Season 7, Ep 7: The Australian Test squad is announced, and we have all the wash-up from that announcement and the week in cricket, plus Adam's adventures with lime milk in Tasmania and the time Geoff crashed their car.

Then: when you have the same name as your subject, it must make empathy easy. During Robin Smith's career the England batsman was famed for his bravery against fast bowling. After it, he found himself on the verge of jumping off a building. Rob Smyth has helped write Smith's story, and is our Final Word guest this episode.

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Rob Smith versus Rob Smyth

Cricket for everyone – your friendly guide to the world's strangest sport. Geoff Lemon and Adam Collins combine match analysis with irreverence, politics and cricket history as they follow the game they love around the world and run in-depth interviews with guests. You can support the show at patreon.com/thefinalword.

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Season 1, Ep 5: Reloading lost episodes from the early Final Word. Partway through a busy Australian tour of England in 2015, it was time to take stock of the short format. We started in The Cricketers pub in Cardiff, recording with Melinda Farrell after the Women's Ashes had just finished with three T20s. Two new women's T20 competitions were soon to start in Australia's Big Bash and England's Super League. So we spoke about the start of men's professional T20s in 2003 with Paul Robertson, the man who led that charge. Then we dropped in on journalist Peter Miller to talk T20 evangelism and look at the upcoming 50-over series between Australia and England men. On new recruit Jason Roy: "I think he'll do a pretty good job at the top of the order."
This season was originally recorded for the ABC - this is the extended edition, restoring removed material.

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Archive ep: The beginnings of T20 cricket, from a Cardiff pub

Season 16, Episode 6: One of our staples is to speak with Lawrence Booth, the editor of the Wisden Cricketers’ Almanack, on the day of its release in the Lord’s Library. In this, his 13th edition in charge, no punches are pulled. As he says in his editors’ notes, it’s clear that the future of Test cricket, beyond the wealthiest nations, really is at the crossroads. And as always, there’s so much more celebrating the year that was – forthright and thoughtful, the good book is doing exactly as it should.

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Wisden 2024 with Lawrence Booth

Season 16, Episode 5: Deep into western Victoria, in the land around Harrow and Edenhope, was the home of the great cricketer Unaarrimin, more broadly known as Johnny Mullagh. We've told the story before of his 1868 Aboriginal team that toured England. Last weekend, Geoff headed to Harrow for commemorative matches between the veterans' Indigenous teams of Victoria and New South Wales. It was something special. Also this week, our county cricket updates, some rare multi-day domestic cricket for India's women, and our IPL wrap.

Your Nerd Pledge number this week:
7.64 - Satchmo Distel

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A new Indigenous gathering at an ancient place

Ben Bloom - Batting for Time: The Fight to Keep English Cricket Alive
Moreso by the year, the future of domestic cricket in England is up for grabs. Operating in a squeezed schedule at the same time franchise tournaments are changing the global landscape, the place of the County Championship and many of its clubs is complicated like never before. In 2023, Ben Bloom explored the underlying issues by interviewing 100 people in the thick of things. The result is this fine and important book, which has made headlines at the start of a new season. He spoke with Adam, appropriately during a county game, at The Oval in London.
Get the book: https://www.pitchpublishing.co.uk/shop/batting-time

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TFW Book Club – Ben Bloom

It's Story Time, our weekly walk through cricket history via your listener quiz challenges. This week, what is the worst bowl-first decision of all time? And what does it have to do with the Vengaboys and the bravest innings ever played near a giant fruit? Plus the byword for cricket arcania, the portrait that should grace the mantelpiece of Daniel Norcross, and some stories we can tell you about the Stories we can tell you. 

Your Nerd Pledge numbers this week:
2.58 - Sam Brown
1008 - Alan Edgar 
5.11 - Jeffrey Gabriel
4.50 - Simon Butcher & Andrew West 
5.69 - Matt May
3.49 - Matt Near the Gabba

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Rob Smith versus Rob Smyth

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