The Final Word Cricket Podcast

Women's T20 World Cup, Day 5 - England/South Africa: It was tougher than it looked. Chasing anything over a run-a-ball in this comp will be, and that's what South Africa set England at Sharjah. In the power play it looked like loads, but then the hyphenated pair sorted it out to give Heather Knight's side a second win. Cam Ponsonby is with Daniel Norcross for us every day of the tournament in the UAE - enjoy their nightly wrap.

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It's Story Time, our walk through cricket history via your listener quiz challenges. This week, we start by looking back at how Bangladesh went from destruction to a seat at cricket's top table. From there, the stories of two Queenslanders - a Slasher and a leggie. We finish with some cryptic fun that takes us back to Jamaica in 1995 where the Waughs were never better.

Your Nerd Pledge numbers this week:

4.47 – Calum Evans

15.00 – Alex Newcombe

4.64 – Keelan O’Reilly

2.31 – Adam Soffer

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Women's T20 World Cup, Day 4 - India/Pakistan, West Indies/Scotland: What is it about India and Pakistan at World Cups? It went as predicted, with Harman's team bouncing back from their loss to the White Ferns. Later, it was the Windies' turn to get on the board after dropping their tournament opener. Over to Daniel Norcross and Cam Ponsonby at Dubai Sports City who will take it away from there.

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Women's T20 World Cup, Day 3 - Australia/Sri Lanka, England/Bangladesh: Not the most clinical performances from Australia nor England, but the favourites did enough to overcome Sri Lanka and Bangladesh respectively in their tournament-openers. It’s in Sharjah where Daniel Norcross and Cam Ponsonby are with you tonight for their recap.

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Women's T20 World Cup, Day 2 - New Zealand/India, South Africa/West Indies: Well, well. India, the team everyone thought might give it a shake and challenge Australia have been hammered by New Zealand in the White Ferns' most significant World Cup victory in over a decade. Meanwhile, South Africa were just as ruthless in dispatching the Windies. There's plenty for Daniel Norcross and Cam Ponsonby to chew over at Dubai Sports City!

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Women's T20 World Cup, Day 1 - Bangladesh/Scotland, Pakistan/Sri Lanka: A crucial opening night win in this World Cup for Pakistan’s women, seeing off the dangerous Sri Lanka. Earlier, Scotland did a lot right with the ball against Bangladesh but didn’t have enough with the bat. For the first of our daily eps, coming thick and fast every day from the UAE, it’s Daniel Norcross and Cam Ponsonby!

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Season 17, Episode 1: Is Hampshire but the first domino to fall? Now sold to the conglomerate that owns the Delhi Capitals in the IPL, county cricket could be set to change in ways that would've been barely believable a decade ago. It's the start of a very busy agenda that takes us around the World Test Championship, to domestic competitions near and far, and casts forward to the Women's T20 World Cup starting later in the week. For this, Adam Collins has ESPNcricinfo's Matt Roller for company in the first ep of a new season.

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The 2024 England Australia Daily, 5th ODI, Bristol: We got there. Five matches, five results. This one could have fallen either way, with both teams walking the tightrope of imminent rain. It was another contest that went wildly one way or another. Sometimes bowlers looked unplayable, other times they looked unusable. But a flurry of boundaries decided it before a flurry of sleet. That's our final word for the English season: next up, Season 17.

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It's Story Time, our walk through cricket history via your listener quiz challenges. This week, after orbiting her at a distance for several months, Adam and Geoff spend some time with one of Daniel's favourites, Betty Snowball. Also this week, a tale of Scotland, a one-day match that is both famous but remembered in almost no detail, and an equally forgotten one-day champion.

Your Nerd Pledge numbers this week:

2.86 - Owen T

4.77 - Ollie Chauhan

18.90 - Graeme Innes

9.60 - Joel Emonson (revisit)

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The 2024 England Australia Daily, 4th ODI, Lord's: Series level. What a spectacle. Rain first, shortened to 39 overs a side, then one of the most bizarre matches you will ever see. Explosive hitting, supreme fast bowling, 2023 callbacks, 2019 callbacks, 2013 callbacks, and more besides. Jofra Archer, Marnus Labuschagne, Travis Head, Liam Livingstone, all had their moments, at a ground where Australian teams so rarely lose. It's 2-2 with one to play. Will Macpherson joins Geoff Lemon.

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Season 16, Episode 39: The Australian season begins, even as the English season continues to a chilly end. We’ve been busy with our TFW match and a book deadline - find out all about both. And everything else has been busy, with the county championship nearing its end, the 50-over silverware decided, Test matches around the world with another Ashwin special, and a lot more.

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The 2024 England Australia Daily, 3rd ODI, Durham: We got a game! They said it would rain, but Chester-le-Street had sunshine in patches and we got most of the overs in. It was tough going against the local seamers early, but Steve Smith did his thing and Alex Carey saved the day again for Australia. Then it was over to England, where Will Jacks and Harry Brook had their own night out. Daniel Norcross joins Geoff Lemon.

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The 2024 England Australia Daily, 2nd ODI, Headingley: No, there was no Daily for the 1st ODI. Sometimes, even Can't Stop Won't Stop is defeated by a deadline. But we're back on the horse for the second match, with Cameron Ponsonby joining Geoff in Leeds. Last time Alex Carey came here, he got a very hostile reception. This time, he showed them what's what, from a disastrous position. Like the first match, a see-sawing day.

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Season 16, Episode 38: They form the most Final Word adjacent domestic team in the world, and after a long winless streak The Freaks have done it. Some silverware courtesy of the T20 Blast. Take that, Freak haters. Also this week, baseless news gets all the attention out of Afghanistan although the real news is worse. South Africa is the latest country to grapple with the ethics of playing a Taliban-backed team. Kamindu Mendis keeps making tons, Ireland's women take down England a second time, Marli Beardman has the next great Australian name, and the ICC have dropped a fresh new track for your commute.

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The 2024 England Australia Daily, 3rd T20, Manchester: It was a washout in Manchester: colour us surprised. But does that mean we won't record a Final Word Daily? Hell no! We still have to decide who now holds the T20 Ashes, and we have plenty to talk about ahead of the ODI series with new England captains, weird squad substitutions, and some reanimated corpses stumbling towards 2027. Matt Roller joins Geoff Lemon from the Old Trafford scorer's box.

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The 2024 England Australia Daily, 2nd T20, Cardiff: Wales has not been a happy hunting ground for Australia, and it looked like that might change on a brisk night when Travis Head and Matt Short again got flying. The contest didn't end there though, with a returning Brydon Carse having a say before the influence of Liam Livingstone, Jacob Bethell, and a truly mad finish. Matt Roller joins Geoff Lemon.

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It's Story Time, our walk through cricket history via your listener quiz challenges. This week, we heed the Pet Shop Boys with their good advice to Go West, with double answers from Australia's less populous seaboard. There we seek the answer to an endless question: was a certain person Long, Big, or both? And how far could he shotput the stomach of a sheep? Also this week, the size of the back of a fag packet, and the world's least playable wrong 'un from the world's most fragile shoulder.

Your Nerd Pledge numbers this week:

3.40 - Jack Jorgensen

2.87 - Matt Wing

4.56 - Stu G

4.42 - Angus Digby (revisit)

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The 2024 England Australia Daily, 1st T20, Southampton: Travis Head has been on a different planet for the last year. When he's not pinging golden ducks, he's pinging record fifties and tons. So it was on a cold night in Southampton where other than Travioli, leg-spinners ruled. Matt Roller joins Geoff Lemon.

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Season 16, Episode 37: With Australia back in the UK for a major white-ball tour, Adam and Geoff are together again in London. After a week in which Sri Lanka produced an epic Test win, England also have the major loss of Mark Wood injured for months. Quelle surprise. England also have a team for the Australia T20, a squad for their Pakistan tour, and a new Lions coach in Andrew Flintoff. We talk through the arguments about that appointment, Afghanistan's cancelled Test against New Zealand, Moeen Ali's retirement, and Australia's monstering of Scotland.

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The 2024 England Sri Lanka Daily, The Oval Day 4: Pathum Nissanka enjoyed his finest moment as a Test opener, leading Sri Lanka to a stirring come-from-behind triumph. And so the post-mortems begin, with England finishing their red-ball summer with such a poor showing. Nobody better than Daniel Norcross and Cam Ponsonby for that, coming to you from The Oval.

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The 2024 England Sri Lanka Daily, The Oval Day 3: The extent to which England have botched this deserves as much discussion as celebrating Sri Lanka for thrusting themselves into such a strong position - go you good things. Daniel Norcross and Cam Ponsbony are on the tools at The Oval to tell you the story and they do not miss.

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The 2024 England Sri Lanka Daily, The Oval Day 2: Bad light, bad cricket, a big boy on debut and some offies from Chris Woakes. The day that was at The Oval, which Sri Lanka did well to get back into, with Daniel Norcross and Adam Collins who were together on the balcony.

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The 2024 England Sri Lanka Daily, The Oval Day 1: Ollie Pope had a shocker last week at Lord's but across the river to his dear old home ground, he was back to his best with a fine ton. It defined the opening exchanges of England's third and final Test against Sri Lanka, which was otherwise marred by autumnal rain and gloom. Cam Ponsonby has Daniel Norcross with him, who was calling the action on BBC radio at The Oval.

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Season 16, Episode 36: A big week, beginning with the very sad and seemingly inevitable confirmation that Will Pucovski's career will end early after one Test for Australia. A different kind of retirement too, at the end of a very long career, as the consummate newsbreaker Malcolm Conn finishes up. Elsewhere, back to a topic that needs to come up more often: how can English grounds charge music-festival prices for a day of Test cricket? Plus it's Tiger Time, with a rollicking Bangladesh win, Brendon McCullum doubles his England job, the WBBL and BBL drafts took place, and the English domestic comps for men and women roll on.

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It's Story Time, our walk through cricket history via your listener quiz challenges. This week, we go from Peggy Antonio on episode 200 to another pioneer from the other side of the world. There's some love for a very early Final Word fave who also knew his way around some tunes, a return to one of the nights of Adam's formative (absence of) memory, and a cameo from our favourite four-year-old. Who would have thought we would reach 200 of these? And we still have some stories we can tell you.

Your Nerd Pledge numbers this week:

2.50 - Caroline Swan

4.55 - Richard Jansz-Moore

158.20 - Elia Andrews

5.70 - Alex Brown

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The 2024 England Sri Lanka Daily, Lord's Day 4: There wasn't much chance for Sri Lanka, and despite some effort to make a scrap of things, the margin was a big one. It did however give Gus Atkinson another chance at the honours boards at Lord's. Daniel Norcross joins Cameron Ponsonby.

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The 2024 England Sri Lanka Daily, Lord's Day 3: A day that went just as we all predicted needed something special, and Joe Root provided it by backing up his day one ton with another, breaking a host of records in the process - he is some cricketer. Adam Collins watched it all at Lord's, and he has Daniel Norcross for company.

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The 2024 England Sri Lanka Daily, Lord's Day 2: Gus Atkinson's staggering Test summer continues, crushing a run-a-ball maiden ton to get on the Lord's boards for a third time. From there, once the hosts got the ball, Sri Lanka never looked like it and are a mile behind after two days. On the pod tonight, TMS stats wizard Andy Zaltzman returns, joining a very happy Cam Ponsonby (he played club cricket with Gus, don't you know).

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The 2024 England Sri Lanka Daily, Lord's Day 1: Joe Root, ton machine. Lord's day one, England need someone to stand up, and there he is with a 33rd Test century to his name. It defined an opening day that got away from Sri Lanka at the end with fast bowler Gus Atkinson 74 not by the close of play. There's nobody better to talk all things Gus than his old club teammate Cam Ponsonby, and he's with Adam Collins in London.

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Season 16, Episode 35: In a dramatic twist that nobody saw coming, the most powerful man in cricket continues to be the most powerful man in cricket. The only thing being that he is leaving his job at the BCCI to do much the same job at the ICC. See ya, Greg Barclay. But there is some encouragement in recent comments from the new boss about supporting Test cricket outside the Big Three, even if there are major problems now that Star Sports wants a half-price discount off its most recent rights contract. Also this week, the new Cricket Scotland CEO Trudy Lindblade joins The Final Word. Is she a fan of The Jezabels? We forgot to ask.

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Season 16, Episode 34: August has been a great run for interviews on the pod. And today, to end this busy month, we bring you an hour with a man who has been making a contribution to the game in many varied and interesting ways for the better part of half a century, Mark Nicholas. As a player, captain, journalist and one of the most well-regarded television commentators to ever do it, our guest has been busy sinking his teeth into a new line, cricket administration, as president of MCC. But he’s decided to take it further at Lord’s, recently appointed to become the next chair. It’s a crucial time to be taking this on with much at play on the home front, with the upcoming privatisation of London Spirit and ongoing changes to the way the game is organised around the world. Enjoy.

