The Final Word Cricket Podcast

England India Daily, 3rd Test, Lord’s Day 5: India couldn’t have given it much more after looking gone in the first hour of morning five, dragging their chase into the depths of the final session. The gripping finish was made possible by Ravindra Jadeja, who else, with able support from the tail. But in the end, the final twist came courtesy of the man with a broken finger who looked the least lik...

West Indies Australia Daily, 3rd Test, Kingston Day 2: We've seen it before, then it happened again. Australia reached the evening session having to bat, and the wickets tumbled under a barrage of fast bowling, while Jamaica's crowd howled from the stands. The only problem for West Indies is that they had already been bowled out themselves. On it goes. Support the show with a Nerd Pledge at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠...

England India Daily, 3rd Test, Lord’s Day 4: We are on, people, we are *on*. With scores level, England weren't sure how to proceed, veering between attack and defence before a stunning burst from Bumrah and Washington wrapped up their innings. But with the game looking like India's, wickets continued to fall. We're set for a grandstand finish on Day 5. Support the show with a Nerd Pledge at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠...

West Indies Australia Daily, 3rd Test, Kingston Day 1: Chaos, not from ball one, but certainly from session three. We thought the day-night match might be full of action, but even then, this was a lot. West Indies produced some moments of brilliance in the field and with the ball, but the Australian plan might yet work out. Support the show with a Nerd Pledge at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠patreon.c...

England India Daily, 3rd Test, Lord’s Day 3: A day when honours were literally even after the conclusion of India’s innings. How did two India batters get out for KL Rahul’s century? Ben Stokes is a big part of it. Jofra bowled his fastest spell on record, but for what reward? Ravindra Jadeja again contributes, before some finger-wagging and verbals between Zak Crawley and Jasprit Bumrah, with hel...

England India Daily, 3rd Test, Lord’s Day 2: The fast bowling head to head. How we've waited to see this. After a quiet first day, Jasprit Bumrah started his second day at Lord's with an almighty bang, once again showing what he can do. Then it was Jofra Archer's turn, after a thousand and more days out of Test cricket. What a ride. Support the show with a Nerd Pledge at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠pa...

England India Daily, 3rd Test, Lord’s Day 1: Finally, a day for the purists, with Bazball nowhere to be seen after England chose to bat. Stokes hobbled, Pope grafted, Bumrah threatened, Reddy delivered, and ladybirds invaded, while Joe Root inched closer and closer to a milestone. As in the classics, an absorbing day. Ben Jones joins Daniel Norcross. Support the show with a Nerd Pledge at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠...

England India Daily, 3rd Test, Lord's Preview: After four long years, Jofra Archer will be back in the whites at HQ. Cameron Ponsonby and Daniel Norcross are on deck to explain what this does and doesn't mean for England, this week and beyond. Oh, and the best in the world, Jasprit Bumrah, is also set to return with the series at 1-1. Will ball finally take the ascendancy over bat? And what do our...

Season 18, Episode 21: The kids have taken over the classroom. Ben Jones joins Cameron Ponsonby in a rare double-guest-hosting of our weekly show. What to make of Wiaan Mulder’s declaration when in sight of Brian Lara’s 400*, and just how bold is saying he could have but didn’t want to? We swing by the County Championship and the Kookaburra ball experiment before also taking a look at just how coo...

England India Daily, 2nd Test, Edgbaston Review. Where does India’s onslaught of runs in the second Test leave England’s plans for the series and beyond? Ben Jones and Daniel Norcross run the rule over Shoaib Bashir, Josh Tongue and Chris Woakes’ place in the team, after Shubman Gill, with help from Jadeja, Rishabh, and Jaiswal broke records with the bat. Lord’s promises the mouth-watering return...

West Indies Australia Daily, 2nd Test, Grenada Day 4: It's all over at Grenada. A beautiful country, an ugly innings, after Australia set West Indies 277 to win, then brought the power of an all-time bowling attack to bear. And what of Nathan Lyon? Sixes and wickets is the theme these days. Stay tuned for an all-time Hall of Fame. Support the show with a Nerd Pledge at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠...

England India Daily, 2nd Test, Edgbaston Day 5. Rain threatened to bring Shubman’s declaration timing into question, but instead a flow of Akash Deep wickets dominated the day. Questions aplenty for England – will they persist with Shoaib Bashir? Who drops out for Jofra Archer? What to do with the excellent Jamie Smith? India have their own selection questions to bring back Jasprit Bumrah. Listen...

West Indies Australia Daily, 2nd Test, Grenada Day 3: A rare day in this series that felt like normal Test cricket, with a bit of rain slowing down proceedings, and Steve Smith looking at least half a million bucks until it ended. West Indies have remembered how to hold a slips catch, and are almost in this game, but their grip on this match must be close to slipping too. Support the show with a N...

England India Daily, 2nd Test, Edgbaston, Day 4: The days keep passing and the runs keep coming. This time it was India again, as Shubman Gill takes himself into elite territory with three tons in four innings. Rishabh smacked them and lost his bat, the score piled up, and Zak Crawley continued being Zak Crawley. Check out Noobru to give your brain a boost: 15% off at our link: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠noo...

West Indies Australia Daily, 2nd Test, Grenada Day 2: We seem to spend every day talking about Khawaja and Konstas, and here we go again. A half hour of Australian batting at the end of the day was enough to start the conversation again, after a West Indies innings of equal parts dash, determination, and daftness. Support the show with a Nerd Pledge at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠patreon.com/thef...

England India Daily, 2nd Test, Edgbaston, Day 3: Six ducks, two doubles? Just about. It seemed we would get there during the monster partnership between Jamie Smith and Harry Brook, but nobody else could figure out how to score, while without Bumrah, the next-best rank tried their hardest in the form of Mohammed Siraj and Akash Deep. The scores are high, but there are many reasons why this match i...

West Indies Australia Daily, 2nd Test, Grenada Day 1: It just ain't happening for Messrs Khawaja, Konstas, and Green, with another chance going begging for all three. Once again it was down to the usual firewalls to get them out of real trouble, after another group fast bowling performance from an even bigger West Indies cartel. If the home team can figure out how to bat, they're right in this......

England India Daily, 2nd Test, Edgbaston, Day 2: If Shubman Gill thought he had a good day yesterday, today it went extra large. By the end of the day, only six Indians had made a bigger Test score, and none had in England. Then with no Bumrah, could Akash Deep make a cut? Cameron Ponsonby joins Daniel Norcross. Check out Noobru to give your brain a boost: 15% off at our link: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠noobru...

England India Daily, 2nd Test, Edgbaston, Day 1: There were changes to the India team, but not the ones we expected. Shubman took it upon himself to hand the day to India by a split decision. But is it enough to worry the Bazballians? Is this another renaissance for Chris Woakes? There was another threat of a collapse for India, and was it a case of “Stupid Stupid Stupid” for Rishabh?  A pivotal D...

West Indies Australia Daily, 2nd Test, Grenada Day 0: After a few days of a story bubbling away, Cricket West Indies have finally got themselves organised to... not deal with it. The captain's pre-match press conference was one of stonewalling. On the field, Steve Smith returns for Australia, and West Indies contemplate leaving out their spinner to go all pace. Support the show with a Nerd Pledge...

England India Daily, 2nd Test, Edgbaston Preview: Whilst it’s only 1-0, there’s a sense that India needs a positive result out of this game, and since Bazball’s England doesn’t do draws, a win is the only option. How do they manage to ensure the series isn’t as good as over by Lord’s, and do it at a ground where they have never won? Jasprit Bumrah is the obvious choice, but should they also pick K...

Season 18, Episode 20: It's the first ever Final Word from Grenada, as Geoff and Bharat kick back on the deck looking over St Georges. It's a fine view for a long conversation. Some dark stories swirl over the current West Indies team, as the administrators pretend it's not happening. Steve Smith is back, Sunil Gavaskar gets stroppy, there's change at Cricket Ireland, Zimbabwe are back in the Test...

West Indies Australia Daily, 1st Test, Barbados Day 3: How the hell is that over? This match was destined for Day 4, with some hope of a good tussle, and then in one frantic burst of evening destruction, everything changed. Find out about the most frantic extra 43 minutes of Test cricket we may ever have seen. Support the show with a Nerd Pledge at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠patreon.com/thefinalword...

West Indies Australia Daily, 1st Test, Barbados Day 2: The wickets kept falling, and the game kept galloping along, as Australia put the pressure on West Indies before West Indies returned the favour once again. Three Caribbean quicks, four Caribbean seamers, working in concert at the grand old ground in Bridgetown? Yes please, although it wasn't a fun day for the worked-over Sam Konstas. Anything...

West Indies Australia Daily, 1st Test, Barbados Day 1: Does Shamar Joseph enjoy anything more than bowling against Australia? It's hard to see how. The excitement machine clicked into gear once more at Kensington Oval in Bridgetown, before Jayden Seales had his part of the day. In the meantime, Travis Head entertained in his usual way, and Australia's bowlers got the contest boiling. We have a liv...