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.Get your big NordVPN discount: https://nordvpn.com/tfw
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Sep 29, 2026 · 1:32:39
Season 20, Episode 32: We called it: CA chair Mike Baird has been knocked off by New South Wales, and the cricket privatisation war could now turn in any directions Can we…
Sep 28, 2026 · 1:37:48
It’s Story Time, our weekly walk through cricket history. This week, we might need some help to get this one across the line, but there's a world record that need reclaiming from…
Sep 27, 2026 · 36:56
South Africa Australia Daily, 2nd ODI, Johannesburg: Australia were bullish at the Bullring, talking about levelling the series. South Africa's batters levelled the Australians.…
Sep 24, 2026 · 31:13
South Africa Australia Daily, 1st ODI, Durban: In the lead-up to the Test series, this one-day series has extra significance. Starc was here, so was Hazlewood, with Cummins in…
Sep 22, 2026 · 1:40:46
Season 20, Episode 31: With Mike Baird's CA board seat at risk, a resignation has seen an independent spot open up. Deidre Chambers, what a coincidence. Stephen Fleming arrives…
Sep 19, 2026 · 1:37:23
It’s Story Time, our weekly walk through cricket history. This week, a massive tangent from Argentine cricket into Argentine global conspiracy theories. Does it make sense? Not…
Sep 17, 2026 · 1:28:23
It’s Story Time, our weekly walk through cricket history. This week, what happens when you find a Buttercup Bread scratchie featuring Courtney Walsh from either 1996 or 2000? You…
Sep 14, 2026 · 1:29:42
Season 20, Episode 30: Does anyone have deja vu yet? Another week, another Cricket Australia announcement that they have approved selling the Big Bash even though they can't sell…
Sep 13, 2026 · 1:24:36
It’s Story Time, our weekly walk through cricket history. This week, Geoff and Adam were meant to do four numbers rather than two, but with the Sandpaper Redux tour looming, it…
Sep 12, 2026 · 35:52
England Pakistan Daily, 3rd Test, Edgbaston Day 4: For a final intoxicating moment, the chance of a miracle continued to beckon. But it would take more than a shock comeback to…
Sep 11, 2026 · 26:18
England Pakistan Daily, 3rd Test, Edgbaston Day 3: The obituaries of this Pakistan tour to England will mourn the lack of flair, passion, and the unknown of old, but in Razaullah…
Sep 10, 2026 · 32:01
England Pakistan Daily, 3rd Test, Edgbaston Day 2: There is, for a moment, something to cheer for: a tall charismatic young fast bowler with tungsten hair and a silken wrist.…
Sep 9, 2026 · 39:12
England Pakistan Daily, 3rd Test, Edgbaston Day 1: There is, for a moment, something to cheer for: a tall charismatic young fast bowler with tungsten hair and a silken wrist.…
Sep 8, 2026 · 25:36
England Pakistan Daily, 3rd Test, Edgbaston preview: As the news of new-look teams gets prepared for the third Test, nobody has any idea who Pakistan might pick to play, or…
Sep 7, 2026 · 1:37:30
Season 20, Episode 29: It's always Labuschagne season in Australia. We all thought that his time was done for now, but somehow he's been picked on the trip to his country of…
Sep 5, 2026 · 1:07:33
It’s Story Time, our weekly walk through cricket history. This week, Geoff and Adam ask if batting on all five days of a Test really is the feat we build it up to be? We look at…
Sep 3, 2026 · 44:08
Zaheer Abbas is an all-time great. An illustrious international career on top of his first-class exploits in Pakistan and England combined for 46,000 professional runs, telling…
Sep 1, 2026 · 1:22:06
Season 20, Episode 28: The PCB go from meme material to utter embarrassment. Lord’s pitch has a renewal plan, Sri Lanka pull off one of the great rearguards, and Kagiso Rabada…
Aug 31, 2026 · 1:18:05
It's Story Time, our weekly walk through cricket history. This week, some players are top of the good stats, others see things slip through their fingers. There's an unlikely…
Aug 30, 2026 · 26:22
