game in the Asia Cup final. Nepal beat West Indies, the county season wraps up, India A seal a chase against the Aus...

It's Story Time, our walk through cricket history via your listener quiz challenges. This week, let's go to the work of Jack O'Hagan, who loved writing doggerel hit songs to turn a buck. Also this week, some more largely forgotten Test contributors, a stunning turnaround, and we surprise ourselves by pondering the best with the ball in ODIs. Our music discussion this week was about Nick Craft's so...

Season 18, Episode 34: The Home of Cricket will forever be a special and revered place, but how does it ensure its future? Rob Lynch, MCC’s director of cricket and operations, is an influential and experienced administrator who is determined to make sure HQ can evolve to meet the needs of the game and its membership in the short and long term. An excellent guest, talking with us as the Tavern Stan...

Season 18 Episode 33: We said that last week’s Asia Cup nonsense was a new low, but we spoke too soon. And as the IPL and BBL flirting gets heavier, are we on track for Mumbai Melbourne and Rising Sydney Super Giants? Also this week, the best county match that Adam can remember, Glenn Maxwell scores his first ever 50-over ton for the Vics, runs flow between Australia and India in the women’s ODIs...

It's Story Time, our walk through cricket history via your listener quiz challenges. This week, it's time to right another cricketing wrong. You may not have heard of Fred Tate, or you may, but for over 120 years now he has been the subject of grave injustice in how his story is told. Let's make a change, and set Fred free. Also this week, we once more tackle the wily Rob O'Neill, and take on a pl...

Season 18, Episode 32: Despite all the political posturing, India and Pakistan are still playing each other in tournaments, currently the Asia Cup. But never before have the cricketers been used as an arm of government as extensively and explicitly as now. Also this week, domestic cricket starts in Australia weirdly early with the Dean Jones Cup, and the Aus A tour is underway, meaning the Sam Kon...

It's Story Time, our walk through cricket history via your listener quiz challenges. This week, we start with a heavy-hitting pledge looking at one of cricket's heaviest stories, and whether it's worth at least recasting some naming conventions. Also this week, the day that Percy Fender went nuts, the rivals that still don't count, the Swiss Army Knife Man takes his couple of years in the sun, and...

Book Club 12: Simon Wilde - Chasing Jessop: The Mystery of England Cricket's Oldest Record Shrouded in myth and mystery, Gilbert Jessop’s 76-ball century is an English cricket record that has stood since 1902. Renowned cricket journalist and historian Simon Wilde has attempted to capture the celebratory mood of the nation that was the backdrop to Jessop’s stunning knock. With the brutal Boer War h...

Season 18, Episode 31: As they ready for their warm-up series ahead of the Women's World Cup, Australia's squad is out and it is a formidable collection of cricketers. Can anybody go with them? Meanwhile, Dane van Niekerk reverses her retirement for South Africa aged 32, while N Srinivasan mounts a comeback to run Chennai Super Kings at 80, and he'll keep MS Dhoni playing until the same age. Ravi...

It's Story Time, our walk through cricket history via your listener quiz challenges. This week, Adam and Geoff start off with a tale full of incident but plenty of heaviness, before moving on to one of the least expected rises to prominence in one of the most memorable matches of all. Also this week, the cultural place of the humble avocado, the brief burst of one of the fastest of his time, an in...

Season 18, Episode 30: Last week we asked whether Australia had a depth problem with fast bowling. A week later, it's suddenly more likely that they might, with Pat Cummins under observation after back soreness that could presage a stress fracture. If the Australian skipper and strike bowler is not fit for a home Ashes, suddenly everything changes. Also this week, Mitchell Starc's first retirement...

It's Story Time, our walk through cricket history via your listener quiz challenges. This week, Adam and Geoff are back to normal with a few great tales and a major statistical quirk. We go back to both World Wars to look at the mentor of a frequent ST subject, and revisit our inaugural Dusty Old Bastard. Then there's a true pioneer, and a mathematical oddity: how can the most frequent one-day sco...

Season 18, Episode 29: Another couple of next-gen fast bowlers have gone down injured in the last week, with Spencer Johnson again withdrawn from duty and Lance Morris out for a least a year with major surgery. Is there an emerging problem for Australian quicks behind Cummins, Starc, Hazlewood, and Boland, or does their presence mean there is no problem? Also this week, Mitch Marsh's team rack up...

It's Story Time, our walk through cricket history via your listener quiz challenges. This week, we complete the set, having now had each current member of our Sleuth Group join the show, as we catch up with Sean McGivern in his home town of Edinburgh. There is plenty to chat about at the Carlton Cricket Club - not that one - which explains why we only got through two numbers this week, thanks to G...

Season 18, Episode 28: Philip Brown is one of the game’s great photographers, having covered more than 300 Tests since 1988. Two decades ago, he had one of the best vantage points possible for the greatest Ashes series of modern memory. To mark the milestone, he found each of the 12 players England used that glorious summer to ask them a simple question: could he take their picture again? The resu...

Season 18, Episode 27: Our inaugural podcast all-star fundraiser at Wormsley was a hit, with The Final Word team getting over the line with one wicket to spare, a big crowd turning out, and money raised to help kids in need. Especially, find out about the magic day had by Kate Mason and Alex Horne. Join Geoff and Adam in Edinburgh as they continue on this week's TFW XI tour into Scotland, also far...