

The Final Word Cricket Podcast
Adam Collins, Geoff Lemon
Cricket for everyone – your friendly guide to the world's strangest sport. Geoff Lemon and Adam Collins combine match analysis with irreverence, politics, interviews and history as they follow the game they love around the world. You can support the show at patreon.com/thefinalword.
Episodes
Mentioned books

Jul 23, 2025 • 23min
TFW Daily – Rishabh injury sours first day – England India 4th Test, Old Trafford, Day 1
England India Daily, 4th Test, Old Trafford Day 1: A return to the more familiar slate skies of cricket in England, but will India’s mood be made greyer by the foot injury to their talisman Rishabh Pant? A hard-fought day, but who ended up on top? It was a rewarding one for Sai Sudharshan and Liam Dawson, and tomorrow shapes as pivotal with Ravindra Jadeja and Shardul Thakur facing the new ball. Daniel Norcross and Ben Jones report from Manchester.
Support the show with a Nerd Pledge at patreon.com/thefinalword
We’re giving away a brand new Virat Kohli Genius King
Cricket Bat, Gloves and Case
PLUS a YEARS supply of Noobru Pro - worth over £1600! TO
ENTER and full T&C's and 15% off go to: noobru.com/finalword
We’re giving away a brand new Virat Kohli Genius King
Cricket Bat, Gloves and Case
PLUS a YEARS supply of Noobru Pro - worth over £1600! TO
ENTER and full T&C's, go to noobru.com/finalword
Tickets for our Wormsley match, August 18: uk.emma-live.com/WormsleyFinal2025
Subscribe to Wisden and never pay full price for the
Almanack again: www.wisdenalmanack.com/subscribe
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your big NordVPN discount: nordvpn.com/tfw
Maurice Blackburn Lawyers - fighting for the rights of
workers since 1919: mauriceblackburn.com.au
Get 10% off Glenn Maxwell's sunnies: t20vision.com/FINALWORD
Find previous episodes at finalwordcricket.com
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Jul 22, 2025 • 31min
TFW Daily – Bumrah plays, Touchpaper lit – England India 4th Test, Old Trafford, Preview
England India Daily, 4th Test, Old Trafford Preview: How is the better team down 2-1 in this series? This Test is massive, and India has reinforced the point by selecting Jasprit Bumrah for the third time this series. We mythbust the Old Trafford pitch and wonder if that means India revert to Ravindra Jadeja as the sole spinner. And what about the weather forecast? It’s all set up not only for an intriguing, barnburner of a Test, but a tetchy series has a lot of potential to boil over in the next five days. England picks Liam Dawson for the first time in a million years but otherwise confirms the same bowling lineup, so we get more Jofra v Jasprit. Adam Collins has Daniel Norcross joining from Manchester.
Support the show with a Nerd Pledge at patreon.com/thefinalword
Check out Noobru to give your brain a boost: 15% off
at our link: noobru.com/finalword
Tickets for our Wormsley match, August 18: uk.emma-live.com/WormsleyFinal2025
Subscribe to Wisden and never pay full price for the
Almanack again: www.wisdenalmanack.com/subscribe
Get
your big NordVPN discount: nordvpn.com/tfw
Maurice Blackburn Lawyers - fighting for the rights of
workers since 1919: mauriceblackburn.com.au
Get 10% off Glenn Maxwell's sunnies: t20vision.com/FINALWORD
Find previous episodes at finalwordcricket.com
Title track by Urthboy
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Jul 21, 2025 • 1h 5min
TFW Book Club - Max Bonnell on the 1964 Ashes
As Max Bonnell details early on in his new book Brick by Brick, the Australian Cricketers in England 1964, the Ashes series of that summer gets a pretty bad rap. To an extent, that’s understandable given only one of the five Tests had a winner and one of the draws, the Old Trafford batathon, is seen as an emblem of where much of that decade was less than captivating. But off the field, it was transformative. Specifically that summer, with Beatlemania at its peak and the election of an ambitious Labour government just around the corner. And cricket was changing at a rapid pace too, even if it wasn’t immediately obvious at the time. Max does a fine job of threading these themes together and casting the cricket in a more flattering light than is usually so, when Bob Simpson’s men went to England and got the job done.
