The Final Word Cricket Podcast

Season 17, Episode 35: Welcome to episode three in our series of interviews with county cricketers at the top of their games. It’s opening day today with Lancashire visiting Lord’s. After being relegated at the end of 2024, the job for the men representing the Red Rose is obvious – to bounce straight back up. And when it comes to posting their runs over the next six months, it’ll be their skipper who sets the tone. Keaton Jennings has enjoyed a great run over the last five seasons at the top of the list. At age 32, he’s now deep into a career that has taken him from captaining the South African Under 19s to making a Test ton on debut for England. It’s been a while since his last international cap, but he’s never been far from the thoughts of selectors given he’s shown that he can cut it with the best. In this interview, he provides great insight to what it’s like trying to master the mental side of the game and how that’s liberated him to play his best cricket in recent years. Intelligent and self-aware, he’s another outstanding guest.Support the show with a Nerd Pledge at patreon.com/thefinalwordOdin Mortgage and Tax are the number one mortgage and tax specialist for Australian expats and overseas residents: odinmortgage.com/partner/the-final-wordGet your big NordVPN discount:nordvpn.com/tfwMaurice Blackburn Lawyers - fighting for the rights of workers since 1919: mauriceblackburn.com.auGet 10% off Glenn Maxwell's sunnies: t20vision.com/FINALWORDFind previous episodes at finalwordcricket.comTitle track by Urthboy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Season 17, Episode 34: As the Mighty South Aussies finally took home another Sheffield Shield and completed the domestic double, Australia's national contracts came out, which raises interesting questions about who will be defending the World Test Championship title in June. In other matters this week, Ben Stokes' body is not a wonderland, James Anderson stuns the world by straining a calf, St Kilda punish Carlton in grade cricket, and the end for the Gabba becomes clear.Your Nerd Pledge revisit for this week:5.30 - Richard JonesSupport the show with a Nerd Pledge at patreon.com/thefinalwordGet your big NordVPN discount: nordvpn.com/tfwMaurice Blackburn Lawyers - fighting for the rights of workers since 1919: mauriceblackburn.com.auGet 10% off Glenn Maxwell's sunnies: t20vision.com/FINALWORDIf you're looking for Odin Mortgage & Tax: odintax.comFind previous episodes at finalwordcricket.comTitle track by Urthboy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Season 17, Episode 33: Welcome to our second interview in a series with county pros at the top of their game as season 2025 begins. Jack Leach’s career has been an unusual one - a Test spinner best known for the most significant 1 not out in modern Test nistory. But when he has the ball in his hand, he's been a matchwinner or England. And when he’s had the backing of the powers that be, he’s seen as one of the most important players in the dressing room. In our conversation, we speak with one of Taunton’s favourite sons as he prepares for another crack at getting the county championship trophy to Somerset for the first time. A great guest.Support the show with a Nerd Pledge at patreon.com/thefinalwordOdin Mortgage and Tax are the number one mortgage and tax specialist for Australian expats and overseas residents: odinmortgage.com/partner/the-final-wordGet your big NordVPN discount:nordvpn.com/tfwMaurice Blackburn Lawyers - fighting for the rights of workers since 1919: mauriceblackburn.com.auGet 10% off Glenn Maxwell's sunnies: t20vision.com/FINALWORDFind previous episodes at finalwordcricket.comTitle track by Urthboy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Season 17, Episode 32: The English season is upon us, with the county championship starting this week. And in keeping with the comprehensive coverage we’ve given to that competition over many years, we thought this would be the right time to roll out a series of feature interviews with some of the best county pros out there. One man who meets that criteria is Middlesex opener, Sam Robson. A man who played Test cricket in 2014, he's been an enduring presence at the top of the list at Lord’s, earning a testimonial year for 2025. Another interesting part of his story is that he’s an Aussie too, having decided to carve out a life over here after playing for the Australian Under 19s. And as you’ll hear now, Sam has also earned a lot of respect as someone who is both intelligent and thoughtful. The ideal player to chat with as season 2025 begins.Support the show with a Nerd Pledge at patreon.com/thefinalwordGet your big NordVPN discount:nordvpn.com/tfwMaurice Blackburn Lawyers - fighting for the rights of workers since 1919: mauriceblackburn.com.auGet 10% off Glenn Maxwell's sunnies: t20vision.com/FINALWORDFind previous episodes at finalwordcricket.comTitle 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, Cameron Ponsonby joins Geoff to make his Story Time debut, representing a younger generation of badgerdom. And we do badger: detouring from Australian legends to patchy West Indies number threes, encouragement from Australian legends to promising West Indies number sixes, and an unexpected discovery of one of the most bonkers first-class scorecards we have yet unearthed on this program.Your Nerd Pledge numbers this week:13.68 - Liam James2.37 - Manish Achuth2.60 - Nick Cimdins5.11 - Daniel Kelly6.70 - Thé RodSupport the show with a Nerd Pledge at patreon.com/thefinalwordGet your big NordVPN discount:nordvpn.com/tfwMaurice Blackburn Lawyers - fighting for the rights of workers since 1919: mauriceblackburn.com.auGet 10% off Glenn Maxwell's sunnies: t20vision.com/FINALWORDFind previous episodes at finalwordcricket.comTitle track by Urthboy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Jarrod Kimber was a trailblazer in how the modern game was covered, disrupting press and commentary boxes in the best possible way. But throughout his interesting career, he’s always been an author, and his latest offering includes all the passion and insight you would expect as he goes deep on a simple yet essential topic – making runs. Once he and Adam have finished with that, they move onto another area that has dominated much of their lives over the last little while, neurodiversity. And within that, how they’ve written books by harnessing how their brains are hardwired rather than letting it become an unclearable hurdle.Pre-order The Art of Batting from bloomsbury.com/uk/art-of-batting-9781399416542Support the show with a Nerd Pledge at patreon.com/thefinalwordGet your big NordVPN discount:nordvpn.com/tfwMaurice Blackburn Lawyers - fighting for the rights of workers since 1919: mauriceblackburn.com.auGet 10% off Glenn Maxwell's sunnies: t20vision.com/FINALWORDFind previous episodes at finalwordcricket.comTitle track by Urthboy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Season 17, Episode 31: Yes, we said the wrong episode number. Let's all be grown-ups about that. We're leading up to the Mr Sheffield Shield final, while Queensland's former captain Usman Khawaja smacks down his home state association for putting out false stories. Meanwhile, the sackings have started after England's surrender tour of Australia for the Women's Ashes, we have some new nonsense for the World Test Championship structure, and then the first segment of a season regular: the IPL with Ben Jones.Your Nerd Pledge revisit for this week:3.21 - Ed HentySupport the show with a Nerd Pledge at patreon.com/thefinalwordGet your big NordVPN discount: nordvpn.com/tfwMaurice Blackburn Lawyers - fighting for the rights of workers since 1919: mauriceblackburn.com.auGet 10% off Glenn Maxwell's sunnies: t20vision.com/FINALWORDFind previous episodes at finalwordcricket.comTitle 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, Bharat Sundaresan joins us for tales from the beginning of India's national team, and the inadvertent birth of the BCCI. Gandhi flashes some kneecap, before we turn back twice through the tale of a heist-master who had one more job in mind. Your Nerd Pledge numbers this week:5.93 - Rama Subramanian8.05 - Michael Holden6.26 - Cam Tero3.39 - Nick Mildenhall3.01 - Matthias HineSupport the show with a Nerd Pledge at patreon.com/thefinalwordGet your big NordVPN discount:nordvpn.com/tfwMaurice Blackburn Lawyers - fighting for the rights of workers since 1919: mauriceblackburn.com.auGet 10% off Glenn Maxwell's sunnies: t20vision.com/FINALWORDFind previous episodes at finalwordcricket.comTitle track by Urthboy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

99 years ago, England was in turmoil, leading to unprecedented industrial action. What kept the country together? In no small part, so goes the thesis of Stephen Brenkley in his beautiful new book, a terrific last-gasp Ashes victory - the first time they had defeated the Australians in a series since before the First World War. A Striking Summer – How Cricket United a Divided Nation, paints a vivid picture of post-war Britain and the tourists who made the 1926 Ashes something to behold, with champions filling both teamsheets. He joins Adam.Support the show with a Nerd Pledge at patreon.com/thefinalwordGet your big NordVPN discount:nordvpn.com/tfwMaurice Blackburn Lawyers - fighting for the rights of workers since 1919: mauriceblackburn.com.auGet 20% off your cask of MacIness scotch whisky! ICCWHISKYCRICKET20 is the code, email sales@macinneswhisky.com to get the ball rolling. Get 10% off Glenn Maxwell's sunnies: t20vision.com/FINALWORDFind previous episodes at finalwordcricket.comTitle track by Urthboy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Season 17, Episode 30: In November 2023, we interviewed with David Gower for over an hour and a half but still had plenty of his massive story still to tell. With Adam speaking with the former England record run-scorer at a Lord’s Taverners event in London last week, they picked up from where they left off, moving from the 1989 Ashes through to the end of his playing career then on to becoming one the game’s most substantial broadcast voices. A man we have a lot of admiration and respect for, not least due to the remarkable amount of time he puts into the Tavs, where he’s serving a fifth year as president in 2025. Enjoy.Support the show with a Nerd Pledge at patreon.com/thefinalwordGet your big NordVPN discount:nordvpn.com/tfwMaurice Blackburn Lawyers - fighting for the rights of workers since 1919: mauriceblackburn.com.auGet 10% off Glenn Maxwell's sunnies: t20vision.com/FINALWORDFind previous episodes at finalwordcricket.comTitle track by Urthboy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices