The Final Word is back in the UK

Back where it all began, at least for us as an official duo in 2015. To celebrate we've already started doing Daily shows - up top is our preview for the Ireland Test. The audio version is here. 

There are five Wednesdays in May, so that makes this a rare Week 5 for a Patreon email-out. If you were wondering how we mark out our days. Coffee spoons, too.

In 2019 we shot a little video in front of the Lord's pavilion as follows. Four years on, our talented colleague Phillip Brown took the photo that follows. 

Big couple of months ahead for those two.

Accordingly, here is Season 14, Episode 16: Geoff has landed in London and he's straight to Lord's to join Adam, who has just returned from Edinburgh where The Final Word runners did a brilliant job over the long weekend - on and off the track. When the conversation moves to cricket, Bharat jumps on to explain how the Dhoni Touch keeps touching after another CSK triumph at the IPL. There's Test cricket at HQ this week with Ireland in town so we check in with a couple of their stars, and the WTC Final is just around the corner.

Your Nerd Pledge revisit this week:
3.11 - Max Gillespie

Here's the audio. 

We still found time this week for...

Story Time 138 – Influence of the male ejaculate on prezygotic barriers in field crickets

Fear not, this title will make sense in due course, as a chance diversion takes us to Dr Erica Larson's work on insects. Adam's childhood dreams of Bob Cowper are realised, three times over, while Andy Whittall keeps bobbing up as well. Eddie Barlow pulls a cool trick, Wisden is scathing about some timid New Zealanders, and we confirm that Harold Larwood did not in fact bowl at 564 miles per hour.

The audio is here.

Your Nerd Pledge numbers this week:
210.15 - Rob O'Neill
3.07 - Martin Lawrence
7.94 - Eranda Jayawickreme
2.35 - Nick Tewson
7.00 - Matt Gaynor & John Lansdell
2.01 - Ian Wolstenhome

Revisits
8.16 - Ramaswamy
4.63 - Tim Andrews
3.17 - Nick Dempsey

Archive ep: Shane Robert Watson, Australian captain

Season 2, Ep 6: Reloading lost episodes from the early Final Word.

In its second season in early 2016, The Final Word got spicy - it covered white-ball cricket. Having only been about Test matches to this date, Australia's tour of New Zealand for Brendon McCullum's farewell series was enough to make us change our style. The Big Bash was at its peak, the first WBBL had been played, the World T20 was approaching, Shane Watson captained his country again, Virat Kohli had another crazy Australian tour, and a young leg-spinner named Adam Zampa made an impression. Meanwhile, Shane Warne was on reality TV complaining about Steve Waugh.

This will be our last archive until things quiet down a bit, so if you're pining for the first 11 episodes of The Final Word... well, patience. 

Here's the episode. 

We did a couple more big interviews only today, and the matches are about to begin. Deep breath, and let's all dive in.