The Final Word Cricket Podcast

Greatest Season That Was, Episode 9 – Lance Klusener. At the 1999 World Cup, Lance Klusener stole the show. During a golden era for South African one-day cricket, the Proteas men were meant to fulfil their destiny in England by holding up the trophy for the first time. Being seen as the best team in the world was heavily due to their left-handed brute, the man they called Zulu. Across a long conve...

Season 15, Episode 31: It's the season finale! That's because the Mr Sheffield Shield is done, and we don't need to tell you who won. Also, Western Australia has locked in the first Test of the summer for the next six years, with CA getting the schedules done well in advance. Go West, life is peaceful there. Plus we'll have a women's Ashes Test at the MCG. In other news, we go local with Carlton's...

Greatest Season That Was, Episode 8 – with Tim Lane. You’ve heard from plenty of players as we’ve gone through this sensational tournament, like Alec Stewart, Geoff Allott and Andy Flower, as well as Harsha Bhogle who was documenting India's journey on telly. Australia also had a broadcaster throughout the seven weeks: Tim Lane. One of the finest all-round commentators the country has produced, ba...

It's Story Time, our weekly walk through cricket history via your listener quiz challenges. This week, not just one long-time rival but two storied combatants return to the show to lay down their challenges once again. But this time, we might just be their equals with a couple of rollicking tales. Also, one of our pledgers turns his hand to poetry, while another will learn the story of the Forrest...

Season 15, Episode 30: Tasmania's new stadium might depend on this weekend's state election, but with over 100,000 members for the new footy club, it'll be a tough promise to rescind. Meanwhile Queensland's government doesn't want to spend bulk cash on anything at all. Ellyse Perry is still the best, proving it in Bangalore's WPL title run, while Pak Bean and Imad Wasim literally lit up the Pakist...

Season 15, Episode 29: Across all of our Story Time episodes, a few names come up more than any others. One is Glenn Turner, the New Zealand opening bat who churned out runs from the 1960s to the 1980s. Highest percentage in an innings, carrying his bat, twin tons, a hundred hundreds, a thousand before the end of May? Check, check, keep checking. Beyond the numbers, Glenn is a storyteller with a l...

It's Story Time, our weekly walk through cricket history via your listener quiz challenges. This week, Daniel Norcross slips back into the co-host chair with Adam, and up Mt Kilimanjaro they trek - a world record fixture for unusual reasons. And why is the Big V superior to Perth? You'll find out right off the top. Later, the career of one of Australia's finest Test openers, and the international...

It's Story Time, our weekly walk through cricket history via your listener quiz challenges. This week, Reggie from the wonderful Vic Hotel in Brunswick allows us to spend a long time on the full history of the daring left-hander with the walrus moustache. Also, a rare Pakistan appearance for an Ahmadi Muslim, a unique achievement in T20 International cricket, and one of the great leg-spinning perf...

Season 15, Episode 28: The southern Test season is done, with Australia leaving New Zealand, while England are also leaving India. That doesn't mean that cricket stops in Zimbabwe, with the Mashonaland Eagles turning in one of the most unlikely scorecards against... Durham? Yes. Meanwhile, Shane Watson might just be the next coach of Pakistan. The Bangladesh-Sri Lanka grudge continues, Ireland mig...

New Zealand v Australia, Christchurch Day 4: It was a final day as good as we could have hoped. A decisive strike early but a decisive miss to go with it. A partnership that built. Then a dramatic final sequence. New Zealand and Australia had a stunner, as the clouds rolled in and the afternoon darkened. Alex Carey was involved, Mitchell Marsh, Ben Sears, Glenn Phillips, and inevitably late in a c...

India v England, Dharamsala Wash-up: Did Bazball fail and what does the future hold for England? Cameron Ponsonby is joined by Vithushan Ehantharajah to go wade through the debris after England fell to a 4-1 defeat against India. Support the show with a Nerd Pledge at patreon.com/thefinalword Find shirts, marathons and other links at linktr.ee/thefinalword Check out Westfield London and Westfield...

New Zealand v Australia, Christchurch Day 3: We are in for a stunner. After the first day, New Zealand looked gone. During the third, they turned this Test match on its head. Suddenly the Australians are the ones under pressure, but they have a path to victory as well. It will take something special, but why not believe that such a thing can happen? Don't miss this one ahead of a blockbuster Day 4...

India v England, Dharamsala Day 3: It's over. Ashwin runs through England for one final time this series as India wrap it up 4-1. James Anderson gets to 700 Test wickets but really, it's a footnote on India's day. Support the show with a Nerd Pledge at patreon.com/thefinalword Find shirts, marathons and other links at linktr.ee/thefinalword Find out what's fun at Westfield London and Westfield Str...

New Zealand v Australia, Christchurch Day 2: It could have been a day when New Zealand went over the edge, but instead they managed to keep both feet on the ledge - although the drop is still there. Matt Henry made his summer even hotter to keep Australia within range, then Tom Latham and Kane Williamson resumed NZ's second-most prolific partnership to close the distance. Approaching day three, a...

India v England, Dharamsala Day 2: India strengthen their position even further as Rohit Sharma and Shubman Gill score silky centuries. Sarfaraz Khan and Devdutt Padikkal impress with fifties whilst England's bowlers have a day of hard graft. Support the show with a Nerd Pledge at patreon.com/thefinalword Find shirts, marathons and other links at linktr.ee/thefinalword Find out what's fun at Westf...

New Zealand v Australia, Christchurch Day 1: Win the toss and bowl. It is becoming a Pat Cummins signature, and the move looked pretty good with Josh Hazlewood and Mitchell Starc to back him up. But New Zealand are having a Hot Matt Henry Summer, and he had something to say as well. Support the show with a Nerd Pledge at patreon.com/thefinalword Find shirts, marathons and other links at linktr.ee/...

India v England, Dharamsala Day 1: Kuldeep Yadav you're a helluva bowler. India absolutely dominate on day one, with Ravichandran Ashwin and Yashasvi Jaiswal starring once again. And as far as cameos go, Jonny Bairstow plays a blinder in his 100th Test. Support the show with a Nerd Pledge at patreon.com/thefinalword Find shirts, marathons and other links at linktr.ee/thefinalword Find out what's f...

New Zealand v Australia, Christchurch Day 0: It's preview day at beautiful Hagley Oval in Christchurch. Australia go in unchanged, New Zealand have Kane Williamson and Tim Southee each playing his 100th Test, and the pitch is a lovely shade of green. Get the latest with us. Support the show with a Nerd Pledge at patreon.com/thefinalword Find shirts, marathons and other links at linktr.ee/thefinalw...

India v England, Dharamsala preview: It's the most beautiful ground in the world. These are the facts. Cameron Ponsonby is joined by Vithushan Ehantharajah from ESPN Cricinfo to preview the fifth and final Test of the series on what looks set to be a spectacular occasion. Support the show with a Nerd Pledge at patreon.com/thefinalword Find shirts, marathons and other links at linktr.ee/thefinalwor...

It's Story Time, our weekly walk through cricket history via your listener quiz challenges. This week, which was actually recorded a little while earlier, Adam and Geoff meet up at the Albert Ground in Melbourne for an on-location recording. Adam gets sidetracked into Test triple centuries, Geoff gets sidetracked into ODI doubles, we look at a famous Lord's match, a long loop back through last epi...

Season 15, Episode 27: Admittedly we don't get onto the title topic until the end of this episode, but it starts with a glance at the Shield and ends up back there amid the conundrum of Will Pucovski. In between, the machinations of the New Zealand and Australia Test series, worries for Alex Carey, the trials of Vanuatu in World Cup qualifying including a very rare and dodgy tactical ploy and a re...

New Zealand v Australia, Wellington Day 4: It's all over at the Basin, right near the plughole. Dreams were riding on Rachin Ravindra but in the end it was Nathan Lyon pouring cold water on a few faces. On a beautiful sunny afternoon in Wellington, we'll tell you how it all went down. Support the show with a Nerd Pledge at patreon.com/thefinalword Find shirts, marathons and other links at linktr.e...

New Zealand v Australia, Wellington Day 3: Both teams kept the foot down during a Test that keeps motoring along, with Nathan Lyon having some fun playing at being a batter before Glenn Phillips had even more playing at being a bowler. A dramatic second session saw New Zealand keep some flame of hope alive, and overnight that lamp has been entrusted to Rachin Ravindra and Darryl Mitchell. It's all...

New Zealand v Australia, Wellington Day 2: Well, that escalated quickly. The morning went by as Cameron Green and Josh Hazlewood worked their way into historical territory that involved the Big Ship Warwick Amstrong and Final Word fave Arthur Mailey, before a series of calamities befell New Zealand's batting. Glenn Phillips was great fun as ever, Matt Henry kept carrying this team, and Kane Willia...

New Zealand v Australia, Wellington Day 1: After eight long years, the Australian men's Test team returned to New Zealand to play. And for a couple of sessions they perhaps wished they had not, as the local bowlers got on top on a green pitch. But another Green thing is Cameron Green, and he had something significant to say about the state of play by the close in a flurried finish. Support the sho...