Buy Brick by Brick, The Australian Cricketers in England 1964: https://shop.acscricket.com/?product=brick-by-brick-the-australian-cricketers-in-england-1964
Support the show with a Nerd Pledge at patreon.com/thefinalword
Tickets for our Wormsley match, August 18: uk.emma-live.com/WormsleyFinal2025
Check out Noobru to give your brain a boost: 15% off
at our link: noobru.com/finalword
Subscribe to Wisden and never pay full price for the Almanack again: www.wisdenalmanack.com/subscribe
Get your big NordVPN discount: nordvpn.com/tfw
Maurice Blackburn Lawyers - fighting for the rights of workers since 1919: mauriceblackburn.com.au
Get 10% off Glenn Maxwell's sunnies: t20vision.com/FINALWORD
Find previous episodes at finalwordcricket.com
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Jul 19, 2025 • 1h 31min
Story Time 233 - Godfrey Evans: gloveman, pantsman
It's Story Time, our walk through cricket history via your listener quiz challenges. This week, an ever-lively Daniel Norcross tells us all about a Surrey star scuppered by internal politics and an England stumper who kept on keeping on way into the night. Between times, Adam drops in to go back to a belter of a Test on Australia's marathon tour of 1964 before reflecting on when Virat Kohli was at the extraordinary peak of his IPL powers in 2016.
Your Nerd Pledge numbers this week:
2.32 - Guy Hornsby
5.68 - Srikanth Agaram
4.65 - WG Rumblepants
Support the show with a Nerd Pledge at patreon.com/thefinalword
Tickets for our Wormsley match, August 18: uk.emma-live.com/WormsleyFinal2025
Buy one of Pat Rodgers new books I mentioned by simply emailing him: prodgers@stpiusx.nsw.edu.au
Check out Noobru to give your brain a boost: 15% off
at our link: noobru.com/finalword
Subscribe to Wisden and never pay full price for the Almanack again: www.wisdenalmanack.com/subscribe
Get your big NordVPN discount: nordvpn.com/tfw
Maurice Blackburn Lawyers - fighting for the rights of workers since 1919: mauriceblackburn.com.au
Get 10% off Glenn Maxwell's sunnies: t20vision.com/FINALWORD
Find previous episodes at finalwordcricket.com
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Jul 17, 2025 • 60min
Exit the Caribbean
Season 18, Episode 22: It's the end of our Caribbean trip, so Geoff and Bharat convene in the hammock one more time to look over what happened here, and what has been happening in the world more broadly. It has been a pleasure to cover a Test tour here, even if we fear that it may be the last chance to do so. On our last night, the moon is setting.
Support the show with a Nerd Pledge at patreon.com/thefinalword
Tickets for our Wormsley match, August 18: uk.emma-live.com/WormsleyFinal2025
Subscribe to Wisden and never pay full price for the Almanack again: www.wisdenalmanack.com/subscribe
Get your big NordVPN discount: nordvpn.com/tfw
Maurice Blackburn Lawyers - fighting for the rights of workers since 1919: mauriceblackburn.com.au
Get 10% off Glenn Maxwell's sunnies: t20vision.com/FINALWORD
Find previous episodes at finalwordcricket.com
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Jul 15, 2025 • 32min
TFW Daily - Is Bazball now Benball? – England India, Lord’s 3rd Test, Review
England India Daily, 3rd Test, Lord’s Review: It was a hot one at Lord’s, with the old-fashioned ebb and flow Test match returning. After what was essentially a two-day shootout, the result was a new record for Lord’s. Jofra Archer also broke records, but what is his career trajectory? As for
longevity, will Ben Stokes’ herculean efforts come back to haunt him? For India, will Ravindra Jadeja regret not pushing for more runs throughout his lengthy stay? Is this now completely Ben Stokes’ team? Has Brendon McCullum now taken a backseat? Throwing forward, the long-awaited return of Liam Dawson to the Test arena for Old Trafford. Who does India choose for the fourth Test, and why do they seem to lose when Jasprit Bumrah plays? India has won the days, but England has won the moments. Daniel Norcross joins Cameron Ponsonby.
Support the show with a Nerd Pledge at patreon.com/thefinalword
Check out Noobru to give your brain a boost: 15% off
at our link: noobru.com/finalword
Tickets for our Wormsley match, August 18: uk.emma-live.com/WormsleyFinal2025
Subscribe to Wisden and never pay full price for the
Almanack again: www.wisdenalmanack.com/subscribe
Get your big NordVPN discount: nordvpn.com/tfw
Maurice Blackburn Lawyers - fighting for the rights of
workers since 1919: mauriceblackburn.com.au
Get 10% off Glenn Maxwell's sunnies: t20vision.com/FINALWORD
Find previous episodes at finalwordcricket.com
Title track by Urthboy
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Jul 14, 2025 • 23min
TFW Daily - Windies join the 27 Club - West Indies Aus, 3rd Test, Kingston Day 3
West Indies Australia Daily, 3rd Test, Kingston Day 3: It's hard to put this one into words. Not often that you witness an utter sporting annhiliation, but today West Indies honestly hit the lowest ebb in a century-long and deeply proud cricket history. They're in the 27 Club, and they might not be coming back. On the other hand, we saw a hat-trick!
Support the show with a Nerd Pledge at patreon.com/thefinalword
Check out Noobru to give your brain a boost: 15% off at our link: noobru.com/finalword
Tickets for our Wormsley match, August 18: uk.emma-live.com/WormsleyFinal2025
Subscribe to Wisden and never pay full price for the Almanack again: www.wisdenalmanack.com/subscribe
Get your big NordVPN discount: nordvpn.com/tfw
Maurice Blackburn Lawyers - fighting for the rights of workers since 1919: mauriceblackburn.com.au
Get 10% off Glenn Maxwell's sunnies: t20vision.com/FINALWORD
Find previous episodes at finalwordcricket.com
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Jul 14, 2025 • 27min
TFW Daily - A legit Lord’s classic - England India, 3rd Test, Lord's, Day 5
England India Daily, 3rd Test, Lord’s Day 5: India couldn’t have given it much more after looking gone in the first hour of morning five, dragging their chase into the depths of the final session. The gripping finish was made possible by Ravindra Jadeja, who else, with able support from the tail. But in the end, the final twist came courtesy of the man with a broken finger who looked the least likely, Shoaib Bashir. A day that won’t be forgotten in a hurry, join Cameron Ponsonby and Ben Jones.
Support the show with a Nerd Pledge at patreon.com/thefinalword
Check out Noobru to give your brain a boost: 15% off at our link: noobru.com/finalword
Tickets for our Wormsley match, August 18: uk.emma-live.com/WormsleyFinal2025
Subscribe to Wisden and never pay full price for the Almanack again: www.wisdenalmanack.com/subscribe
Get your big NordVPN discount: nordvpn.com/tfw
Maurice Blackburn Lawyers - fighting for the rights of workers since 1919: mauriceblackburn.com.au
Get 10% off Glenn Maxwell's sunnies: t20vision.com/FINALWORD
Find previous episodes at finalwordcricket.com
Title track by Urthboy
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Jul 14, 2025 • 29min
TFW Daily - Two nights of chaos - West Indies Aus, 3rd Test, Kingston Day 2
West Indies Australia Daily, 3rd Test, Kingston Day 2: We've seen it before, then it happened again. Australia reached the evening session having to bat, and the wickets tumbled under a barrage of fast bowling, while Jamaica's crowd howled from the stands. The only problem for West Indies is that they had already been bowled out themselves. On it goes.
Support the show with a Nerd Pledge at patreon.com/thefinalword
Check out Noobru to give your brain a boost: 15% off at our link: noobru.com/finalword
Tickets for our Wormsley match, August 18: uk.emma-live.com/WormsleyFinal2025
Subscribe to Wisden and never pay full price for the Almanack again: www.wisdenalmanack.com/subscribe
Get your big NordVPN discount: nordvpn.com/tfw
Maurice Blackburn Lawyers - fighting for the rights of workers since 1919: mauriceblackburn.com.au
Get 10% off Glenn Maxwell's sunnies: t20vision.com/FINALWORD
Find previous episodes at finalwordcricket.com
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Jul 13, 2025 • 36min
TFW Daily - All set for a classic finish - England India, 3rd Test, Lord’s Day 4
England India Daily, 3rd Test, Lord’s Day 4: We are on, people, we are *on*. With scores level, England weren't sure how to proceed, veering between attack and defence before a stunning burst from Bumrah and Washington wrapped up their innings. But with the game looking like India's, wickets continued to fall. We're set for a grandstand finish on Day 5.
Support the show with a Nerd Pledge at patreon.com/thefinalword
Check out Noobru to give your brain a boost: 15% off at our link: noobru.com/finalword
Tickets for our Wormsley match, August 18: uk.emma-live.com/WormsleyFinal2025
Subscribe to Wisden and never pay full price for the Almanack again: www.wisdenalmanack.com/subscribe
Get your big NordVPN discount: nordvpn.com/tfw
Maurice Blackburn Lawyers - fighting for the rights of workers since 1919: mauriceblackburn.com.au
Get 10% off Glenn Maxwell's sunnies: t20vision.com/FINALWORD
Find previous episodes at finalwordcricket.com
Title track by Urthboy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices