thefinalword

Wil Anderson interview

It's hard growing up in Gippsland with a country cricket legend for a Dad. But Australian comedian Wil Anderson still adores the game, a feeling that has only been strengthened by years in distant countries. Mainly because the timezones are good for cable. Wil joins the Final Word to talk about life on the road, keeping safe what you love, when cricket becomes an affair, and how Matthew Hayden felt about a certain cover song.

Adam and Geoff also go through Australia's ODI series win ove...

There's the century

A milestone arrives – 100 supporters for the first time. That's bloody amazing. Thanks so much to everyone for the support.

As promised on the podcast, then, Geoff will record the Ode to Shaun Marsh and post it here for patrons to download or listen at their leisure. Might take a few days, bear with us.

We'll also have a think about some other patron-only things that we can make or do. If you have anything you'd like to see, whether written or audio, drop us a message or an emai...

The Vinoo Mankad Appreciation Society

Another day, another run-out of the non-striker causing worldwide debate. Geoff and Adam plough into the tale of the dismissal: where it comes from, how the Laws have evolved, and why it causes such a response, as well as Vinoo Mankad's place in history and how easily the man himself gets obscured by the use of his name. Then we cover off the Sheffield Shield season, a year since the Cape Town Sandstorm, the historical versus practical considerations of numbering Test uniforms, and plenty mor...

Australia's going to win the World Cup

It's set in stone. Cue the ticker-tape parade. One-day cricket rules the land as Australia's men complete a crazy comeback in India and the women sweep New Zealand for the 20th year running. Adam and Geoff cover the 50-over action, World Cup ramifications, and whether there's space for batsmen returning from bans, as well as looking over Shane Warne's big ideas for the future from the MCC Cricket Committee, and Kane Williamson's refusal to stop thrashing Bangladesh.

Urthboy interview

In 2015 Urthboy released a song in memory Phillip Hughes in an unlikely crossover between cricket and hip-hop. The co-founder of record label Elefant Traks and band The Herd is also one of Australia's most respected songwriters, and his wide-ranging Final Word looks at the crossover between sport and art: as conduits for grief, as arenas for coming of age, and as a means of representation; as well as sharing stories from the synthetic wickets and live shows where he grew up in the 1980s Blue ...

Isa Guha interview

She's a remarkable individual: Ashes winner and World Cup champion, but also a highly qualified biochemist and now one of the leading cricket broadcasters in the world across TV and radio, leading the era of change as the game becomes less a bastion of blokes talking about blokes. Isa Guha has got a lot done in a short time. She sat down with us to talk history, heritage, ambition, and the advantages of fast bowling at five-foot-one. We also cover off the Big Bash final, the Kusal Perera mira...

Test season is dead, long live one-dayers (S5E11)

We're away! Our first podcast up since the Patreon launched. Thanks a million to all the subscribers who've joined already, we love each and every one of you. Especially the Richie pledge of 2 dollars 22.

Coming up the next few weeks are our in-depth interviews with Isa Guha, Urthboy, and Ian Chappell. Today, it's the end of Test season, and of Canberra's inaugural Test. There were some heartening performances for  Australia against Sri Lanka, but what do they mean? The Ashes are...