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Bedtime Tales for Cricket Tragics: 22 Story Time tales from hit podcast The Final Word
No sport does storytelling like cricket – a game as full of heroes, villains, politics, and drama as any Shakespearean play.
And few have explored those stories as far and wide as Adam Collins and Geoff Lemon. Over hundreds of episodes of Story Time, the history spin-off to beloved podcast The Final Word, they have followed their listeners’ clues to track down the wildest characters, matches, and situations the pitch has seen.
Bedtime Tales for Cricket Tragics brings together the stories they enjoyed telling most, from the 1879 riot in Sydney sparked by an umpire’s call, the all-rounder who tried to rob the Catholic Church, the biggest defeat in history, and much more.
And few have explored those stories as far and wide as Adam Collins and Geoff Lemon. Over hundreds of episodes of Story Time, the history spin-off to beloved podcast The Final Word, they have followed their listeners’ clues to track down the wildest characters, matches, and situations the pitch has seen.
Bedtime Tales for Cricket Tragics brings together the stories they enjoyed telling most, from the 1879 riot in Sydney sparked by an umpire’s call, the all-rounder who tried to rob the Catholic Church, the biggest defeat in history, and much more.
208 pages, Kindle Edition
Published November 25, 2025
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
March 18, 2026
Short sweet. Read a couple of episodes every night before sleeping. 1000+ episodes of the podcast and still laughed all the way :)
March 22, 2026
For fans of The Final Word podcast, Nerd Pledges are a clever way to encourage Patreon memberships (by allowing members to nominate the amount they want to pay and also show off their cricket knowledge), and the "Story Time" episodes are deeply researched explorations into cricket history and a welcome reprieve from the dramas of modern cricket news.
The 22 Pledges in the book are a drop in the ocean of what Adam, Geoff, and the various guest hosts have covered (which leaves room for multiple Nerd Pledge books) and they're written with the same vibe and rhythm as "Story Time": pop-culture references (including "The Simpsons" Golden Era), Australian Rules references (and the ocassional rugby league and union one to keep fans north of the Barassi Line happy), a little bit of politics, and lots of cricket history, spanning the 1800s to modern times.
Though this isn't a predictable greatest hits album to keep the record label happy: TFW fans who've listened to every "Story Time" will get something out of the expanded stories here (and may see their own Pledges in the book), and those who have never heard of the podcast may get hooked enough to start listening.
"Bedtime Stories" is an appropriate title: most stories are a handful of pages, perfect for bite-sized reading.
The 22 Pledges in the book are a drop in the ocean of what Adam, Geoff, and the various guest hosts have covered (which leaves room for multiple Nerd Pledge books) and they're written with the same vibe and rhythm as "Story Time": pop-culture references (including "The Simpsons" Golden Era), Australian Rules references (and the ocassional rugby league and union one to keep fans north of the Barassi Line happy), a little bit of politics, and lots of cricket history, spanning the 1800s to modern times.
Though this isn't a predictable greatest hits album to keep the record label happy: TFW fans who've listened to every "Story Time" will get something out of the expanded stories here (and may see their own Pledges in the book), and those who have never heard of the podcast may get hooked enough to start listening.
"Bedtime Stories" is an appropriate title: most stories are a handful of pages, perfect for bite-sized reading.
June 1, 2026
Enjoyable tales based on a podcast where numbers are suggested by the public and in a great cricketing link, relevant stats are found that link the number to a cricketing event.
Some great tales here, a nice travel read for cricket tragics like myself. I enjoyed the stories involving little known cricket identities and the older stories.
4 stars.
Some great tales here, a nice travel read for cricket tragics like myself. I enjoyed the stories involving little known cricket identities and the older stories.
4 stars.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews