thefinalword

World Cup gathering in Melbourne tonight

We’ve just arrived back in Melbourne, and we’re recording a preview Daily for the World Cup final tonight at Johnny’s Green Room. That’s a rooftop bar above the famous King & Godfree deli on Lygon Street - as Melbourne as it gets.

Visit Victoria have helped arrange this, and they’re putting on some free food and drinks at the start. Roll up any time from 6:30, we’ll do the formalities around 7pm.

All are welcome. There’s a lift to the bar from the laneway by th...

Final Word live on tour

We have one date locked in - The replacement Melbourne show after lockdown torpedoed us last January. That feels like a very long time ago. On Wednesday November 23rd we will be back at the Mission to Seafarers building at 717 Flinders Street, in the Melbourne CBD just on the far side of Spencer Street. 

Other details to follow. About 60 of you opted to hang onto 100 tickets to the previous show, which you can put to use. If you need to change name...

The Final Word with Ryan Campbell

We've done a lot of interviews by now. There are times, once in a while, when you sit down with someone and just know that they're ready to speak. They have things to say, and we just need to invite it.

Ryan Campbell was one like that. 

Not many cricket people have a more varied story. A wicketkeeping-batting pioneer alongside Adam Gilchrist, a part of Australia's greatest era, an ea...

Cricket sells out to Saudi oil

We're both in Australia at last. Back home in the brisk but beautiful bosom of Victoria, just down the coast from Melbourne as we cover the T20 World Cup qualifying stage in Geelong. On the days when matches are played in Hobart, we are wandering around the nearby regions to find nice places to record the World Cup Daily, because we're doing some work with Victorian tourism for these few days. If you want to click the videos or share them around, every little bit helps. 

That's an ...

The Final Word with Mark Steel

If you don't know who Mark Steel is, then you should. A lot of our listeners who didn't know who Mark Steel was have agreed. On Season 13, Ep 3 we hung out with the knowledgeable and garrulous historian / comedian / chat-merchant and cricket enthusiast. He has delved into the history of the game before, as we do every week, and he still turns up to play and watch on a regular basis, between making the many radio and television programs that fill his life. Time for us to sit b...

It's lucky Season 13!

The southern hemisphere's season is underway, and that makes this The Final Word Season 13. It's been a busy three or four years since we went full time. Over 500 episodes now in the feed, over 100 Story Times, and dozens of cricketers have evolved into Final Word favourites. None more than...

Three votes for Jodie Hicks

Season 13, Ep 1: The Sheffield Shield is starting up alongside the WNCL, the County Championship had a bonkers last day, and the T20 World Cup ...

Non-Striker Run Out II: The Quickening

It finally happened! A bowler's run-out of the non-striker between major cricket nations, the first since Sri Lanka and Jos Buttler if memory serves. That match also marked a series sweep for India's women, and the end of the summer romance between Adam and Daniel on the daily shows. The video is at the top of this post, and the audio is here. They gave the in-the-moment response to the dismissa...

Lucky nothing happened in the last three weeks

Yep, it was a quiet one. If you didn't catch this on the audio show last week, up top is the video interview that Adam had with Jamie Cox about slow over rates, a personal passion of ours on TFW.

Season 12, Ep 31: After three weeks in the desert, Geoff is back to find the outside world completely unchanged. So this week has Adam pacing him through what has gone on in the meantime. Also, Rachael Haynes finishes up for Australia after a distinguished career, England retur...

Dave Warner to captain Australia? It might just happen.

Season 12, Ep 30: Who saw this coming four and a half years ago in Cape Town? Well, the world has turned a number of times since then. With Aaron Finch hanging up his ODI pyjamas after a distinguished career. and in the absence of a perfect alternative, the Bull might just be back in the ring. Adam has Dean Wilson from The Mirror with him to pace through that and plenty else, including another man making an unexpected comeback, Alex Hales. There are also good news stories fro...

An extraordinary morning at the cricket

That's the only word for the minutes before the belated start of the decider between England and South Africa at The Oval. Adam and Daniel came together at the close - after 17 wickets were taken; Test cricket in fast forward again - but this is where they drifted. Our daily shows will continue through to the end of this match and on through...

Zimbabwe special, with Sikandar Raza

Season 12, Ep 26: Let us level with you: we have done a poor job of covering Zimbabwean cricket. The easiest reason for that, however unsatisfactory, is that they haven't been as present as they should be, for a whole host of complicated reasons. So, with The Chevrons currently in Australia for their first bi-lateral series in nearly two decades, we've dedicated an entire episode to them. For this, Adam has acclaimed author and journalist Liam Brickhill with him as co-host, t...

Back to the Future (Tours Program)

Season 12, Ep 25: Schedule geeks unite: the FTP for men's and women's cricket were released since the last time we recorded, and there is a lot to take in. More Test cricket for the usual suspects, less of it for most countries, though more matches in other formats overall. Some bright spots, plenty of concerns. Also, an extraordinary Nerd Pledge, and complications are afoot for the Big Bash involving David Warner, Steve Smith and an imminent comeback for Tim Paine. See you i...

Everything's a culture war if you want it enough

Season 12, Ep 24: The month of August is maddening for some in English cricket, yet for others, it's a chance to bankroll the rest of the year. Phil Walker of Wisden Cricket Monthly has written sensibly about this and joins us for a chat. As for Adam - on his birthday! Also, Chappelli retires from commentary, Meg Lannng hits pause on her career, and other big shifts keep coming in the game for men and women.

Your Nerd Pledge number this week:
5.32 - ...

Story Time 100!

Yes, we got there. Raised the bat for 100 episodes of historical nonsense. According to Michael Holden, the leading statistician on Final Word related numbers, we have solved almost 800 Nerd Pledges in the process. Why not celebrate? Thanks to everyone receiving this message, you've all helped make it possible.

Ten of our favourite Nerd Pledgers helped fill out the show, recorded in front of a live online audience.

8.29 - Lara Killick
8.81 - Crispn Crunch
6.40 - Tanya Wintri...

The Final Word with Katherine Brunt

Another extensive week in Final Word land, with a weekly show, an extra interview, a Story Time, and the Commonwealth Games dailies. We also recorded next weekend's Story Time 100 with a live Zoom audience, and that show will be released on the pod feed this coming weekend.

Season 12, Ep 20: Two big retirements from women's cricket raise a lot of questions about body image, team harmony, and the rising draw of domestic leagues compared to international contracts. Geoff ...

Story Time 100 - Join us live very shortly

Yes, we're doing the milestone show from Edgbaston cricket ground in Birmingham with some of you joining us via video call.

Here is the Zoom link to access the show. Log on anytime after midday UK time, or 9pm AEST, or your local equivalent. 

If the link in your email doesn't work, click through to Patreon where this message will exist as a post. We can ed...

Graham Gooch and quadruple tons

Getting us up to date, it has been another giant week in Final Word land. No bigger than someone who made 67,057 runs in the top flight. Talking to him could only be a show in its own right, and even then we could have taken another hour.

The Final Word with Graham Gooch

Season 12, Ep 19: More runs in professional cricket than anyone, more runs in a single Test than any...

Laura Wolvaardt, and the hottest day in British history

What's doing? We've been busy in the UK. With a series of big interviews over recent and upcoming weeks, we're de facto up to three shows a week just for the time being, all captured as usual in one Patreon post per week. Even if occasionally that post is late, like this one.

Season 12, Ep 16: It was melting outside, so we retreated inside to the air-conditioning at The Oval to record this one. Matt Roller from Cricinfo joins the show. The Big Bash is in real t...

The Final Word with Jeremy Coney

Season 12, Ep 14 & 15: This was one we had been wanting to do for ages. Someone who is always up for a chat, and who is a lot more interesting people to listen to than most. It's Jeremy Coney, who has a much bigger story beyond his time as New Zealand captain in their most successful era of the mid 1980s. 

With Jeremy on tour with us in Sri Lanka, it was the right time to sit and have the conversation properly. Family, theatre, song, musical instruments, travel...

Glenn Maxwell did not, in fact, get to play

For a beautiful sweet moment on the day before the second Test at Galle, we thought it might happen. It did not happen. We were led through a garden of lies. Who said that Pat Cummins is a nice guy? Fine, he's pretty nice. But all that we can do now is regroup, rebuild, try to carry on. While the dream was alive, we did a brief episode about it. Video above, audio here. 

Welco...