The Final Word with Kumar Sangakkara

This might just have been the most bumper week we've ever put together. Yes, a regular weekly show, plus a couple of TFW Daily episodes as Adam wrapped up the one-day series with England and New Zealand. Story Time 150 was a live online affair with about a hundred people logging on to hang out with us at some stage of the recording. Then we worked in Adam's first re-release episode of Calling The Shots with new director's commentary from Daniel Norcross, and in between all of that we interviewed one of England's best in Ian Bell, and one of the best ever in Kumar Sangakkara. No big deal.

There is a commercial bit early in that interview, which was the route that we had to use to get the time - feel free to skip.

Also we haven't forgotten about the ad-free feed for patrons - it has proved much more complicated than we expected, but we hope to find a way through.

The video at the top? That's linked back to:

Story Time 150 – The best possible war

For the third episode in recent times, we found ourselves back with Maurice Kellerman, who once was France's best cricketer. The video up top is the 1931 film for which he was the cinematographer, pioneering work filming aboard a ship in the North Sea, and as you'll find out if you watch the introduction, a story soon linked to the shipwreck of the Viking. The tales keep getting taller. We also have a remarkable Dutch cricket story from World War I thanks to a guest appearance from History of the Netherlands podcast host Julian Smith - find more on that show here. This episode also looks at the blazing start of a teen prodigy, and some of the meanest scorelines ever visited by one team upon another.

Your Nerd Pledge numbers this week:
1.46 - History of the Netherlands
48.50 - Simon Wallace
6.00 - David Adamson
10.70 - Rafael Szumer
2.22 - Deener

Hear the episode.

Here's Kellerman, in the checked shirt, shooting film in Greenland in 1926. As you do.

The Final Word with Kumar Sangakkara

Season 14, Episode 42: Not only one of the best cricketers to play, but one of the most thoughtful. His life in the sport continues to represent more than batting and wicketkeeping, although our conversation - of which this is hopefully the first part - eventually gets to the 22 yards in the middle.

Here's the audio.

Absolute ODI obliteration

Our newest ep is the weekly show: Season 14, Episode 43. What happened to... everyone, in the space of a week, with the World Cup approaching? South Africa smear Australia across the park to turn 2-0 into 2-3. Travis Head breaks his hand, Jason Roy gets punted by England, Naseem Shah's shoulder gives way for Pakistan, and India demolish Sri Lanka inside 22 overs in the Asia Cup final. In England one-day cricket, Leicestershire catches Metrobank Fever with their first trophy in decades thanks to a Guy Ritchie cameo. The County Championship and Rachael Heyhoe-Flint Trophy near their ends. And don't forget The Final Word XI: we're playing at Dulwich CC at 4pm on Friday 22 September, swing by and say hello!

Your Nerd Pledge number this week:
1.74 - Alex Brown

Here's the show.

The Final Word with Ian Bell

Season 14, Episode 41: A child prodigy, a five-time Ashes winner, and the man with the finest cover drive you could ever wish to see - Ian Bell's fine career brought a lot of joy to onlookers as he himself got to observe a period of immense change in English cricket, from the time of Atherton and Hussain to that of Stokes and Buttler. We catch up with him in London where he's working as an assistant coach with the New Zealand men's team - one of many coaching gigs around the world as he enjoys part two of a rich cricketing life.

Here's the link.

Calling The Shots, Director's Cut: How It All Began

Episode 1 - How it all Began: In March 2020, the world stopped as human tragedy unfolded. So a lockdown project started small and got way out of hand, as Adam Collins and Daniel Norcross set about telling the story of 100 years of cricket broadcasting. Our documentary series still prompts questions to this day. So three and a half years later, we're re-releasing the episodes along with narration about selecting guests, the obsessive processes to meet deadlines, and reflections on what we learned on the way. This first cut starts where cricket on the radio did, in Australia in the 1920s, finishing where John Arlott signed off at the end of the Bradman era in 1948. Whether you're returning to Calling the Shots or finding it for the first time, we hope it hits the spot.

Here's the episode.

Lastly, if you missed the Daily shows here are the links for the third and the fourth ODIs. Well worth it for Phil Walker's freewheeling impromptu oral dissertation on Ben Stokes and "thug cricket" alone. Also:

Julio Pledge!

Not everybody in the world is a Nerd, so thanks to these recent Julios for signing up with simple numbers to keep supporting the show.

Charles
Sam Lawson
Daniel Crowley
Mark Atkinson
Ross McPherson
Wayne Kenafacke
Josh Willmott
Alex Whitmore
James
Shane Brown
John Skelton

That's us for Week 3 of September. Phew.

More Story Time on the weekend, plus a couple more Calling The Shots re-releases coming up. And some other bits and pieces we're tinkering with. If you're in London, come to see TFW XI play on Friday. If you're not in London, get on Discord and follow the over-by-over.

See you soon.