The Final Word Cricket Podcast

Season 18, Episode 12: Why did one of South Africa’s best, Kyle Abbott, pack in international cricket at the peak of his powers at age 29 in favour of going full-time as a county cricketer? It’s a question the big quick he’s been asked many times since 2017 when he arrived at Hampshire, from that point going on to become one of the most consistently excellent players on the circuit. A terrific person to spend an hour with, ahead of another round where he’s been at his most dominant. We thank him for his candour and honesty on a whole range of topics. Another top guest. 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 We have 47 runners in the Edinburgh Marathon Festival.⁠ Donate to get us to our £30k fundraising target⁠ for The Lord's Taverners. ⁠ Get your big NordVPN discount: ⁠⁠⁠⁠nordvpn.com/tfw⁠⁠⁠⁠ Sort out expat finances with Odin Mortgage & Tax: ⁠⁠⁠⁠odinmortgage.com/partner/the-final-word⁠⁠⁠⁠ Maurice Blackburn Lawyers - fighting for the rights of workers since 1919: ⁠⁠⁠⁠mauriceblackburn.com.au⁠⁠⁠⁠ Get 10% off Glenn Maxwell's sunnies: ⁠⁠⁠⁠t20vision.com/FINALWORD⁠⁠⁠⁠ Save more, earn more—up to 4.22% AER (variable). Interest rates are tiered, with the top rate for balances over £1M. Each tiered rate applies to the portion within that range. New members get these rates free for 6 months; after that, your Tide plan’s rates apply. For full offer T&Cs visit ⁠⁠⁠⁠https://tide.co/savings⁠⁠⁠⁠ Claim £100 cash back (on a £5k deposit) at: ⁠⁠⁠⁠https://tide.co/offers/tfw⁠⁠⁠⁠ Find previous episodes at ⁠⁠⁠⁠finalwordcricket.com⁠⁠⁠⁠ Title track by ⁠⁠⁠⁠Urthboy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

It's Story Time, our walk through cricket history via your listener quiz challenges. This week, we find that sometimes when researching something else about cricket, the tangent becomes unstoppable. This is how we all come to learn about sugary butt juice. Let's go to school. Also this week, Adam retells a history that so many of us know but probably don't remember. Your Nerd Pledge numbers this week: 7.22 - Kate Cook 2.57 - Keir 6.09 - Helen Wilson & George Pearson 5.43 - Stephen Walsh 4.85 - Joel Emonsen Support the show with a Nerd Pledge at ⁠⁠patreon.com/thefinalword⁠⁠ Tickets for our Wormsley match, August 18: ⁠⁠uk.emma-live.com/WormsleyFinal2025⁠⁠ We have 47 runners in the Edinburgh Marathon Festival.⁠ Donate to get us to our £30k fundraising target⁠ for The Lord's Taverners. Get your big NordVPN discount: ⁠⁠nordvpn.com/tfw⁠⁠ Sort out expat finances with Odin Mortgage & Tax: ⁠⁠odinmortgage.com/partner/the-final-word⁠⁠ Maurice Blackburn Lawyers - fighting for the rights of workers since 1919: ⁠⁠mauriceblackburn.com.au⁠⁠ Get 10% off Glenn Maxwell's sunnies: ⁠⁠t20vision.com/FINALWORD⁠⁠ Save more, earn more—up to 4.48% AER (variable). Interest rates are tiered, with the top rate for balances over £1M. Each tiered rate applies to the portion within that range. New Tide members get these rates free for 6 months; after that, your Tide plan’s rates apply. For full offer T&Cs visit ⁠https://tide.co/savings⁠ Claim your £100 cash back (for a £5k deposit) at: ⁠https://tide.co/offers/tfw⁠ Find previous episodes at ⁠⁠finalwordcricket.com⁠⁠ Title track by ⁠⁠Urthboy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Over the years, Tim Wigmore has penned several superb books, and this might be his best yet. Joining Daniel Norcross at lunch during a recent Surrey game, he sat down to discuss the book he wrote because it is the one he would like to read – always a good place to start. From Test cricket’s conception, he maps the lot: scarcity and status, empire to expansion, racism and rivalries, existential angst to equipment. It’s underpinned by extensive interviews with some of the greatest to have ever done it, exploring the intrigue of a form of the game that we hold so dear yet would not emerge if it were invented today. Well done, Wiggo. Support the show with a Nerd Pledge at ⁠⁠⁠⁠patreon.com/thefinalword⁠⁠⁠⁠ Buy Test Cricket, A History here. Tickets for our Wormsley match, August 18: ⁠⁠⁠⁠uk.emma-live.com/WormsleyFinal2025⁠⁠⁠⁠ We have 47 runners in the Edinburgh Marathon Festival.