The calm before the storm is not that calm

It's the month off before the World Cup, and we're as busy as ever. Things we've learned recently: "Semper ad finem; numquam ante" is the Latin motto of our "Can't stop, won't stop," and it has held true. Given Adam was going to be at most of the matches while New Zealand toured England, we figured we might as well do a TFW Daily, even when he wasn't there. So Jeremy Coney and Andy Zaltzman joined the expanding ranks of Final Word co-hosts over the past week, while Alex Hartley returned. 

Geoff has just got back to Melbourne, where a couple of nice spring mornings have given way to a Big Bad Wolf storm outside, and Adam has been trailing hither and yon interviewing anyone who will sit still for long enough, including our inaugural Book Club episode. No wonder the Wednesday email is being sent on a Friday. Nonetheless, this is still Week 1 of September.

Thanks to everyone who re-did their subscriptions after Patreon somehow buggered up the functionality of a bunch of people's cards. Your willingness to do annoying admin tasks does not go unappreciated. 

The golden months of Mitchell Marsh

Season 14, Episode 38: A huge week of international men's white-ball cricket, with the Asia Cup complemented by Australia's tour of South Africa and New Zealand in England. If only West Indies had engaged Zimbabwe and Ireland in a tri-series. Mitchell Marsh is having a great time captaining Australia. There's sad news as Heath Streak dies at 49. Sri Lanka's women produce a huge upset of England, and Tanya Aldred joins the show to update us on cricket and climate change.

Your Nerd Pledge number this week:
18.81 - Luke Reynolds

Here's the audio.

Story Time 148 – Zaheer Abbas multiball

This week, a Zaheer Abbas extravaganza that ends up having nothing to do with Zaheer Abbas. Confused? So are we! Also, the oldest first-class cricketers, the greatest all-rounders numerically speaking, and a loop back to French cricket in the modern style. Enchanté.

Your Nerd Pledge numbers this week:
6.80 - Andrew Perrin
26.00 - George Norman
2.74 - Ian Colvin
3.50 - Sinead Bird

Revisits: Rooto, Jim Robertson

Audio episode.

The Final Word Book Club

Tom Hicks - Bowler's Name? The Life of a Cricketing Also-Ran.

The plan is to feature books and authors that capture the game from a wider perspective than just the international game that we cover. So we come to Tom Hicks. In many ways he has led a charmed life as a player. A first-class skipper by virtue of Oxford University, 20 years duking it out for Dorset in the minor counties, and more games at Lord’s than any amateur could wish for, at times it feels like a lovely fairytale. Yet there’s an anonymity to Tom's time as well, reflected in the name of his most enjoyable memoir.

Here's the episode.

Archive ep: The very first day-night Test

Season 2, Ep 3: Proof of concept. That's what  it was all about in 2015, when Australia hosted New Zealand in Adelaide  for the very first day-night Test. The pink Kookaburra survived, then  prospered, in a contest that was suffocatingly close from start to  finish. The bowling was hot, the batters had to survive, and an all-time  umpiring mistake had an outsized influence. Peter Siddle, Mitchell  Santner, and a couple of Marshes were prominent. It was over in three  days and nights, but it started something new. We also had time to  discuss a bit of Olympic archery, the lost chance of a seven-Test  summer, some top-level condescension, and even back then, the gold  standard for opponents who annoy supporters was Stuart Broad.

Audio is here. 

If you haven't found the most recent Daily shows, here are the four T20s between England and New Zealand: the first and second with Adam and Cam Ponsonby, the third with Coney and Hartley, and the fourth with Coney and Zaltzman.

Jeremy Coney attempted a 30 Second Summary is a show in itself. 

That's it for this week, ignoring the interview that came out after Wednesday and so strictly belongs in next week's email - we'll see what else happens before then. 

TFW