The Top Order Cricket Podcast – Details, episodes & analysis

In this episode of the show, Stu and Baldy discuss the Black Caps test squad to face Afghanistan and Sri Lanka, plus the contractual situation facing NZC now that Devon Conway and Finn Allen have stepped away from the security of a central contract. We also look back at the quality bowling on show in South Africa’s series win against the West Indies, as well as the impact of Ben Stokes’s injury on the upcoming England v Sri Lanka series. We begin with a conversation about the potential dilemma facing New Zealand Cricket with the continued rise of franchise tournaments and their clash with the NZ home summer. Devon Conway has moved to a casual contract, Finn Allen has opted to play for the Perth Scorchers – but is it actually a dilemma? We then move to the West Indies where South Africa secured a valuable series win to keep their World Test Championship chances alive. There’s praise for Jayden Seales and Keshav Maharaj in particular, and we wonder whether the Proteas will regret not sending a full strength team to New Zealand in 2023. To round out the show, we look ahead to the upcoming England v Sri Lanka series, which will see Ollie Pope captain the home side following a hamstring injury that will keep him out of the rest of the summer. Who will replace Stokes in the starting XI? Will England’s style change at all? And can Sri Lanka pose any problems or will this be another straight sets win? We'll be back again in about a week with our regular This Week in Cricket programming. Until then please take the time to give us a like, follow, share or subscribe on all our channels (@toporderpod on Twitter & Facebook, and @thetoporderpodcast on Instagram & YouTube) and a (5-Star!) review at your favourite podcast provider, or tell a friend to download. It really helps others find the show and is the best thing you can do to support us. You can also find all our written content, including our Hall of Fame series, at our website. You can also dip back into our guest episodes - including conversations Mike Hesson, Shane Bond and Mike Hussey, current players such as Matt Henry, Sophie Devine and Ish Sodhi, coaches Gary Stead, Jeetan Patel and Luke Wright, as well as Barry Richards, Frankie Mackay, Bharat Sundaresan and many more fascinating people from all across the cricketing world. And if you'd like to reach out to us with feedback, questions or guest suggestions, get in touch at thetoporderpodcast@gmail.com. Thanks for listening. 0:00 Intro 1:55 Devon Conway and Finn Allen step away from NZC central contracts 4:00 How concerned should New Zealand be? 12:45 South Africa edge West Indies 1-0 in Test series 20:20 Jayden Seales and the impressive seamers on show 22:35 Keshav Maharaj's importance 24:25 A word on Kagiso Rabada 27:10 Can South Africa make the WTC final? 28:40 England v Sri Lanka - will it be plain sailing for the home side? 32:25 The impact of Ben Stokes' injury and selection decisions 40:50 Ollie Pope the captain Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In this episode of the show, we take a break from the live cricket to discuss the most influential cricketers of the 21st century. This is Part 2 of this discussion, so if you haven't yet listened to Part 1, go back in your feed and start there to hear our definition of 'influential', and the wider group of candidates we considered. In this second half of our discussion, we narrow down the debate and each decide on our top 4 cricketers to etch into stone for the Top Order Podcast Mount Rushmore. We talk about T20 influencers like Chris Gayle and Kieron Pollard, Indian powerhouse figureheads like MS Dhoni and Virat Kohli, culture setters like Brendon McCullum and Andrew Strauss, outliers like Ellyse Perry, Lasith Malinga and Rashid Khan as we try to evaluate who how the game of cricket got to where it is today and who has had the biggest impact. Who did we forget? What do you agree with/disagree with? We've love to get your thoughts and continue the discussion. We'll be back again in about a week with our regular This Week in Cricket programming. Until then please take the time to give us a like, follow, share or subscribe on all our channels (@toporderpod on Twitter & Facebook, and @thetoporderpodcast on Instagram & YouTube) and a (5-Star!) review at your favourite podcast provider, or tell a friend to download. It really helps others find the show and is the best thing you can do to support us. You can also find all our written content, including our Hall of Fame series, at our website. You can also dip back into our guest episodes - including conversations Mike Hesson, Shane Bond and Mike Hussey, current players such as Matt Henry, Sophie Devine and Ish Sodhi, coaches Gary Stead, Jeetan Patel and Luke Wright, as well as Barry Richards, Frankie Mackay, Bharat Sundaresan and many more fascinating people from all across the cricketing world. And if you'd like to reach out to us with feedback, questions or guest suggestions, get in touch at thetoporderpodcast@gmail.com. Thanks for listening. 