England Pakistan Daily, 2nd Test, Lord’s Day 4: Could it be that Ollie Robinson, in the wilderness for 2 years prior to this summer, is England’s most important bowler? The…
Aug 29, 2026 · 26:57
England Pakistan Daily, 2nd Test, Lord’s Day 3: Lord’s got 24 overs more play than was expected on a day that otherwise would have been abandoned early due to its world-class…
Aug 28, 2026 · 26:33
England Pakistan Daily, 2nd Test, Lord’s Day 2: The second morning of the second Test began with promise for Pakistan. An injury before play, a wagging tail, and surgically…
Aug 27, 2026 · 30:49
England Pakistan Daily, 2nd Test, Lord’s Day 1: Leaden skies, rain delays, ‘keeper up and a bit of swing and seam on offer gave Day 1 at the Lord’s Test a familiar county cricket…
Aug 26, 2026 · 22:33
England Pakistan Daily, 2nd Test, Lord’s preview: England and Pakistan head into the 2nd Test with the series on the line, but it’s issues on the periphery that are dominating…
Aug 25, 2026 · 1:50:32
Season 20, Episode 27: Brydon Carse’s nightclub handcuffs are the latest on the England incident conveyor belt, while Pakistan’s bigger problems seem endemic. Have Bangladesh…
Aug 23, 2026 · 1:28:25
It's Story Time, our weekly walk through cricket history. This week, exploring some games that ended up with a slightly lower profile than cricket, let's get into the world of…
Aug 23, 2026 · 27:11
Australia Bangladesh Daily, 2nd Test, Mackay Day 2: The carnage from Day 1 continued apace as the second-shortest Test ever played on Australian soil came to a conclusion, with…
Aug 22, 2026 · 26:13
Australia Bangladesh Daily, 2nd Test, Mackay Day 1: The world’s newest Test venue was christened with more chaotic cricket, with 18 wickets falling on Day 1, 12 of them shared by…
Aug 21, 2026 · 28:06
England Pakistan Daily, 1st Test, Headingley Day 3: England returned to the winners' dais for the first time in the Root 2.0 era, with Ollie Robinson and Josh Tongue filleting a…
Aug 20, 2026 · 27:32
England Pakistan Daily, 1st Test, Headingley Day 2: A few things went right for Pakistan: Ali Usman grafted his way to a five-wicket day, and they're very distantly still in the…
Aug 19, 2026 · 26:02
England Pakistan Daily, 1st Test, Headingley Day 1: England wanted to bowl, Pakistan wanted to bat, and while both sides were happy at the toss, only one side was later. There…
Aug 18, 2026 · 33:57
England Pakistan Daily, 1st Test, Headingley preview: It's about to start, and we have no idea how to think about what's going to happen. Do Pakistan have any players? Does the…
Aug 17, 2026 · 1:14:42
Season 20, Episode 26: Australia have just gone down to Bangladesh, and England have to pull themselves together against Pakistan. What will be the consequences of Darwin? Also…
Aug 16, 2026 · 35:55
Australia Bangladesh Daily, 1st Test, Darwin Day 4: Spoiler alert, but the most immense upset in cricket history has been completed. The Test arena is where these results just do…
Aug 16, 2026 · 1:46:32
It's Story Time, our weekly walk through cricket history. This week, it's difficult to capture sport in song, so let's have a look at Paul Kelly's effort. Also, did we find the…
Aug 15, 2026 · 30:03
Australia Bangladesh Daily, 1st Test, Darwin Day 3: Can Bangladesh hold their nerve? They're still well ahead of the game, but by now in a position where they can see how…
Aug 14, 2026 · 33:39
Australia Bangladesh Daily, 1st Test, Darwin Day 2: The show goes on. Bangladesh winning three sessions in a row in Australia was big news, but now they've gone to make it six,…
Aug 13, 2026 · 21:31
Australia Bangladesh Daily, 1st Test, Darwin Day 1: We didn't see this one coming! Bangladesh arrived in the Top End underclubbed, understaffed, and got smashed in a warm-up game…
Aug 11, 2026 · 1:23:56
Season 20, Episode 25: Australia’s legacy-defining 21 Test run begins in the Top End, with Bangladesh keen to stifle the run to the WTC Final, and maybe even some careers.…
Aug 9, 2026 · 1:08:41
It's Story Time, our weekly walk through cricket history. This week, it's episode 281, but we don't have a story about Geoff's favourite innings, because we've talked about so…
Aug 7, 2026 · 46:06
Cricket attracts romantics. Whatever the form, so much of the game’s prose is dedicated to reflection and understanding. Whilst many fine writers have penned creative words,…
Aug 5, 2026 · 1:20:52
Season 20, Episode 24: The ECB enclave elects their new leader, and they won’t make the same mistake this time. They jump in the DeLorean to go back to the Root-ure as captain,…
Aug 1, 2026 · 1:25:30
It's Story Time, our weekly walk through cricket history. This week, Yas Rana makes his Story Time debut, and has to wrestle with the degree of difficulty that our audience has…
Jul 27, 2026 · 1:03:43
Season 20 Episode 23: The next twin Ashes series has dates and locations finalised, and it's safe to say there are hairs on the whole schedule. Why is one Test at the least…
Jul 25, 2026 · 1:18:02
It's Story Time, our weekly walk through cricket history. This week, this show has had many distant dreams, but this week we finally have sweet closure on what may be our dearest…
Jul 23, 2026 · 29:05
The Final Word Book Club: No other cricket team can boast of selling millions of books, let alone inspiring classic characters like Sherlock Holmes, Jeeves & Wooster, and Peter…
Jul 21, 2026 · 1:07:53
Season 20 Episode 22: Say it ain’t so. Would JL, the most intensely parochial of all the wearers of the Baggy Green, really try to help England to an Ashes win? The rumours are…
Jul 19, 2026 · 38:08
England v India, 3rd ODI, Lord's: Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma threw everything at pulling off a record heist in what many assume to be their final game in England, after Ben…
Jul 17, 2026 · 1:04:26
It's Story Time, our weekly walk through cricket history. This week, if you need a very roundabout method to dispose of a member of a royal family, we have the advice for you.…
Jul 17, 2026 · 28:19
England v India, 2nd ODI, Cardiff: A proper old-fashioned one-dayer on a proper old-fashioned one-day pitch needed a proper old-fashioned one-day innings. Joe Root is the man for…
Jul 16, 2026 · 16:19
After the success of last year’s event, The Final Word will be taking on Wisden Cricket Weekly at Wormsley on August 10th, in support of the Lord’s Taverners. Adam Collins sits…
Jul 15, 2026 · 1:43:58
Season 20, Episode 21: It's finally over. Brendon McCullum has gone, Ben Stokes has gone (at least for now), and Rob Key is incongruously the last man standing, tasked with…
Jul 14, 2026 · 29:48
England v India, 1st ODI, Edgbaston: The ODI series kicked off with some familiar foes returning to the fore. Bumrah, Kohli, and Rohit are returning for the boys in blue, and Joe…
Jul 13, 2026 · 36:59
Only Test, Lord's, Day 4: A hot day, a crumbling pitch taking turn, and a raft of spinners ready to use it: this was proper. And it will be a result long remembered in India, as…
Jul 12, 2026 · 44:55
Only Test, Lord's, Day 3: India continued their ruthless march to a historic victory in the first-ever Women’s Test at the Home of Cricket, but the day will be remembered for…
Jul 11, 2026 · 42:11
Only Test, Lord's, Day 2: Kranti Gaud became the first woman on the Lord’s honours board with a five-wicket haul as India spoiled England’s homecoming party on Day 2 of the…
Jul 11, 2026 · 38:39
England v India, 5th T20, Trent Bridge: Jos Buttler roared back into form with a scintillating century, condemning India to their fourth heavy loss of the series. Harry Brook…
Jul 10, 2026 · 30:50
Only Test, Lord's, Day 1: A huge week for women's cricket in England continued at Lord's, with the first women's Test at the venue. It was, to some extent, the last major first…
Jul 10, 2026 · 1:07:11
It's Story Time, our weekly walk through cricket history. This week, a scenic backdrop as Adam dials in from another London cricket club, before we wind all the way back to the…
Jul 9, 2026 · 26:12
England v India, 4th T20, Trent Bridge: A chastened India team limped to Bristol after 4 demoralising defeats and produced another limp display to be blasted away at the hands of…
Jul 7, 2026 · 29:14
England v India, 3rd T20, Trent Bridge: An angry Gautam Gambhir has faced the press after a winless start to a tour that held untold promise for India’s T20 dominance. With a…
Jul 6, 2026 · 54:23
Season 20, Episode 20: The morning after the night before, Adam and Geoff discuss a clinical Australian victory over England in a final that was a great event, but circumstances…
Jul 5, 2026 · 34:32
Women's T20 World Cup 2026 final: England v Australia: A new record crowd for women's cricket in England came down to Lord's, beating the 2017 mark on a perfect sunny afternoon.…
Jul 4, 2026 · 32:00
England v India, 2nd T20, Old Trafford: The day has finally come! Vaibhav Sooryavanshi made his full international debut for India, becoming their youngest player to do so. And…
Jul 3, 2026 · 1:00:52
It's Story Time, our weekly walk through cricket history. This week, there will be plenty of centenaries and sesquicentenaries coming up over the next few years, but we have…
Jul 2, 2026 · 21:19
Women's T20 World Cup 2026, 2nd Semi-Final: England v South Africa: Another huge crowd, with 21,000 in at The Oval leaning strongly towards the home team, and South Africa gave…
Jul 1, 2026 · 1:16:31
Season 20, Episode 19: It's been a mad old week in cricket. We took a beat to consider the weekend exit of Ben Stokes from international cricket, at least for now, but the time…
Jun 30, 2026 · 32:15
Women's T20 World Cup 2026, 1st Semi-Final: Australia v West Indies: A start like no other, where West Indies batter Deandra Dottin appeared to faint during the national anthems,…
Jun 30, 2026 · 1:25:40
It's Story Time, our weekly walk through cricket history. This week, Adam and Geoff catch up in London to look at a special but ill-fated career, a slow build from a difficult…
Jun 29, 2026 · 36:30
Eng v NZ Daily 2026, 3rd Test, Trent Bridge Day 5: There was a collective weariness at Trent Bridge on Day 5 from all apart from the impressive New Zealand team. A sparse, quiet…
Jun 28, 2026 · 35:48
Eng v NZ Daily 2026, 3rd Test, Trent Bridge Day 4: News of Ben Stokes’ retirement at the end of this Test was released in the middle of an over just prior to the tea break. In an…
Jun 28, 2026 · 27:52
Women's T20 World Cup 2026, Day 15, Australia v India, South Africa v Bangladesh: Two matches to decide one semi-final spot, with so many permutations depending on each of the…
Jun 27, 2026 · 33:59
Women's T20 World Cup 2026, Day 14, England v New Zealand: Already qualified, against a team motivated by not just a place in the semi-finals but by extending the careers of…
Jun 27, 2026 · 29:57
Eng v NZ Daily 2026, 3rd Test, Trent Bridge Day 3: A Test that continues to confound expectations swung violently in New Zealand’s direction on an engrossing third day. A Test…
Jun 27, 2026 · 29:29
Women's T20 World Cup 2026, Day 13, Sri Lanka v Scotland: It was the battle of Final Word faves: our fascination with Sri Lanka's improvement versus the heart with which the…
Jun 26, 2026 · 29:19
Eng v NZ Daily 2026, 3rd Test, Trent Bridge Day 2: The headline may be recency bias, but England will be delighted with their day’s work. Considering the match situation, the…
Jun 25, 2026 · 26:54
Eng v NZ Daily 2026, 3rd Test, Trent Bridge Day 1: Another UK scorcher saw England toil under blue skies. A day that was meant to be triumphant for the returns of Stokes and…
Jun 25, 2026 · 27:03
Women's T20 World Cup 2026, Day 12, India v Bangladesh: India got the result they needed to keep their hopes of back-to-back ICC trophies alive, but the manner of it will concern…
Jun 24, 2026 · 31:03
Women's T20 World Cup 2026, Day 10, England v West Indies: A record June day of heat in England, and a crowd of 14,000 at Lord’s: the thermostat was up, and Heather Knight was…
Jun 24, 2026 · 33:27
Eng v NZ Daily 2026, 3rd Test, Trent Bridge, Preview: A wild series comes to its unmissable conclusion this week at Trent Bridge. For New Zealand, dependable all-rounder Mitch…