⁠⁠ Donate to get us to our £30k fundraising target⁠⁠ for The Lord's Taverners. Subscribe to Wisden and never pay full price for the Almanack again: ⁠⁠www.wisdenalmanack.com/subscribe⁠⁠ Get your big NordVPN discount: ⁠⁠⁠⁠nordvpn.com/tfw⁠⁠⁠⁠ Sort out expat finances with Odin Mortgage & Tax: ⁠⁠⁠⁠odinmortgage.com/partner/the-final-word⁠⁠⁠⁠ Maurice Blackburn Lawyers - fighting for the rights of workers since 1919: ⁠⁠⁠⁠mauriceblackburn.com.au⁠⁠⁠⁠ Get 10% off Glenn Maxwell's sunnies: ⁠⁠⁠⁠t20vision.com/FINALWORD⁠⁠⁠⁠ Save more, earn more—up to 4.48% AER (variable). Interest rates are tiered, with the top rate for balances over £1M. Each tiered rate applies to the portion within that range. New members get these rates free for 6 months; after that, your Tide plan’s rates apply. For full offer T&Cs visit ⁠⁠⁠⁠https://tide.co/savings⁠⁠⁠⁠ Claim £100 cash back (on a £5k deposit) at: ⁠⁠⁠⁠https://tide.co/offers/tfw⁠⁠⁠⁠ Find previous episodes at ⁠⁠⁠⁠finalwordcricket.com⁠⁠⁠⁠ Title track by ⁠⁠⁠⁠Urthboy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Season 18, Episode 11: A charged political atmosphere this week, with Australia's election having just taken place, while the ECB fold to the current campaign to push transgender people to the margins of society. Meanwhile, India and Pakistan tensions reach their highest level in years, with cricket relations sure to be further affected. Otherwise, Kagiso Rabada is back after a spell on the Plum Warners, Bangladesh level the Test series with Zimbabwe, and there's our county wrap plus IPL with Ben Jones. 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 We have 47 runners in the Edinburgh Marathon Festival.⁠⁠ Donate to get us to our £30k fundraising target⁠⁠ for The Lord's Taverners. Sort out expat finances with Odin Mortgage & Tax: ⁠⁠⁠odinmortgage.com/partner/the-final-word⁠⁠⁠ Maurice Blackburn Lawyers - fighting for the rights of workers since 1919: ⁠⁠⁠mauriceblackburn.com.au⁠⁠⁠ Get 10% off Glenn Maxwell's sunnies: ⁠⁠⁠t20vision.com/FINALWORD⁠⁠⁠ Save more, earn more—up to 4.48% AER (variable). Interest rates are tiered, with the top rate for balances over £1M. Each tiered rate applies to the portion within that range. New members get these rates free for 6 months; after that, your Tide plan’s rates apply. For full offer T&Cs visit ⁠⁠⁠https://tide.co/savings⁠⁠⁠ Claim £100 cash back (on a £5k deposit) at: ⁠⁠⁠https://tide.co/offers/tfw⁠⁠⁠ Find previous episodes at ⁠⁠⁠finalwordcricket.com⁠⁠⁠ Title track by ⁠⁠⁠Urthboy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

It's Story Time, our walk through cricket history via your listener quiz challenges. This week, it's Daniel Norcross guest hosting, so he begins with a proverb to live by for running between the wickets. What exactly happened on Sandpaper Day? Adam tells the story from his vantage point in the radio box. Later, they move on to Steve Waugh's farewell, with Bharat slotting in to explain why it was someone else's final outing in Australia too - his cousin. Your Nerd Pledge numbers this week: 4.12 - Brendan Crabb 1.50 - Andrew Pelechaty 6.85 - Tom Bustin 1.80 - Indi 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 the Wisden Cricketers' Almanack and never pay RRP for it again: ⁠⁠www.wisdenalmanack.com/subscribe We have 47 runners in the Edinburgh Marathon Festival.⁠⁠ Donate to get us to our £30k fundraising target⁠⁠ for The Lord's Taverners. Get your big NordVPN discount: ⁠⁠nordvpn.com/tfw⁠⁠ Sort out expat finances with Odin Mortgage & Tax: ⁠⁠odinmortgage.com/partner/the-final-word⁠⁠ Maurice Blackburn Lawyers - fighting for the rights of workers since 1919: ⁠⁠mauriceblackburn.com.au⁠⁠ Get 10% off Glenn Maxwell's sunnies: ⁠⁠t20vision.com/FINALWORD⁠⁠ Save more, earn more—up to 4.48% AER (variable). Interest rates are tiered, with the top rate for balances over £1M. Each tiered rate applies to the portion within that range. New Tide members get these rates free for 6 months; after that, your Tide plan’s rates apply. For full offer T&Cs visit ⁠https://tide.co/savings⁠ Claim your £100 cash back (for a £5k deposit) at: ⁠https://tide.co/offers/tfw⁠ Find previous episodes at ⁠⁠finalwordcricket.com⁠⁠ Title track by ⁠⁠Urthboy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Season 18 Episode 10: A left-handed opener from Perth who grew up idolising Justin Langer, in Marcus Harris you have a player who was meant to fit a certain mould. But over his long professional career, which started in 2011 when he smashed a big ton as an 18-year-old in his third game for WA, the 32-year-old has been on a journey that has seen his game evolve into the finished product following stints in the Test team. County cricket has been a significant part of that. He is currently at Lancashire in his fifth championship season, developing consistency that has confounded expectations of what his best might look like if he gets the chance for Australia again. A most engaging guest, he takes us through the rollercoaster ride and the calm that has followed. 