The Final Word cricket podcast

A gripping end followed a spongy middle in the first Test of Australia's 2018-19 summer. Geoff and Adam take a close look at India's win and Australia's resistance, as well as investigating whether that was Peter Russell Clarke moonlighting in the Adelaide press box; the physics of tangled headphones; and how the hell to tackle a word spelled "bamBoosALL".

New things abound. The Australian summer starts for real with the first Test against India imminent. The women's team win the World T20 with a total team performance. And Geoff is flooding bookshops with Steve Smith's Men, his book on the sandpaper saga and the broader story around it, which leads him and Adam to assess the turmoil and head-rolling that has happened since the sandstorm hit Cape Town last March. Edited by Jay Mueller for Bad Producer badproducerproductions.com

Back down to earth with a thud, as the Dubai draw is followed by an Abu Dhabi thrashing. Pakistan pull their biggest ever win over Australia out of the fire. Mohammad Abbas is statistically the most devastating bowler in history. There are a thousand unanswered questions ahead of the first home Test in a few short weeks. Geoff and Adam break down a densely packed UAE tour from a rose-tinted cabana with a cast of woodland animal friends.

Let's call it straight - one of the most remarkable batting performances ever in the fourth innings of a Test. Usman Khawaja batted more than 12 hours in the match to deny Pakistan a win, while Adam and Geoff commentated his Dubai epic on radio. Time to take a few deep breaths and look back over all of it, as The Final Word comes back from a break to start a new season.

What a week. Cape Town to Johannesburg, one of Australian cricket's biggest disasters, and a story that bounced across the world. Geoff and Adam have done most of the talking, and they're completely spent, but somehow they're going to talk a bit more.

One of Australia's top broadcasters joins Adam and Geoff in South Africa, in a long-form interview to discuss it all. The art of the call. The nature of stories. Choosing joy over angst. The 1989 Grand Final. How to pick an election, and how to call a Superbowl. Cool Runnings versus Rocky IV. Staying grateful in the grind. The importance of sport, and of a broader view. Then we look at the South Africa v Australia series, poised at 1-1 ahead of the Cape Town Test. The Final Word is also proud to announce a new partnership with Wisden Cricket Monthly. Listen in for a hefty subscription discount.

Gerard Whateley will join Adam and Geoff during Australia's Test tour of South Africa to discuss the art of the call. Keep an eye out in the next few days.

Why does cricket do this to itself? After a brilliant Test in Durban, the discussion is instead about which Australians and South Africans said what to whom. This episode includes David Warner's first public statements since his dispute with Quinton de Kock, as The Final Word looks at the complicated issue of how Australian behaviour on the field is viewed. Then it's thankfully back to a full review of the Durban Test.

After a mad dash from Auckland to Johannesburg, Australian vice-captain David Warner gives The Final Word. How can he succeed in South Africa? What constitutes being a cowboy? Does he want the captaincy, or maybe a political career? He covers that and everything from mental strength, masculinity, meditation, to Morne Morkel.

Australian vice-captain David Warner kicks off a new season of The Final Word from South Africa - that episode is coming very shortly.

School's out for the summer. The Ashes are done, and BBC commentator Daniel Norcross joins Adam Collins and Geoff Lemon to sift through the fireplace, before we hand out The Final Word's End of Year 12 Formal awards. Next up, all of January's white-ball carnage.

Happy New Year. Get cricket's highs and lows of 2017, in the traditional Final Word wrap from Adam Collins and Geoff Lemon, as well as their trawl through the stories from a Boxing Day Test memorable for good and bad.

The Ashes are won, and lost. At the last WACA Test, Adam Collins and Geoff Lemon talk to the beloved Vic Marks about his cricketing life as a player, writer, and commentator: the Somerset ruckus, Delhi good fortune, and being the Glenn Maxwell of his era. Then it's time to analyse how Australia took England apart in Perth.

One of the most interesting thinkers in cricket, Jason Gillespie can equally nerd out about fast bowling, or take on the broader questions of ethics, empathy, and sticking to principles. An extensive interview with The Final Word covers the new movement of vegan cricketers, activism in unlikely environments, how to approach sports science, the development of Indigenous cricket, and what it's like dating Andrew Strauss.

How do you decode the levels of affection in a friendly Jonny Bairstow headbutt? How do you measure the biggest head in Western Australia? How did England lose the first Ashes Test from the halfway mark? Geoff Lemon and Adam Collins are The Final Word, with all the answers.