The Final Word Cricket Podcast

Women's T20 World Cup 2026, Day 9, India v South Africa, West Indies v Sri Lanka, England v Scotland: Marizanne Kapp has turned Group A upside down with a solo performance for the ages, as India now face a quarter-final against the Aussies. Meantime, West Indies keep barelling on, and England show why they might be real contenders. Could you support the show? You can send us a Nerd Pledge or becom...

Eng v NZ Daily 2026, 2nd Test, Oval, Day 5: England needed a miracle performance without their miracle man. Realistically, any of the three sessions or near 300 runs required were going to take Herculean efforts against the Kiwis high-quality attack, and it was their leader, Matt Henry, who took the best figures for a New Zealander against England. The post-mortems will be wide-ranging. Does Brend...

Women's T20 World Cup 2026, Day 8, Australia v Netherlands, Pakistan v Bangladesh: Australia have never played the Dutch in a T20 before, and the Aussie challenge was whether they could top the NRR boost that India got from the same fixture. After that, Pakistan and Bangladesh scrapped it out in what became a scrappy game but a fierce, compelling contest. Firdose Moonda joins Geoff. Could you supp...

Eng v NZ Daily 2026, 2nd Test, Oval, Day 4: A day where New Zealand’s much vaunted attack showed why they garner so much respect. Only Joe Root, again, was able to hold the tide at bay, assisted with some Bazballian flourishes from Harry Brook. All four results are still possible, but one seems more likely than the other. Ben Jones joins Daniel Norcross. Support the show with a Nerd Pledge at ⁠⁠⁠⁠...

Women's T20 World Cup 2026, Day 7, Ireland v West Indies: Just the one game today, but it was the closest one we've had yet, and for almost all of it, the Irish women responded to the pressure they've been under by scaring the daylights out of New Zealand. Melissa Story joins Geoff. Could you support the show? You can send us a Nerd Pledge or become a member at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠...

Eng v NZ Daily 2026, 2nd Test, Oval, Day 3: It was a red-letter day for the return of Henry Nicholls, who notched up a classy century to put a flat England to the sword. With only Matt Fisher showing early resistance with the bat, it was down to the bowlers to keep England in the match on a beautiful batting wicket. Days 4 and 5 will be intriguing. Will England launch another Bazballian chase on a...

Women's T20 World Cup 2026, Day 6, Scotland v West Indies, South Africa v Pakistan: Two absolute belters on two consecutive nights, as mistakes and pressure made for compelling viewing. Tonight, the Scots threatened to create their biggest ever upset against the late emerging power of West Indies, while the previous evening Pakistan somehow threatened to come back from the dead against South Afric...

Eng v NZ Daily 2026, 2nd Test, Oval, Day 2: Glenn Phillips, seemingly the cricketer that everyone loves, finally scaled the mountain to score his maiden Test century. It made him the 35th man to score a century in all three international formats. It led to an enthralling battle on a pitch that still offers the occasional assistance to hard-working fast bowlers. England’s batters fought hard, but a...

Eng v NZ Daily 2026, 2nd Test, Oval, Day 1: A day that opened up for England but couldn't quite stick with an attack finding its way against a batting group that has seen plenty. It's Daniel Norcross and Ben Jones, at stumps on a day that was in stark contrast to the chaos of Lord's. Support the show with a Nerd Pledge at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠...

Women's T20 World Cup 2026, Day 5, Australia v Bangladesh, India v Netherlands: Not competitive games, but there was some enjoyment to be had from the Dutch performance, while very nervous, against a powerful India side. Less so as Bangladesh faltered against Australia, but key absences raised more interesting questions about which XI will do the job from here on in. Adam and Geoff look over the d...

Women's T20 World Cup 2026, Day 4, Sri Lanka v New Zealand, England v Ireland: What a finish, and what a refusal to lay down. People still underestimate Sri Lanka, but we've been tracking their improvement for years. This performance may be their finest, as the trophy holders have almost dropped it. Also, Ireland took on the big task of England. Firdose Moonda joins Geoff. Could you support the sh...

Eng v NZ Daily 2026, 2nd Test, Oval, Preview: For England, it’s hard to imagine how their time since Lord’s could’ve been more chaotic. So much drama, so many changes. Now across the river, it means at least two debuts, possibly three, and up to give changes pending circumstances outside of their control in a birthing suite. What of Stokes, and McCullum’s press conference yesterday? And of Root, w...

Season 20, Episode 17: Cricket Australia emerged from an all-states meeting claiming a consensus agreement to sell some Big Bash clubs, but there are a lot of caveats to work through first. The Age chief cricket writer Daniel Brettig joins the show to unpick the latest. Meanwhile, Ben Stokes will miss the next Test, with plenty of politics still afoot around England's captain. Plus, a special fini...

Women's T20 World Cup 2026, Day 3, India v Pakistan, West Indies v New Zealand, and Netherlands v Bangladesh: The big one in terms of attention, rarely the big one in terms of competition, but today there were some moments that suggested a turn in the story. Also, the Dutch World Cup debut is a strong one, Bangladesh find power, and West Indies play out a thriller against the defending champs New...

Women's T20 World Cup 2026, Day 2, Scotland v Ireland and Australia v South Africa: Lots of chat from South Africans before this tournament about taking the next step, and from all of about whether Australia might be vulnerable, but they sure didn't look like it when Phoebe Litchfield and Georgia Wareham set about their work. Also today, the Bryce sisters pull out a special partnership to set up h...

Women's T20 World Cup 2026, Day 1, England v Sri Lanka: There has been plenty of pressure on the England women's team coming into a home World Cup after their poor recent history, but they couldn't have done any more than they did in their opener against Sri Lanka. A record tournament score, one wicket down, and a ruthless bowling performance to close out a thumping win. Meanwhile, Chamari Atapatt...

Don’t say it’s over. After one last go around at Lord’s, Big Daddy Kane has left the arena, retiring from all New Zealand cricket. An abrupt decision in the middle of their Test series against England, but one in keeping with someone who has always kept his own counsel. Two of the Fab Four have now given up the whites, with Williamson departing as an all-time great, and New Zealand’s finest ever w...

Season 20, Episode 16: Ben Stokes and trouble on a night out, is it? Deidre Chambers. But then, is there more to this, or less to this, than meets the eye? How much comes down to the ECB’s management of everything around its team? Also this week, Cricket Victoria lob a grenade into the Big Bash privatisation story, planning to blow up both the Stars and the Renegades, and the mighty Bangladesh Tig...

It's Story Time, our weekly walk through cricket history via your listener quiz challenges. This week, the best performances that didn't go so well on the other side of the ledger, a firebrand whose madness was seen both on the field and off, an early shapeshifter who surprised in his non-preferred suit, and an unexpected dietary quirk along the way. Geoff and Adam combine. Your Nerd Pledge number...

Eng v NZ Daily 2026, 1st Test, Lord’s Review: It’s the day after one of the shortest 40-wicket Tests on record and Adam has Daniel Norcross with him to ponder what it all means. The Lord’s pitch is where attention continues to sit, albeit with MCC presenting a path to a better future for the contentious 22 yards. Casting to The Oval, where the next Test begins next Wednesday, is it simply the case...

Eng v NZ Daily 2026, 1st Test, Lord’s Day 4: What do England and New Zealand take away from this match? Do they even need to? Ben Jones joins Daniel Norcross to discuss whether a win is just that, or if there’s more to it than meets the eye. Support the show with a Nerd Pledge at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠patreon.com/thefi...

Eng v NZ Daily 2026, 1st Test, Lord’s Day 3: The sun was out today, but the umpires had decided to take lunch. Before you roll your eyes, we try to explain why. It typified a frustrating stop-start day, with players on and off the field, taking this Test into a fourth day with the game still in the balance. We also have an explanation about impact on DRS. With plenty still to talk about, Ben Jones...

Eng v NZ Daily 2026, 1st Test, Lord’s Day 1:There'll be questions asked about another dicey pitch at Lord's in early June, with 33 wickets falling in total by the end of the second day. Emilio Gay provided some respite, raising a 50 on debut in an hour of relative calm, before the pitch started playing havoc again and New Zealand’s catching joined the chaos. Despite that, the game is evenly poised...

Eng v NZ Daily 2026, 1st Test, Lord’s Day 1: Marauding pace bowlers dominated the highly anticipated return of Test cricket for the summer, as momentum shifted from one extreme to the other under changeable weather conditions at Lord’s. Kyle Jamieson kicked things off for New Zealand, Harry Brook counterattacked, before the returning Ollie Robinson caused some chaos of his own. Ben Jones joins Dan...

Eng v NZ Daily 2026, 1st Test, Lord’s Preview: Adam has Ben Jones with him, who will be co-piloting the Daily eps from the first Test series of the England summer with the Black Caps in town at a wet Home of Cricket. When they do get on, just how much pressure are the England top brass under this week? We have a pretty good idea of how they’re shaping up, with room to move if the rain keeps coming...