Jun 23, 2026 · 37:35
Women's T20 World Cup 2026, Day 10, Australia v Pakistan, Sri Lanka v Ireland, Scotland v New Zealand: Australia are locked in at the top of Group A, after a performance where…
Jun 22, 2026 · 1:41:30
Season 20, Episode 18: Coming to you from the absurd penthouse terrace with a clear view of the Lord's pitch, Adam and Geoff are back together. England have been thumped by New…
Jun 21, 2026 · 33:24
Women's T20 World Cup 2026, Day 9, India v South Africa, West Indies v Sri Lanka, England v Scotland: Marizanne Kapp has turned Group A upside down with a solo performance for…
Jun 21, 2026 · 29:17
Eng v NZ Daily 2026, 2nd Test, Oval, Day 5: England needed a miracle performance without their miracle man. Realistically, any of the three sessions or near 300 runs required…
Jun 20, 2026 · 20:21
Women's T20 World Cup 2026, Day 8, Australia v Netherlands, Pakistan v Bangladesh: Australia have never played the Dutch in a T20 before, and the Aussie challenge was whether…
Jun 20, 2026 · 29:33
Eng v NZ Daily 2026, 2nd Test, Oval, Day 4: A day where New Zealand’s much vaunted attack showed why they garner so much respect. Only Joe Root, again, was able to hold the tide…
Jun 20, 2026 · 25:12
Women's T20 World Cup 2026, Day 7, Ireland v West Indies: Just the one game today, but it was the closest one we've had yet, and for almost all of it, the Irish women responded…
Jun 19, 2026 · 28:34
Eng v NZ Daily 2026, 2nd Test, Oval, Day 3: It was a red-letter day for the return of Henry Nicholls, who notched up a classy century to put a flat England to the sword. With…
Jun 18, 2026 · 31:04
Women's T20 World Cup 2026, Day 6, Scotland v West Indies, South Africa v Pakistan: Two absolute belters on two consecutive nights, as mistakes and pressure made for compelling…
Jun 18, 2026 · 30:26
Eng v NZ Daily 2026, 2nd Test, Oval, Day 2: Glenn Phillips, seemingly the cricketer that everyone loves, finally scaled the mountain to score his maiden Test century. It made him…
Jun 17, 2026 · 30:40
Eng v NZ Daily 2026, 2nd Test, Oval, Day 1: A day that opened up for England but couldn't quite stick with an attack finding its way against a batting group that has seen plenty.…
Jun 17, 2026 · 28:02
Women's T20 World Cup 2026, Day 5, Australia v Bangladesh, India v Netherlands: Not competitive games, but there was some enjoyment to be had from the Dutch performance, while…
Jun 16, 2026 · 34:23
Women's T20 World Cup 2026, Day 4, Sri Lanka v New Zealand, England v Ireland: What a finish, and what a refusal to lay down. People still underestimate Sri Lanka, but we've been…
Jun 16, 2026 · 36:15
Eng v NZ Daily 2026, 2nd Test, Oval, Preview: For England, it’s hard to imagine how their time since Lord’s could’ve been more chaotic. So much drama, so many changes. Now across…
Jun 15, 2026 · 1:23:27
Season 20, Episode 17: Cricket Australia emerged from an all-states meeting claiming a consensus agreement to sell some Big Bash clubs, but there are a lot of caveats to work…
Jun 14, 2026 · 40:11
Women's T20 World Cup 2026, Day 3, India v Pakistan, West Indies v New Zealand, and Netherlands v Bangladesh: The big one in terms of attention, rarely the big one in terms of…
Jun 13, 2026 · 29:32
Women's T20 World Cup 2026, Day 2, Scotland v Ireland and Australia v South Africa: Lots of chat from South Africans before this tournament about taking the next step, and from…
Jun 12, 2026 · 27:05
Women's T20 World Cup 2026, Day 1, England v Sri Lanka: There has been plenty of pressure on the England women's team coming into a home World Cup after their poor recent…
Jun 12, 2026 · 31:32
Extra emergency TFW Daily: Don’t say it’s over. After one last go around at Lord’s, Big Daddy Kane has left the arena, retiring from all New Zealand cricket. An abrupt decision…
Jun 10, 2026 · 1:03:49
Season 20, Episode 16: Ben Stokes and trouble on a night out, is it? Deidre Chambers. But then, is there more to this, or less to this, than meets the eye? How much comes down to…
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