The Final Word Cricket Podcast

The Ashes, 5th Test at The Oval, Day 2: One team pushes ahead, the other pulls them back. So it has been all through this Ashes series. Usman Khawaja and Marnus Labuschagne had the go-slow. Stuart Broad got things moving. Steve Smith, was he run out or not? The umpires say no. Todd Murphy smokes some shots off Mark Wood. Pat Cummins is back in the runs. And by the end of day four we have a shootou...

The Ashes, 5th Test at The Oval, Day 1: A ridiculous fast-forward day of Test cricket, is it? Of course, as usual in this series. Pat Cummins made a big call and bowled a huge spell, Harry Brook smoked some shots, Moeen Ali had a strange old time, Mitchell Starc was unbelievable, and Todd Murphy got involved. The final Ashes Test of 2023 is well underway. Support the show with a Nerd Pledge at pat...

The Ashes, 5th Test at The Oval, Day 0: And so it comes to this. And so we face the final curtain. The Test season ends where it began, fittingly at The Oval. Time is a flat circle. The sun is out. The Australians are in the nets. Geoff and Adam are watching on. What is to come? The Final Word Live show in London is today! July 26. Tickets here. Or get 50% off if you join Patreon first. Support th...

Season 14, Episode 27: Someone from the creative world tweeting up a storm during the cricket gets our attention. So it has been over the Ashes with Patrick Brammall, one of Australia's most recognisable and talented actors. His show Colin From Accounts, which he writes and stars in with his wife Harriet Dyer, has enjoyed success at home and in the UK as one of the most-watched comedies of 2023. H...

Season 14, Episode 26: Crazy scenes, not just because Indian women's captain Harmanpreet Kaur smashed her stumps over in a rage, but because she and other teammates persisted in effectively calling the umpires cheats after the match. All because India tied a series with Bangladesh. Also this week, Ian Botham makes an arse of himself, we look at Nat Sciver-Brunt's hot streak against Australia, Paki...

The Ashes, 4th Test at Old Trafford, Day 6: Plenty going on after the Manchester washout, with emotions running high between two sets of supporters and between everybody else involved. It been another hectic series. We look over all of that, and what might be to come with one more engagement at The Oval. The Final Word Live show in London is on July 26. Tickets here. Or get 50% off if you join Pat...

The Ashes, 4th Test at Old Trafford, Day 5: Curses. Oaths and castigations. For those hoping for a grandstand finish, you hoped in vain. The elements were victorious, as they will be when we are all gone. The destination of the trophy is determined. So what does that mean for the series? What is to come at The Oval for the deciding Test? Where to from here? The Final Word Live show in London is on...

West Indies v India, Port of Spain Day 3: With rain at Old Trafford, why not switch to Port of Spain where rain was less of a feature? Virat Kohli made Test century 29, while the old firm combined: Rohit Sharma, Ravindra Jadeja, Ravichandran Ashwin. Kraigg Braithwaite and Alick Athanaze battled away for West Indies. The Final Word Live show in London is on July 26. Tickets here. Or get 50% off if...

The Ashes, 4th Test at Old Trafford, Day 4: We were supposed to have a washout, and it looked that way. But after a lot of rain, the ground staff went to work and prised out 30 overs of play. Enough for a Test century against the grain, some fierce fast stuff, a spin-bowling anomaly, and a fashion statement from one of our most discussed umpires. This Test is still alive. The Final Word Live show...

The Ashes, 4th Test at Old Trafford, Day 3: It went big, it went big, and it went bigger. Ben Stokes, Harry Brook, sure. Then it was the Jonny Bairstow Entertainment Hour, with Alex Carey front and centre. Pat Cummins had a moment, Josh Hazlewood dug deep, and then it was time for Mark Wood to once again crank up the speedo and let fly. A third action-filled day in Manchester - now let's see what...

The Ashes, 4th Test at Old Trafford, Day 2: It doesn't get more dominant than that. We were promised an England team that would try all-out attack against the Australian bowlers to get on top of a game. By the fourth Test, it unequivocally happened. Zak Crawley had one of the biggest Ashes days out, Joe Root rode shotgun, and Pat Cummins' team was left picking up the pieces after just two days of...

The Ashes, 4th Test at Old Trafford, Day 1: A helter skelter game is promised, with rain on the weekend and England especially needing to make sure this does not end in a draw, so they went full tilt into Day 1, while Day 1 tilted one way and then the other. More Marsh Magic, Travis Head lays in, Stuart Broad takes his 600th wicket, Chris Woakes does the business once again. A brilliant day of Tes...

The Women's Ashes, 3rd ODI at Southampton, Day 11: It's all over! Seven matches, 11 days, and more tightly fought moments than we can even remember, England were not going away despite conceding the trophy and Australia had to get ready to brawl. It was a day when Natalie Sciver-Brunt achieved the unbelievable to cap off a historic personal streak, when Ellyse Perry had to shoulder the load again,...

The Ashes, 4th Test at Old Trafford, Day 0: The Ashes are sitting at 2-1 with two to play. Everything riding on the next week in Manchester. We already know England's team, and there's been a lot of discussion about how Australia's should be formed. One person who knows more than most is Bharat Sundaresan, the Net Whisperer, as usual spending his days at training. Let's look ahead to the next five...

Season 14, Episode 25: The Manchester Test is looming this week, with selection questions ahoy - none more substantial than whether David Warner will open the batting for Australia. There are several configurations that could come into effect if he doesn't. Meanwhile, England go early on their XI again and we get that one right. The Women's Ashes trophy is no longer in the balance but the series i...

The Women's Ashes, 2nd ODI at Southampton, Day 10: There is no such thing as a normal match in this series. Again, it goes right down to the final ball. Again, it turns, turns, turns again. Again, there are standout performances: Nat Sciver-Brunt, Georgia Wareham, Sophie Ecclestone, Alana King, Ellyse Perry. Find out how it all unfolded. The Final Word Live show in London is on July 26. Tickets he...

Season 14, Episode 24: You'd better believe it. One of the legends of the women's game, someone we talk about on Story Time every other week. She made a century on debut in both formats, took 10 wickets and made a hundred in the same Test, and was the key player in winning the first World Cup in 1973. All of this with no money, little help, a job to attend and a family to support. She is spectacul...

West Indies v India, Dominica Day 2: We won't get to see much of this Test match, but with a couple of slower days this week we did have time to check out another five-wicket bag for Ashwin and a century on debut for Yashasvi Jaiswal. Why not record a show? The Final Word Live show in London is on July 26. Tickets here. Or get 50% off if you join Patreon first. Support the show at patreon.com/thef...

It's Story Time, our weekly walk through cricket history via your listener quiz challenges. This week, after a bit too much Ashes madness to record the show as normal, we've managed to sneak one in. Title thanks to Winnie, and we'll find out about someone else who hit a lot of big ones, maybe more than anybody. We've got a masterpiece of placement, and we have an Englishman, an Irishman, and a Sou...

The Women's Ashes, 1st ODI at Bristol, Day 9: Another absolute thriller, right to the end. And, three in a row for England! A week ago they needed five in a row. Well, here they are, still in contention, and taking it up to the mighty Australians, who are still not their best selves. Something remarkable is happening, although Beth Mooney was her usual self with the bat, and Ash Gardner the same a...

Season 14, Episode 23: Finally, a normal weekly show. Plenty going on, with both men's Ashes teams getting clobbered for slow over rates, deservedly, and the women's Ashes teams gearing up for the three ODIs that will decide the destination of the trophy. Also this week, India get ready for some Caribbean Test cricket, Dominica is back on the schedule after its awful hurricane, the Bangladesh Prim...

The Ashes, 3rd Test at Headingley, Day 5: No play on what would have been the last day, but plenty to think about. Three Tests, three close finishes, and a series that has been all twists and turns with barely a quiet hour. Who has come out of it well, who has struggled, what are some of the moves that might come next? We have it all on The Final Word. Support the show with a Nerd Pledge at patreo...

The Ashes, 3rd Test at Headingley, Day 4: Who doesn't love a last-day run chase? It was Day 4 at Headingley, it was a Sunday, and it wasn't quite 2019, but it wasn't a million miles away. Plenty of angst, tension, twists and turns from the final day of this third Ashes Test, with salutations to Harry Brook and Mitchell Starc. Support the show with a Nerd Pledge at patreon.com/thefinalword Find pre...

The Women's Ashes, 3rd T20 at Lord's, Day 8: The series is STILL alive! The mighty Australians have lost a T20 series for the first time in six years, England take them down for the second match running, in front of yet another record crowd, this time at Lord's. A triumph in general, and a triumph for the home team - now they need to keep on winning in the ODI series to follow. Support the show wi...

The Ashes, 3rd Test at Headingley, Day 3: Rain, delays, leaden skies, then finally coming out to bat, it was all in favour of England. It was all going the way of Woakes, Broad, Wood. And then Travis Head happened, again. Just another chapter in this endlessly wild Ashes series. Perfectly set up for a finish on Day 4. Support the show with a Nerd Pledge at patreon.com/thefinalword Find previous ep...