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It's Story Time, our walk through cricket history via your listener quiz challenges. This week, we go to Adelaide all the time for cricket, but let's have the story of a different trip for a different reason, one that in time circles all the way back to the MCG. A meditation on the nature of musical enjoyment and parasocial relationships on a cricket show? Why not, it's Story Time, and this show also contains one of Adam's very favourite Dusty Old Bastards.

Your Nerd Pledge numbers this week:

4.60 - Matt Gaynor

19.89 - Nick Ibis

2.47 - Terry Hogan

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The 2024 England Sri Lanka Daily, Manchester Day 4: England get the job done, going one-nil up at Old Trafford. But that doesn't tell the full story of the most competitive Test this summer, Sri Lanka hanging in there all the way. For that, we welcome Andy Zaltzman back to the pod, who is back co-hosting in Manchester alongside his radio colleague Daniel Norcross.

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The 2024 England Sri Lanka Daily, Manchester Day 3: A clinical England took advantage of a curiously sleepy Sri Lanka, with Jamie Smith easing himself to a near-faultless maiden hundred. A spirited fightback saved the visitors from complete humiliation, with England’s bowlers made to tough it out. Daniel Norcross has Henry Moeran with him at Old Trafford.

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The 2024 England Sri Lanka Daily, Manchester Day 2: On a wet day in Manchester, Sri Lanka were just about on top when Joe Root was dismissed. But then Harry Brook and Jamie Smith, with some help from Chris Woakes, steadied the ship to guide the hosts into a lead. For the story of the day, here's Cam Ponsonby with Daniel Norcross at Old Trafford.

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The 2024 England Sri Lanka Daily, Manchester Day 1: Sri Lanka were cruising for a bruising after an early collapse on the opening day of the series but were saved by their captain (and Final Word Fave) Dhananjaya De Silva along with number nine Milan Rathnayake. Nevertheless, England still claimed the honours. Cam Ponsonby has Daniel Norcross with him, who is coming to you from the ground at Old Trafford.

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Season 16, Episode 33: Sesquicentenary - such a satisfying word to say, and satisfying news this week with confirmation that the 150th anniversary of Test cricket will be celebrated in Melbourne come March 2027. It leads plenty of news about scheduling and international cricket as we look ahead to what a post-Stokes England team will look like, with a preview coming in their series against Sri Lanka. Around the world, we've had a thrilling Test at Guyana, a groundbreaking week for Ireland's women, and finals weekend of The Hundred as they prepare the sell the clubs. For all this, it's Adam Collins in Scotland for The Final Word's Edinburgh tour and he has Daniel Norcross with him, en route to commentate the Old Trafford Test.

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It's Story Time, our walk through cricket history via your listener quiz challenges. This week, the full story of England's most underrated batting star, as we finally go past the many peripheral mentions he has had along the way. Also, a South African who got the lack of attention he deserved, a childhood favourite who had his moment, and the most unhinged dream sequence yet tendered by a listener.

Your Nerd Pledge numbers this week:

58.67 - Tom Carew Hunt

20.12 - Dave Brown

5.38 - Dan Price

3.80 - Jeremy Nash

7.00 - Matt Gaynor (revisit)

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Season 16, Episode 32: Amanda Wellington! We've loved her work since we first saw her rip a cricket ball from leg to off in 2015. We've also loved the bubble and fizz of her personality. Now a long way into that career, but still being a young player with a lot further to go, it's a good time to sit down for a proper Final Word conversation with the bowler who made Adam Gilchrist see echoes of Shane Warne.

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Season 16, Episode 31: It's Adam's birthday, and another decade approaches. So too do the 2028 Olympic Games, with cricket's moment coming up. Will it be better received than Raygun? We are on the side of both. Also this week, the complexities of Graham Thorpe's life, Ben Stokes to miss the Sri Lanka series, more movement in the England squad, West Indies escape from South Africa, Ireland shock Sri Lanka, and England's counties talk paywalls. As an extra this week, Mohammad Isam checks in about the unresolved questions for Bangladesh cricket under the country's new administration.

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Season 16, Episode 30: A conversation with the most prolific fast bowler in the history of the game is the type of thing that might normally take us a couple of hours or more. Given that wasn’t possible we found another way to do this, and it worked a treat. Jimmy joined Adam to talk about growing the game but stuck around to reflect in a heartfelt manner on his retirement, staggering longevity, desire to keep bowling for some time yet, and difficulty coming to terms with being officially described as middle-aged.

And as Jimmy says, find yourself a place to play cricket in the UK. It’s very easy – jump on here and pop in your postcode, et voila: www.ecb.co.uk/play

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It's Story Time, our walk through cricket history via your listener quiz challenges. This week, most people do not seem to relish being clobbered in the scone, but one man did. One brave, strange man who kept going back for more. Also this week, navigate through some dusty old bastards, find out why Garfield Sobers was cricket's Wilbur Smith, and marvel via the medium of off-spin at the confounding fact that this game has survived at all. Daniel Norcross joins Geoff Lemon for a very fun episode.

Your Nerd Pledge numbers this week:

54.32 - Phoebe Haylen

4.04 - Robran Cock

4.80 - Henry Branson

2.26 - Erin Kane

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Season 16, Episode 29: The foundation of Australia's white-ball success in the post-Covid era has been the dependability of their star spinner, Adam Zampa. A key member of two World Cup winning teams, he's never been better or in greater demand. Adam caught up with him at The Oval in London where he's letting the good times roll with the Oval Incincibles in The Hundred tournament. A thoughtful guy with plenty to say, this was time very well spent.

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Season 16, Episode 28: Deep in the fervour of an Olympic week, falling in love with new sports around the clock, Bharat Sundaresan joins Geoff to talk about their faves. There is tragic news with a farewell to Graham Thorpe, wild news as Bangladesh's student protests overthrow a government and force the potential relocation of a World Cup, and the return of old news as India and Sri Lanka play some bilateral ODIs. How we've missed them.

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Season 16, Episode 27: He's one of the most impressive figures in the contemporary game, and not just because he's about six foot eight. Jason Holder was the youngest ever West Indies captain and did the job for six eventful years. He's now maintaining his commitment to the Test team to try to develop another generation of players. He also speaks with candour and insight about the issues that confronted him and the ones that confront the game more widely. An exceptional conversation.

Your Nerd Pledge revisit this week:

9.51 - Darragh O'Donovan

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It's Story Time, our walk through cricket history via your listener quiz challenges. This week, is it possible to arrive with cutlery during childbirth? Because apparently this man did, and he looked great while doing it. Also, using stumps for purposes that they were never intended, and couches for that matter. And maybe the French Revolution had some good ideas?

Your Nerd Pledge numbers this week:

2.33 - Leigh Couchman & Sean McGivern

6.20 - Justice SZ

2.78 - Alisa Miller

3.44 - Mark Gray

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Season 16, Episode 26: Matthew Mott has got the chop as a national coach, but should England have followed tradition and blamed the Buttler instead? There's a case to be made. Also this week, Sri Lanka's women continue their surge, knocking off India in a huge Asia Cup final result. Ireland hosted Zimbabwe for a Test strongly influenced by the Lord of Joy, Suryakumar Yadav had an unlikely bowl, and Waqar Younis has a new job - but for how long?

Pardon any moments of robot audio on this ep, we had a mic problem.

Your Nerd Pledge revisit this week:

9.51 - Darragh O'Donovan

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It's Story Time, our walk through cricket history via your listener quiz challenges. This week, we're on the trail of someone very hard to track down. Where was he born? Where did he spend his time? Was his rank a Private? The many mysteries of Frank Ryan. Also, a left-arm handover, the brief chance for Australia's biggest bolter, a code-cracking Test finish, and a delightful newlywed trip to a magic mountain.

Your Nerd Pledge numbers this week:

8.41 - Steve Dodkin

4.37 - Bayley Quinnell

3.09 - Harsha G

2.06 - Max Harris

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The 2024 England West Indies Daily, Edgbaston, Day 3: In a familiar tale, West Indies started the day with some hope of staying in the game. Mikyle Louis had his best day on tour, Kavem Hodge played at his brightest, and Mark Wood had an afternoon of up de la gasolina. Then it was over to Ben Stokes to put an unexpected exclamation mark on things.

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The 2024 England West Indies Daily, Edgbaston, Day 2: Does Joe Root end up overtaking Sachin Tendulkar's Test runs tally? We are distracted by that question and the Olympics before coming back to the Test at Edgbaston, where England are back in a commanding position thanks to the former and the coming man, Jamie Smith. Daniel Norcross is at the match in Birmingham, he's with Adam Collins in London.

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