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 the Wisden Cricketers' Almanack and never pay RRP for it again: ⁠www.wisdenalmanack.com/subscribe⁠ Get your big NordVPN discount: ⁠⁠⁠nordvpn.com/tfw⁠⁠⁠ We have 47 runners in the Edinburgh Marathon Festival.⁠⁠ Donate to get us to our £30k fundraising target⁠⁠ for The Lord's Taverners. Sort out expat finances with Odin Mortgage & Tax: ⁠⁠⁠odinmortgage.com/partner/the-final-word⁠⁠⁠ Maurice Blackburn Lawyers - fighting for the rights of workers since 1919: ⁠⁠⁠mauriceblackburn.com.au⁠⁠⁠ Get 10% off Glenn Maxwell's sunnies: ⁠⁠⁠t20vision.com/FINALWORD⁠⁠⁠ Save more, earn more—up to 4.48% AER (variable). Interest rates are tiered, with the top rate for balances over £1M. Each tiered rate applies to the portion within that range. New Tide members get these rates free for 6 months; after that, your Tide plan’s rates apply. For full offer T&Cs visit ⁠⁠⁠https://tide.co/savings⁠⁠⁠ Claim your £100 cash back (for a £5k deposit) at: ⁠⁠⁠https://tide.co/offers/tfw⁠⁠⁠ Find previous episodes at ⁠⁠⁠finalwordcricket.com⁠⁠⁠ Title track by ⁠⁠⁠Urthboy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Season 18, Episode 9: With the power outage in Lisbon it’s Daniel Norcross stepping in this week as Adam returns to a familiar sofa under the Jardine portrait in Tooting. Fronting the agenda are off-field discussions following our Richard Gould interview, extending to how the English game might look after its latest review. The County Championship is never dull, with the Foxes of Leicestershire hunting for their first promotion as the Surrey machine clicks into top gear for the first time in 2025. There’s also plenty of action to recap in the Women’s One Day Cup before Ben Jones (on his 30th birthday!) takes us to India where the rest of the world is so focused – a staggering 35-ball ton by 14-year-old Vaibhav Suryavanshi in the IPL. 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 the Wisden Cricketers' Almanack and never pay RRP for it again: www.wisdenalmanack.com/subscribe We have 47 runners in the Edinburgh Marathon Festival.⁠⁠ Donate to get us to our £30k fundraising target⁠⁠ for The Lord's Taverners. Get your big NordVPN discount: ⁠⁠nordvpn.com/tfw⁠⁠ Sort out expat finances with Odin Mortgage & Tax: ⁠⁠odinmortgage.com/partner/the-final-word⁠⁠ Maurice Blackburn Lawyers - fighting for the rights of workers since 1919: ⁠⁠mauriceblackburn.com.au⁠⁠ Get 10% off Glenn Maxwell's sunnies: ⁠⁠t20vision.com/FINALWORD⁠⁠ Save more, earn more—up to 4.48% AER (variable). Interest rates are tiered, with the top rate for balances over £1M. Each tiered rate applies to the portion within that range. New Tide members get these rates free for 6 months; after that, your Tide plan’s rates apply. For full offer T&Cs visit ⁠⁠https://tide.co/savings⁠⁠ Claim your £100 cash back (for a £5k deposit) at: ⁠⁠https://tide.co/offers/tfw⁠⁠ Find previous episodes at ⁠⁠finalwordcricket.com⁠⁠ Title track by ⁠⁠Urthboy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

It's Story Time, our walk through cricket history via your listener quiz challenges. This week, there's only one thing on the menu at Diego's dinner, but would a modern-day Plum Warner have been on the gear? That aside, this is a wholesome family episodes with links through both pledges and answers, plus the history of Argentina and some myth investigation about the biggest name in wrestling. Your Nerd Pledge numbers this week: 8.75 - Samuel Chappel 18.96 - Richard Jansz-Moore 7.38 - Elliott Brannen 2.30 - Andrew Nixon Support the show with a Nerd Pledge at ⁠patreon.com/thefinalword⁠ Tickets for our Wormsley match, August 18: ⁠uk.emma-live.com/WormsleyFinal2025⁠ We have 47 runners in the Edinburgh Marathon Festival.⁠⁠ Donate to get us to our £30k fundraising target⁠⁠ for The Lord's Taverners. Get your big NordVPN discount: ⁠nordvpn.com/tfw⁠ Sort out expat finances with Odin Mortgage & Tax: ⁠odinmortgage.com/partner/the-final-word⁠ Maurice Blackburn Lawyers - fighting for the rights of workers since 1919: ⁠mauriceblackburn.com.au⁠ Get 10% off Glenn Maxwell's sunnies: ⁠t20vision.com/FINALWORD⁠ Save more, earn more—up to 4.48% AER (variable). Interest rates are tiered, with the top rate for balances over £1M. Each tiered rate applies to the portion within that range. New Tide members get these rates free for 6 months; after that, your Tide plan’s rates apply. For full offer T&Cs visit https://tide.co/savings Claim your £100 cash back (for a £5k deposit) at: https://tide.co/offers/tfw Find previous episodes at ⁠finalwordcricket.com⁠ Title track by ⁠Urthboy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Season 18, Episode 8: We like forging traditions on the pod and one of those is speaking with Lawrence Booth, the editor of the Wisden Cricketers' Almanack, at Lord's on the day the little yellow wonder is released each year. We go through the 162nd edition in the usual way, published at a moment when there is much up for grabs in the global game - documented with care and caution in the editors' notes. From there, the chance to celebrate the best of the game in all its forms and from every corner of the cricket world. Support the show with a Nerd Pledge at ⁠patreon.com/thefinalword⁠ Tickets for our Wormsley match, August 18: ⁠uk.emma-live.com/WormsleyFinal2025⁠ Get your big NordVPN discount: ⁠nordvpn.com/tfw⁠ We have 47 runners in the Edinburgh Marathon Festival.⁠⁠ Donate to get us to our £30k fundraising target⁠⁠ for The Lord's Taverners. Sort out expat finances with Odin Mortgage & Tax: ⁠odinmortgage.com/partner/the-final-word⁠ Maurice Blackburn Lawyers - fighting for the rights of workers since 1919: ⁠mauriceblackburn.com.au⁠ Get 10% off Glenn Maxwell's sunnies: ⁠t20vision.com/FINALWORD⁠ Save more, earn more—up to 4.48% AER (variable). Interest rates are tiered, with the top rate for balances over £1M. Each tiered rate applies to the portion within that range. New Tide members get these rates free for 6 months; after that, your Tide plan’s rates apply. For full offer T&Cs visit ⁠https://tide.co/savings⁠ Claim your £100 cash back (for a £5k deposit) at: ⁠https://tide.co/offers/tfw⁠ Find previous episodes at ⁠finalwordcricket.com⁠ Title track by ⁠Urthboy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Season 18, Episode 7: Call it a mutual admiration society: given the way we respect Wisden, it's nice to get an observation back. More importantly this week, the kind of wild net-run-rate ending that we've been anticipating for some time came to pass in the women's World Cup qualifiers. The new English women's domestic system got started, Zimbabwe and Bangladesh played a stunner in their Test series, and Bangladesh's 10 and 11 remain the most entertaining batters in world cricket. Jason Gillespie tackles the Pakistan board, and there are moments worth looking at in a county round dampened by rain. Then, Ben Jones in the IPL warns against the rise of our robot overlords. Your Nerd Pledge revisit for this week: 5.30 - Claire Danny Daniel Support the show with a Nerd Pledge at patreon.com/thefinalword We have 47 runners in the Edinburgh Marathon Festival.⁠⁠ Donate to get us to our £30k fundraising target⁠⁠ for The Lord's Taverners. Tickets for our Wormsley match, August 18: uk.emma-live.com/WormsleyFinal2025 Get your big NordVPN discount: nordvpn.com/tfw Sort out expat finances with Odin Mortgage & Tax: odinmortgage.com/partner/the-final-word Maurice Blackburn Lawyers - fighting for the rights of workers since 1919: mauriceblackburn.com.au Get 10% off Glenn Maxwell's sunnies: t20vision.com/FINALWORD Save more, earn more—up to 4.48% AER (variable). Interest rates are tiered, with the top rate for balances over £1M. Each tiered rate applies to the portion within that range. New Tide members get these rates free for 6 months; after that, your Tide plan’s rates apply. For full offer T&Cs visit ⁠https://tide.co/savings⁠ Claim your £100 cash back (for a £5k deposit) at: ⁠https://tide.co/offers/tfw⁠ Find previous episodes at finalwordcricket.com Title track by Urthboy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices