The Final Word Cricket Podcast

Season 15, Episode 18: Running Australian cricket will never be an easy job. Nick Hockley’s path to the chief executive chair was from left field, slotted in when administrators were getting taken out during the pandemic. A few years on, established in the role, he talked us through his backstory, his hopes for cricket’s future, and a range of the issues that have landed in his in-tray. Recorded in the Ladies Stand at the SCG as summer rain fell the day after the Test.Support the show with a Nerd Pledge at patreon.com/thefinalwordGet that sweet Nord VPN discount - nordvpn.com/tfwSort your super with CBUS on their 40th birthdayRun or donate to the 2024 Edinburgh Marathon for the Lord's TavernersAll links at linktr.ee/thefinalwordFind previous episodes at finalwordcricket.comTitle track by Urthboy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Australia v Pakistan, Sydney Day 4: It's all over. David Warner Week ended with David Warner Day, as the man of the hour got to take centre stage for one last Australian Test innings. Then he had plenty to say in support of this format of the game into the future. Pat Cummins was Player of the Series, in a contest where Pakistan were much more competitive than 3-0 suggest. So it ended, in traditional glorious Sydney sunshine.Support the show with a Nerd Pledge at patreon.com/thefinalwordGet Sydney live show tickets for for 7 January: linktr.ee/thefinalwordSort your super with CBUS on their 40th birthday: cbussuper.com.auFind previous episodes at finalwordcricket.comTitle track by Urthboy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Australia v Pakistan, Sydney Day 3: Is this Jamal's Ashes? By god, it was for a while, as the Pakistani wonder produced another stunning passage of play, while Mitchell Marsh produced another fine chapter. With the match as beautifully poised as it could be, nobody could have quite imagined the stunning performance that came next. Support the show with a Nerd Pledge at patreon.com/thefinalwordGet Sydney live show tickets for for 7 January: linktr.ee/thefinalwordSort your super with CBUS on their 40th birthday: cbussuper.com.auFind previous episodes at finalwordcricket.comTitle track by Urthboy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Australia v Pakistan, Sydney Day 2: You're not going to believe it, but there was the tiniest bit of rain at the Sydney Test today. We still got 46 overs in, and we still had enough time for Pakistan to show some mettle, make some mistakes, and leave themselves broadly in the Test match, while Australia's openers did their best to contribute to the contest. Meanwhile, across the Indian Ocean, far more extraordinary things were playing out.Support the show with a Nerd Pledge at patreon.com/thefinalwordGet Sydney live show tickets for for 7 January: linktr.ee/thefinalwordSort your super with CBUS on their 40th birthday: cbussuper.com.auFind previous episodes at finalwordcricket.comTitle track by Urthboy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Australia v Pakistan, Sydney Day 1: A very watchable, and rainfree, day at Sydney to begin Warner Week, although the man himself did not feature until the final over of the day. Pakistan were all over the place then fought back brilliantly with the type of innings down the list you could watch time and again. Meanwhile, another 5fa for Cummins.Support the show with a Nerd Pledge at patreon.com/thefinalwordGet Sydney live show tickets for for 7 January: linktr.ee/thefinalwordSort your super with CBUS on their 40th birthday: cbussuper.com.auFind previous episodes at finalwordcricket.comTitle track by Urthboy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Australia v Pakistan, Sydney Day 0: Happy new year. It's time for the first Final Word of 2024. And it finds Adam and Geoff kicking back in the backyard one day ahead of the third Test, after an eventful day of press appearances from Pat Cummins and Shan Masood. Let's run the tape over it all.Support the show with a Nerd Pledge at patreon.com/thefinalwordGet Sydney live show tickets for for 7 January: linktr.ee/thefinalwordSort your super with CBUS on their 40th birthday: cbussuper.com.auFind previous episodes at finalwordcricket.comTitle track by Urthboy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Season 15, Episode 17: Happy New Year. As we wrap up what was a huge one in 2023, and roll over blinking into the new light of 2024, we take our annual look back on what stood out for the right reasons and what stood out for wrong. Plus we catch up with the Australian women's Test in India, and the Indian men's disastrous first Test in South Africa.Support the show with a Nerd Pledge at patreon.com/thefinalwordThe Final Word Live in Sydney with Michael Bevan: get tickets for January 7.Run or donate to the 2024 Edinburgh Marathon for the Lord's TavernersSort your super with CBUS on their 40th birthdayTake up the generous Nord VPN discountAll links at linktr.ee/thefinalwordFind previous episodes at finalwordcricket.comTitle track by Urthboy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

It's Story Time, our weekly walk through cricket history via your listener quiz challenges. This week, our title story takes us all the way back to 1997, to a magical island where strange creatures roamed. Was it Jurassic Park? Kinda, but with added Big Jim Wilson. Also this week, have we traced the Wally Hammond misadventure right back to its source? And how did a junior wicketkeeper end up at AEK Athens?Your Nerd Pledge numbers this week:3.27 - Richard Jones1.50 - Andrew Pelechaty78.00 - Peder Roberts2.38 - Mike DunnSupport the show with a Nerd Pledge at patreon.com/thefinalwordGet tickets for our Sydney LIVE SHOW with Michael Bevan on 7 JanuaryRun or donate to the 2024 Edinburgh Marathon for the Lord's TavernersSort your super with CBUS on their 40th birthdayTake up the generous Nord VPN discountSupport Ralph's liver transplantAll the links are at linktr.ee/thefinalwordFind previous episodes at finalwordcricket.comTitle track by Urthboy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Australia v Pakistan, Melbourne Day 4: It was real, it was raw, and it was on until the last hour of the day. Shan Masood batted like a dream, Babar Azam bashed back into some form, and Mohammed Rizwan was his usual unpredictable delight. Nathan Lyon got ambushed, Pat Cummins bowled like a dream, and it was only when the extra half hour was called that we could feel sure about how this would go.Support the show with a Nerd Pledge at patreon.com/thefinalwordGet Sydney live show tickets for for 7 January: linktr.ee/thefinalwordSort your super with CBUS on their 40th birthday: cbussuper.com.auFind previous episodes at finalwordcricket.comTitle track by Urthboy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Australia v Pakistan, Melbourne Day 3: What a day of Test cricket. Pakistan scrapped and clawed in the first session with the bat, then started with a glorious burst of left-arm fast bowling. Swing, seam, stumps ascatter. From on the ropes, Steve Smith absorbed and Mitch Marsh counterpunched. Then they fell. Three days of fine fast bowling and conditions doing plenty, and this game is still on the table for either side.Support the show with a Nerd Pledge at patreon.com/thefinalwordGet Sydney live show tickets for for 7 January: linktr.ee/thefinalwordSort your super with CBUS on their 40th birthday: cbussuper.com.auFind previous episodes at finalwordcricket.comTitle track by Urthboy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices