The Final Word XI streak is over

Ah well, it had to happen sometime. We are back in Melbourne together this week, which has many things to like about it, such as sitting together in backyard dappled sunshine to record the weekly show. It always feels best doing it that way. We even did a video version of this one. 

Funny though that our own hometown has delivered the first TFW XI loss, which in fact involved a team of 13, after a streak of games unbeaten across England, Scotland and Sydney. The Royal Park Reds are a regular cricket team, we assemble ours from a brave band of irregular volunteers, but it was a fun game played in good cheer and that's really we why do it.

There is even a full match report at the end of this email.

The main thing we do though is make podcasts, and we did that undefeated this week as ever.

As for live shows, Melbourne is all but sold out for 11 December, there might be a couple of standing room tickets left if you're immediate. Sydney is selling well but more tickets are available for 7 January. Ticket link for both is here.

Mitch Johnson can still put it up your nostrils

Season 15, Episode 13: Mitchell Johnson can still steam in - which he did this week, aiming some pelters at David Warner and George Bailey. But perhaps his perspective has more nuanced picture than has been presented? What is not nuanced is that Pakistan's cricket political brawling is a disaster - hello and goodbye again to Salman Butt. Adelaide win the WBBL final inspired by Amanda Wellington, Glenn Maxwell signs off from India with one more wild ton, and is now heading to the Corner Hotel for our live show, and there were two boilovers in women's cricket from Pakistan and Bangladesh. Plus a hectic Shield round - Lawrence Neil-Smith is coming for your batters.

Your Nerd Pledge number this week:
3.80 - Les Corson

Here's the audio. 

Story Time 161 – Buddy Holly in Adelaide

This week, the creation and fate of the Adelaide Oval rollercoaster, and the rollercoaster that was the CAXI. A look at a West Indies star turn that did not belong to Brian Lara, the carnage of Argentina and Chile, Murali takes on a non-fave, and what truly constitutes a diamond duck, as Adam prepares his future best-selling book on Will Bosisto.

Your Nerd Pledge numbers this week:
2.41 - Evan Granger
18.89 - Nick Ibis
14.10 - Chris Unwin
12.32 - Glenn Finkelde
3.75 - Anirban
4.27 - Jim Allen

The episode is here.

Dan Liebke - The 100 Funniest Moments in Australian Cricket

Dan Liebke emerged as a cricket satirist in what we might with hindsight call Twitter's glory days. From being Fake Nathan Hauritz to writing jokes in his own name, he has been a staple of that peculiar part of the internet. He has become a prolific author too, especially around Christmas, and this time it's ‘The 100 Funniest Moments in Australian Cricket.’ As a long-term believer that funny cricket is better than good cricket, this is the book he was destined to write and it’s great to have a good friend back with us for the third edition of TFW Book Club.

Hear the show, get the book.

TFW XI match report 

A sunny afternoon when our 30-over game got on, but days of preceding rain robbed us of playing on the turf of the grand old Brunswick Street Oval. Instead we shifted to the synthetic strip on the other side of the park at Alfred Crescent. This felt like home though for Geoff as captain and for Ben "Fair" Renick, lured out of retirement - their Dan O'Connell team mastered this ground in a pub cricket knockout premiership some years ago. It was all about defending small boundaries, a cause helped by the long, damp, tufty outfield. Proper scrappy suburban cricket, and try not to hit any of the cars parked down the crescent.

Harry and Harro's opening double act for the Reds built a score, but not with great speed. They were watchful as Conrad French hit a hard length at pace, drawing a nick to slip that was too hot for Glenn Finkelde. Jack Jorgensen lived up to his Discord name as The Opener with ball as well as bat, finding swing and giving away little. Dave Hornsby at first change was heroic on busted knees, bowling for the first time in three decades and confusing the batters with wobble through the air, while Thomas Miles tearing in saw a beamer sliced for six, but recovered his length thereafter. 

With Adam bowling a second miserly over, and the openers below a run a ball, pressure told in the 8th: a mad attempted run was abandoned but Jack's throw from short fine leg beat Harry back to the stumps where Tambo was waiting. Harro found a couple of boundaries and retired at 30, as per the rules of the day, with the option to return once everyone else had batted. 

Then the squeeze truly began. Left-arm fizz from Fair, tight off-spin from Glenn and Shane Brown, and dot balls galore. Final Word fave Sunny Munn, in a rare appearance batting in shoes, got a ball from Glenn on his toe that went onto the stumps - out twice for 7. Aditya Sutresna with very little cricket behind him had been toiling on his spin for two weeks in the nets, and was rewarded by hitting Garwood so directly in front that even the Reds umpire had to give it. 

Thomas nearly held a screamer at cover shortly afterwards, diving to save four from a middled drive that bounced off his collarbone, then after drinks Aditya did add his second when Reds' first drop Hutchy smashed a cut shot straight at cover, Geoff catching it with forearms and sternum rather than hands in a textbook chest mark. (Stop talking about footy so much.) Eyeing off retirement, Hutchy was out for 27, the score 95 for 4.  

Jackson and Campbell kept them going, but Thilo's University of WA-approved finger spin conceded no more than singles until his 12th and final ball went the distance. Pete's leg breaks landed nicely, quite the effort for someone who hadn't played in a decade. In a match where everybody bowled two overs (or 11 of 13 did, with the captain and keeper missing) they all played a part. Jackson retired, but when Conrad returned in the 23rd over to get a flashing edge from Campbell on 24, Tambo taking a fine catch, TFW were on top at 132 for 5. 

Tail-end Reds Wood and Sadler struggled to score before being knocked over by Glenn and Adam respectively,  while the No11 curiously declined to bat with the retirees coming back early. That didn't stop Fair conceding conceding only one run from the 28th over. In the 30th, after several outfield catches had gone down over the day, Fair held onto a high one from the returned retiree Harro at deep third for 33 to give Conrad a second. A late flurry of 12 from the last four balls saw the Reds reach 172.

At just under a run a ball, Final Word were confident, with Shane middling shots to the field while getting himself set, and Jack nailing cover drives and a cut on his way to 20 from 16 balls. But there was a blow when Shane's hamstring went as he pushed for a quick run, then Jack guided a back cut to be caught at point. A breezy 30 saw Fair retire after smiting a glorious six over cover and slicing another, while Glenn was set on joining him until a high top edge off Sunny was controversially given out, the celebrating wicketkeeper Hutchy throwing the ball into his own grille in a manner that some found too close to a Herschelle Gibbs move. It was 89 for 2 after 17 overs, Glenn out for 24.

Aditya and Geoff came in as pinch-sloggers and tried to move the score, but swung and missed more than connecting before Aditya hit a catch for 3. Adam smashed his first ball for six, and made 17 from his first four, as the Final Word hosts batted together for a couple of overs before Geoff under-edged a sweep onto his stumps for 5. Garwood bowling slow around the wicket got them both when Adam hit a catch to deep midwicket on 20. TFW needed 49 from 36 - tough but possible.

Conrad and Thomas both drove hard, but ridiculous fielding from Harro saw them off cheaply, flying catches either side of the wicket. Dave was bowled by Campbell having a team swing, then Pete batting for the injured Shane ignored the hat-trick ball and drove it for four. A lovely late cut for two followed, then a catch trying to force the pace.

That left Tambo, who had kept wicket beautifully before trying to marshall the lower order, with Fair coming back. Needing 32 from 21 looked a lot more likely after Tambo skipped down to drive four inside out over cover, before Fair clipped the first two balls of the next over off his pads into the midwicket gap for eight. Both players truly saving the best shots for last. TFW needed 16 from 13 and it was absolutely on, but life is not always that easy. Tambo looked to finish the third-last over strongly before handing back strike, but lost his stumps in the process for a well made 18. It was that close.

Fair remained on 45 not out from 32 balls, after bowling 3 overs for seven runs, a clear player of the match. Glenn returned an excellent 2 for 14 from four overs, Aditya 2 for 12 from his two, while Jack's 0 for 13 and Shane's 0 for 14 from their three overs were excellent contributions. Thomas Miles fielded on the deep boundary like a cattle dog all day. Our five or six dropped catches compared to their mid-air grabs were the difference.

Most importantly, we all had a good day with good company, and it became another TFW late evening for some of the stayers. Discussions are already underway to play again next year, when hopefully the rains will bless us by staying away in the three days prior. And the baggy golds were handed out to all players, with more for Sydney's game on January 26. Vive TFW.

TFW XIII - December 3, 2023
Jack Jorgensen
Shane Brown
Glenn Finkelde
Ben Renick
Aditya Sutresna
Geoff Lemon (c)
Adam Collins
Simon Tamblyn (wk)
Conrad French
Thomas Miles
Dave Hornsby
Peter Hickey
Thilo Fobes