0:00 Intro - the categories 5:50 Chris Gayle v Kieron Pollard 12:40 Brendon McCullum v Andrew Strauss 23:40 MS Dhoni v Virat Kohli 30:30 Ellyse Perry, Lasith Malinga, Rashid Khan, Adam Gilchrist 39:45 Who makes Mount Rushmore? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In this episode of the show, we look back at the latest four games of the Super 8 stage at the Men's T20 World Cup, which saw India all but book a semi-final berth while all other sides fight for their tournament lives. We start the show by discussing Afghanistan's historic win against Australia. Captain Cummins got another hat trick, but it was first Gurbaz and Ibrahim and then Gulbadin who flexed their muscle and secured a famous victory. Was it a mistake to leave out Mitchell Starc? And could this win propel Afghanistan all the way to the title? From there we move to India's game against Bangladesh, which resulted in a fairly comfortable win and India putting one foot in the next round. There were positive signs for Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma and Shivam Dube, wickets for Kuldeep Yadav and even positives for Bangladesh to take from the performance of Rishad Hossain throughout this tournament. Third up in our match review was South Africa's win against England. Quinton de Kock looked like he was batting on a different pitch than everyone else, but it was a game that went right down to the wire and looked like it could go either way when Ottniel Baartman was bowling full tosses and Liam Livingstone and Harry Brook were hitting them over the rope. In the fourth and final game covered, we discuss the impact of the West Indies' big win against the USA, and how it has set up a potential knockout game against South Africa in the final round of the Super 8. There's also praise for both Shai Hope and Darren Sammy as this comprehensive victory rounds out the show. We are planning to record regularly throughout the next phases of the tournament, so expect to be in your feed every few days through to the final match - our next show will be a preview of the semi-finals, on Tuesday night NZ time. Until then please take the time to give us a like, follow, share or subscribe on all our channels (@toporderpod on Twitter & Facebook, and @thetoporderpodcast on Instagram & YouTube) and a (5-Star!) review at your favourite podcast provider, or tell a friend to download. It really helps others find the show and is the best thing you can do to support us. You can also find all our written content, including our Hall of Fame series, at our website. You can also dip back into our guest episodes - including a recent conversation with Mike Hesson, plus chats with former World Cup stars Shane Bond and Mike Hussey, current players such as Matt Henry, Sophie Devine and Ish Sodhi, coaches Gary Stead, Jeetan Patel and Luke Wright, as well as Barry Richards, Frankie Mackay, Bharat Sundaresan and many more fascinating people from all across the cricketing world. And if you'd like to reach out to us with feedback, questions or guest suggestions, get in touch at thetoporderpodcast@gmail.com. Thanks for listening. 0:00 Intro 1:50 Australia v Afghanistan - Gulbadin flexes his muscles 16:10 India v Bangladesh - positive signs for Rohit and Virat? 24:05 England v South Africa - South Africa win a close one AGAIN! 35:20 West Indies v USA - Run rate boost as Shai Hope goes boom Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The ICC Men's Cricket World Cup is almost here, and what better way to celebrate than a two-part bonanza of cricket content. We recommend you listen to part 1 first, but in this second episode, we take a look at South Africa, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Afghanistan and the Netherlands, before looking at tournament booms and busts and our predictions. For each team, we discuss: Why will things go well? What are the potential weaknesses? Key players? Any injury concerns? Potential best XI? We ponder whether South Africa are good or not, how much the Naseem Shah injury could hurt Pakistan's chances, delight over the host of spin options for Sri Lanka and Afghanistan in particular, highlight why the Netherlands should be every Kiwi's second-favourite team and debate whether Shakib al Hasan can lead Bangladesh to an unexpected semi-final berth. To round out the preview, we make our predictions for the semi-finalists, finalists and tournament winner, plus the player of the tournament. Bring on the games! During the tournament, we're planning to provide regular game reviews, so let us know on our socials or in the comments section on YouTube what you'd most like to see from us during the World Cup. Please also take the time to give us a like, follow, share or subscribe on all our channels (@toporderpod on Twitter & Facebook, and @thetoporderpodcast on Instagram & YouTube) and a (5-Star!) review at your favourite podcast provider, or tell a friend to download. It really helps others find the show and is the best thing you can do to support us. You can also find all our written content, including our Hall of Fame series, at our website. You can dip back into our guest episodes - including chats with former World Cup stars Shane Bond and Mike Hussey, current players such as Finn Allen, Sophie Devine and Matt Henry, coaches such as Gary Stead, Jeetan Patel and Luke Wright, as well as Barry Richards, Frankie Mackay, Bharat Sundaresan and many more fascinating people from all across the cricketing world. And if you'd like to reach out to us with feedback, questions or guest suggestions, get in touch at thetoporderpodcast@gmail.com. Thanks for listening. In the meantime, if you haven't already, please take the time to give us a like, follow, share or subscribe on all our channels (@toporderpod on Twitter and Facebook, & @thetoporderpodcast on Instagram) and a (5-Star!) review at your favourite podcast provider, or tell a friend to download. It really helps others find the show and is the best thing you can do to support us. You can also find all our written content, including our Hall of Fame series, at our website, and a few of our episodes are available on YouTube - we're slowly chipping away at populating this channel. You can also dip back into our guest episodes - including our recent conversation with Kristy Havill previewing the Women's World Cup, plus chats with Wasim Khan, Ken Rutherford, Mike Hussey, Matt Henry, Katey Martin, Bharat Sundaresan and many more fascinating people from all across the cricketing world. You can also hear our memories of Shane Warne in our latest Hall of Fame episode. And if you'd like to reach out to us with feedback, questions or guest suggestions, get in touch at thetoporderpodcast@gmail.com. Thanks for listening. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

On this episode of the show, we've got one eye on the ICC Men's World Cup as we discuss England v New Zealand, Australia v South Africa and the Pakistan v India Cup. The Black Caps named their World Cup squad this week, with spots for Will Young, Mark Chapman and Jimmy Neesham, but Finn Allen and Adam Milne miss out. Did they get the balance right? Through the lens of the current ODI series against England, we also take a deeper dive into the squad and how they might line up at the tournament: Who are the key players in the batting lineup and why is it Devon Conway and Daryl Mitchell? How will four seamers fit into three spots? Trent Boult is awesome On the England side, questions still remain about Harry Brook and whether he's doing enough to force his way into the squad. Liam Livingstone is putting his hand up, though, as is Gus Atkinson, who is shining among a number of England seamers all fighting for game time. Over in South Africa, the Australians continue to outplay the home side - even ones who weren't initially named in the starting XI. We debate whether Marnus Labuschagne's match-winning performance as a concussion substitute and the hundred that followed will be enough to get himself on the plane to India. We also shine the spotlight on South Africa to ask: Are they serious contenders at this World Cup? The Asia Cup has moved to the Super 4 phase, India and Pakistan played a one-dayer over two days and Virat Kohli scored his 47th ODI hundred. There was a hundred too for KL Rahul, who returned from injury to strengthen his case for a spot in the starting XI, and high praise from us for Kuldeep Yadav, who has roared back into form over the past 12 months and now looks primed to have a big impact on the World Cup. We'll be back again next week to start our World Cup previews, but in the meantime, please take the time to give us a like, follow, share or subscribe on all our channels (@toporderpod on Twitter & Facebook, and @thetoporderpodcast on Instagram & YouTube) and a (5-Star!) review at your favourite podcast provider, or tell a friend to download. It really helps others find the show and is the best thing you can do to support us. You can also find all our written content, including our Hall of Fame series, at our website. You can also dip back into our guest episodes - including chats with Shane Bond, Finn Allen, Jeetan Patel, Sophie Devine, Mike Hussey, Matt Henry, Barry Richards, Frankie Mackay, Bharat Sundaresan and many more fascinating people from all across the cricketing world. And if you'd like to reach out to us with feedback, questions or guest suggestions, get in touch at thetoporderpodcast@gmail.com. Thanks for listening. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

On this episode of the show, we travel around the world to discuss England v Black Caps, Australia v South Africa and the first few Asia Cup games. The first three T20s between England and New Zealand weren't even moderately close, but there were still plenty of talking points: How aggressive will Finn Allen be at the World Cup? And how consistent does he need to be across the tournament for his overall performance to be treated as a success? Is Adam Milne in better form than Lockie Ferguson? Kane Williamson is going to the World Cup - what does that mean for Will Young, Mark Chapman, Jimmy Neesham and Rachin Ravindra? Is all the chopping and changing of players an issue for the Black Caps? How can England make room for Harry Brook in their squad? And what role will Gus Atkinson play? Australia have dominated their T20 series with South Africa, and we look at which of the Aussie fringe players are pushing hard for a World Cup role. Does Marcus Stoinis' success with the ball ease any concerns about Australia's 5th bowling option? Will Tanveer Sangha play a significant part in the World Cup? How much pressure is David Warner under? Are South Africa just tricking everyone? And have the major white-ball tournaments taken on extra significance for South Africa now that they appear to have relegated the Test game? The Asia Cup pool stages are underway - Pakistan's bowling attack is still very good, Ishan Kishan has surely locked down India's wicketkeeping spot and we debate whether Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and Afghanistan can provide more threat than banana skins during the upcoming World Cup. We round out the show with more New Zealand news - a new CEO, Corey Anderson's BBL gig and an impressive win against Australia A. We'll be back again next week, but in the meantime, please take the time to give us a like, follow, share or subscribe on all our channels (@toporderpod on Twitter & Facebook, and @thetoporderpodcast on Instagram & YouTube) and a (5-Star!) review at your favourite podcast provider, or tell a friend to download. It really helps others find the show and is the best thing you can do to support us. You can also find all our written content, including our Hall of Fame series, at our website. You can also dip back into our guest episodes - including chats with Shane Bond, Finn Allen, Jeetan Patel, Sophie Devine, Colin 'Funky' Miller, Matt Henry, Barry Richards, Frankie Mackay, George Dobell and many more fascinating people from all across the cricketing world. And if you'd like to reach out to us with feedback, questions or guest suggestions, get in touch at thetoporderpodcast@gmail.com. Thanks for listening. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In this episode of the Top Order Podcast Men's Test Cricket Hall of Fame, we discuss and compare the careers of the two greatest batters, and cricketers (if you agree with the algorithm), that the world has ever seen: India's Sachin Tendulkar and Australia's Sir Donald Bradman. Sachin Tendulkar captured the hearts of a billion people during a glittering career that spanned more than two decades. From his Test debut at 16 (!) until his record-breaking 200th match, the Little Master's poise, balance and stroke-making earned him comparisons to 'The Don', even from the man himself. On the other hand, Sir Donald Bradman played only 52 Tests - 37 of them against England - but left such a mark on the game of cricket that he may well be statistically the greatest sportsperson of all-time. Therefore, it'll come as no surprise that he also sits atop the Top Order Podcast Hall of Fame. Do you agree with our assessment? Or have we got things horribly wrong? Don't be shy to tell us how you feel via social media or at thetoporderpodcast@gmail.com. We'll be back next week with more action from around the world, including the white-ball series between England and the Black Caps, plus the early action in the Asia Cup. In the meantime, please take the time to give us a like, follow, share or subscribe on all our channels (@toporderpod on Twitter and Facebook, & @thetoporderpodcast on Instagram) and a (5-Star!) review at your favourite podcast provider, or tell a friend to download. It really helps others find the show and is the best thing you can do to support us. You can also find all our written content, including our Hall of Fame series, at our website, and our recent episodes (plus a few from the backlist) are available on YouTube - if you prefer a video panel discussion, check out our channel and be sure to subscribe. You can also dip back into our conversations with special guests - including Tim Southee, Mike Hussey, Sophie Devine, Shane Bond, Lesley Murdoch, Jeetan Patel, Barry Richards, Jarrod Kimber and many more fascinating people from all across the cricketing world. And if you'd like to reach out to us with feedback, questions or guest suggestions, get in touch at thetoporderpodcast@gmail.com. Thanks for listening. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

This week on the show, Binksy, Baldy and Stu discuss the return of both Trent Boult and Ben Stokes as the New Zealand and England squads for the Men's ODI World Cup start to take shape. In the first half of the episode, we cover England, and the un-retirement of Ben Stokes, which has made headlines this week. Was Harry Brook unlucky? Will Jofra Archer make a late appearance? And who is Gus Atkinson? As the conversation moves to the Black Caps, we discuss the squad balance needed for Indian conditions and what questions are yet to be answered over the next few weeks as New Zealand take on the UAE and England in T20 and ODI series. How seriously are the selectors looking at Kyle Jamieson? Is there room for both Will Young and Mark Chapman? Which allrounders will make the cut? Plus another edition of Kane Williamson watch and confirmation that South Africa will send a weakened Test side to New Zealand in February 2024. If you'd like take a look at the Taniwha Cricket fundraiser we mentioned on the previous episode, you can find the Givealittle page here. We'll be back again next week, but in the meantime, please take the time to give us a like, follow, share or subscribe on all our channels (@toporderpod on Twitter & Facebook, and @thetoporderpodcast on Instagram & YouTube) and a (5-Star!) review at your favourite podcast provider, or tell a friend to download. It really helps others find the show and is the best thing you can do to support us. You can also find all our written content, including our Hall of Fame series, at our website. You can also dip back into our guest episodes - including chats with Wasim Khan, Finn Allen, Dion Nash, Sophie Devine, the Hussey brothers, Barry Richards, Frankie Mackay, Bharat Sundaresan and many more fascinating people from all across the cricketing world. And if you'd like to reach out to us with feedback, questions or guest suggestions, get in touch at thetoporderpodcast@gmail.com. Thanks for listening. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

(Note: A few technical difficulties mean the sound levels are a bit lower for the first 16 minutes or so of this episode, and the reason for the delayed release. Aiming to have another episode up by the end of the week.) Recorded on 8 August 2023, Binksy, Baldy and Stu steer away from the short-form leagues to tidy up a few loose ends from the Ashes and discuss some early Men's ODI World Cup news. We debate over-rate penalties, ball changes and David Warner, before Baldy whips out his depth chart (an actual chart with Post-it notes and everything) as the conversation moves to potential Australia and England squads for the next Ashes (which we now realise is in November 2025, not 2024 as stated). In the second half of the episode, Binksy explains why he hasn't enlisted the help of the BCCI to schedule an upcoming barbecue, Stu channels his inner Lloyd Christmas over the latest Kane Williamson injury update, Baldy's depth chart makes another appearance and we outline why India's depth could hurt them as we start to focus our attention on another major ICC event. If you'd like take a look at the Taniwha Cricket fundraiser we mentioned on the show, you can find the Givealittle page here. We'll be back again next week, but in the meantime, please take the time to give us a like, follow, share or subscribe on all our channels (@toporderpod on Twitter & Facebook, and @thetoporderpodcast on Instagram & YouTube) and a (5-Star!) review at your favourite podcast provider, or tell a friend to download. It really helps others find the show and is the best thing you can do to support us. You can also find all our written content, including our Hall of Fame series, at our website. You can also dip back into our guest episodes - including chats with Wasim Khan, Finn Allen, Shane Bond, Georgia Wareham, Colin 'Funky' Miller, Sophie Devine, Bharat Sundaresan and many more fascinating people from all across the cricketing world. And if you'd like to reach out to us with feedback, questions or guest suggestions, get in touch at thetoporderpodcast@gmail.com. Thanks for listening. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Drama, controversy, moral victories, rain, retirement, boring Aussies, Bazball heroes, photos with the urn – even some cricket! The fifth Test of this fascinating Ashes series is in the books, and Binksy, Baldy and Stu look back at the key moments and storylines from the final Test between England and Australia for 2023. Stuart Broad flipped the bails, announced his retirement and then delivered the fairytale finish that his career deserved as England squared the series 2-2 with a win at The Oval. Was that scoreline a fair result? Why are Australia copping so much criticism? Was it a missed opportunity for both sides? And have England saved Test cricket? There's also praise for Chris Woakes and Usman Khawaja, Ricky Ponting calls for an investigation and spin even gets a mention as we discuss the performances of Moeen Ali and Todd Murphy as well as the absences of Jack Leach and Nathan Lyon. We'll be back next week with more news and views from all the cricket currently going on around the world. In the meantime, please take the time to give us a like, follow, share or subscribe on all our channels (@toporderpod on Twitter & Facebook, and @thetoporderpodcast on Instagram & YouTube) and a (5-Star!) review at your favourite podcast provider, or tell a friend to download. It really helps others find the show and is the best thing you can do to support us. You can also find all our written content, including our Hall of Fame series, at our website. You can also dip back into our guest episodes - including chats with Tim Southee, Mike Hussey, Georgia Wareham, Matt Henry, Sophie Devine, Bharat Sundaresan and many more fascinating people from all across the cricketing world. And if you'd like to reach out to us with feedback, questions or guest suggestions, get in touch at thetoporderpodcast@gmail.com. Thanks for listening. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices