• ICC Champions Trophy Daily Review: New Zealand v Pakistan
    Feb 19 2025
    In this episode of the 2025 ICC Champions Trophy daily review, Raj and Stu look back at the first game of the tournament, between hosts Pakistan and New Zealand's Black Caps, which saw the visitors secure a clinical 60-run victory thanks to centuries from Will Young and Tom Latham, a quality all-round display from Glenn Phillips and a disciplined bowling performance.. We'll be back in your feed with regular updates throughout the tournament. If you've enjoyed listening and/or watching, 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 with 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. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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    28 mins
  • 2025 ICC Champions Trophy Preview Show
    Feb 16 2025
    In this episode of the Top Order Podcast, Jamie, Baldy, Binksy and Stu preview the 2025 ICC Champions Trophy held in Pakistan and Dubai. We start the show with one of Baldy's famous explainers, before discussing the favourites, the each-way chances and the outsiders. That means covering India, Australia, New Zealand, England, South Africa, Pakistan, Afghanistan and Bangladesh in an attempt to predict who will lift the trophy on Sunday 9 March. Questions include: Can anyone stop Rohit Sharma's India? Do Australia deserve to be among the favourites after the loss of Starc, Cummins, Hazlewood & Co.? Have the Black Caps timed their run to perfection? Is this one tournament too early for an England white-ball side still under construction? Will the likes of Klaasen and Rabada power South Africa into the final? Can Babar Azam whip the home crowd into a frenzy? Are Ibrahim & Gurbaz going to repeat their T20 WC heroics? Do Bangladesh have any chance at all? And so much more! We'll be back in your feed with regular updates throughout the tournament. If you've enjoyed listening and/or watching, 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 with 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 1:15 Tournament explainer 3:55 India 14:05 Australia 25:10 New Zealand 34:50 England 44:40 South Africa 51:40 Pakistan 59:30 Afghanistan 1:04:55 Bangladesh 1:06:45 Tournament predictions Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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    1 hr and 21 mins
  • This Week in Cricket #174: Smith does it again, Rohit's back and Glenn Phillips goes bang
    Feb 11 2025
    In this episode of the Top Order Podcast, Jamie, Baldy and Stu discuss some of the major talking points from the past week, including Australia's 2-0 Test series win in Sri Lanka, the England v India ODI series, a tri-series for the Black Caps, Champions Trophy injuries and some New Zealand domestic players we're keeping an eye on. We start the show by discussing Australia's 2-0 Test series win in Sri Lanka. Despite Baldy's worries about selection, it was another dominant performance from the Aussies at Galle - led by Steve Smith with the bat and in the field. We also talk about Dimuth Karunaratne's legacy in what was his 100th and final Test. Next we move to white-ball cricket, with England taking on India in ODIs. Results keep going India's way, thanks to an excellent return to form for Rohit Sharma, Ravindra Jadeja's craft & the all-round contributions of Axar Patel. There's also chat about England's batters, dot balls in the middle overs and what clues selections are giving us for the Champions Trophy. We then turn our attention to the tri-series between the Black Caps, Pakistan and South Africa, which has seen a stunning hundred from Glenn Phillips, a record-breaking debut from Matthew Breetzke and a mammoth partnership between Kane Williamson and Devon Conway. We discuss the importance of these fixtures and what we might be learning with one eye on the ICC tournament to follow. To round out the show, Stu gives a shout out to the Kerr sisters and the Boyle brothers, before sharing a few names he'll be watching for the remainder of the NZ domestic summer. We'll be back in your feed again next week with a full preview of the Champions Trophy. 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 with 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 1:35 Australia's dominant win against Sri Lanka 2:35 Steve Smith at the top of his game again 4:30 Australia's spin bowlers did the business 8:10 Was Cooper Connolly's selection a mistake? 18:10 Alex Carey's hundred 19:05 Dimuth Karunaratne's retirement and legacy 23:30 India v England - any positives for England? 30:45 England remain a work in progress in white-ball cricket 37:25 Rohit Sharma's delightful return to form 42:40 NZ v SA and Pakistan - runs galore for Matthew Breetzke, Glenn Phillips, Kane Williamson & Devon Conway 48:00 Who will open the batting for the Black Caps in the Champions Trophy? 52:00 What have we learned from the tri-series so far? 56:20 Champions Trophy injury news 1:01:30 Super Smash winners and NZ domestic players to watch Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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    1 hr and 17 mins
  • This Week in Cricket #173: Australia's two big wins, India's T20 dominance & Smith v Sachin
    Feb 3 2025
    In this episode of the Top Order Podcast, Binksy, Jamie, Baldy and Raj discuss some of the major talking points from the past week, including the England v India T20 series, Australia's innings victories in the tests against Sri Lanka & India, plus a Sachin Tendulkar/Steve Smith stat-off to finish. We start the show by discussing Australia's WAshes victory and the fallout for an England side that has performed well below their own expectations. Will there be changes at the top? There's also praise for Alana King, Annabel Sutherland, Beth Mooney, Ash Gardner and more. Next up we move to India's T20 series with England. The show was recorded before India's crushing win in the 5th match, but the discussion around England's mixed performances shone through. There are question marks around the finishing and concussion substitutes, but plenty of positives for Varun Chakravarthy and also Hardik Pandya's leadership. After that we move to another big Australian victory - the innings win against Sri Lanka at Galle. We talk about the manner of the victory and the dominant performance, but of course Baldy is always looking for improvements from this Australian team. Usman Khawaja and Josh Inglis went big, but should Sam Konstas have played? How well did the Aussie spinners bowl? And what was Dhananjaya De Silva doing? To round out the show, it was a good old fashioned head-to-head battle as the boys discuss the records of Sachin Tendulkar and Steve Smith after the latter passed 10,000 runs. We'll be back in your feed again next week with our regular This Week in Cricket show. 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 with 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 1:15 Australia's clean sweep of the WAshes 12:45 India's T20 series win against England 21:30 Concussion substitutes 36:15 Australia's dominant win against Sri Lanka 46:45 Should Sam Konstas have played? 56:45 The Sachin Tendulkar v Steve Smith stat-off! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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    1 hr and 13 mins
  • This Week in Cricket #172: Jos Buttler's role, Australia v Sri Lanka preview, the WAshes & NZ in the BBL?
    Jan 26 2025
    In this episode of the Top Order Podcast, Binksy, Jamie, Baldy and Stu discuss some of the major talking points from the past week, including the England v India T20 series, Australia's dominance of the WAshes, whether there should be NZ teams in the BBL and a look ahead to Australia's Test tour to Sri Lanka. We open the show by discussing the first two T20s between England and India, mainly from an England point of view aside from a SRH fan club shout out for Abhishek Sharma. We talk about closers, Jos Buttler's role and England's reliance on Adil Rashid. From there we move to the Women's Ashes, which have been one-way traffic so far as Australia continue their dominant run that looks to be extending for yet another year on the international stage. Staying in Australia, we also talk about recent discussions in New Zealand about getting some Kiwi sides into the BBL. Would this be good for the competition? For NZ Cricket? For anyone? To round out the show, we look ahead to Australia's upcoming Test tour to Sri Lanka. With injury concerns on both sides and World Test Championship final spots basically secured, how much does this series actually matter? We talk about whether Australia will shuffle the likes of Travis Head and Usman Khawaja, the role Scott Boland could play in Sri Lankan conditions, what we might see from newcomers like Sam Konstas, Beau Webster and Cooper Connolly and Sri Lanka making the most of the Galle fortress. We'll be back in your feed again next week with our regular This Week in Cricket show. 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 with 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 1:35 England v India T20s - early impressions for England 6:55 Abhishek Sharma excitement & India's T20 dominance 8:10 England's finishers 12:15 The WAshes - Australia's dominance against England 24:00 Should there be NZ teams in the BBL? 39:30 Australia v Sri Lanka Test preview Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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    1 hr and 1 min
  • This Week in Cricket #171: Two-tier Test proposal, India's 10-point plan & Champions Trophy news
    Jan 19 2025
    In this episode of the Top Order Podcast, Raj, Jamie and Stu discuss some of the major talking points from the past couple of weeks, including the apparent proposal to change the Test structure to two tiers, India's 10-point plan towards team harmony, Champions Trophy news, James Vince, Pakistan spinning their way to victory against the West Indies and Jimmy Anderson's love for the game. We open the show by discussing the reports suggesting the boards of England, Australia and India are planning to start a conversation that could lead to a proposal to separate Test cricket into two divisions of seven. With a lot of details still to be determined, we talk about our initial reactions to the idea, how an ideal version of the proposal could work, who might benefit from it and ultimately whether it would be a step forward from the current World Test Championship. From there we move to white-ball cricket and the Champions Trophy, with India naming their squad yesterday. Mohammad Shami returns from injury with Rohit Sharma as captain and the experienced core of Virat Kohli, Jasprit Bumrah and co. given an opportunity to go one better than the World Cup in 2023. We also discuss the BCCI's 10-point 'Policy Document for Team India', plus England's upcoming white-ball tour. To round out the show, we talk about pitches in Pakistan and batters around the world struggling against spin, the PSL window and how James Vince's decision could lead to more instances of the nomadic cricketer, plus a shout out to Jimmy Anderson as he looks set to return to Lancashire for the county season. We'll be back in your feed again next week with our regular This Week in Cricket show and hopefully the full crew back together. 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 with 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 0:45 The two-tier test proposal 17:45 Champions Trophy squad news - India 20:30 The BCCI's 10-policy 'Policy Plan for Team India' 32:40 England's best XI for the Champions Trophy 42:15 Pakistan v West Indies - pitches and spin 54:00 James Vince & the PSL 1:03:45 Jimmy Anderson playing on with Lancashire Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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    1 hr and 16 mins
  • Black Caps 2024 Review: Historic wins, bad losses, the bowling reboot & the next steps forward
    Jan 14 2025
    In this episode of the Top Order Podcast it’s a Black Caps focused show as Raj and Stu look back at New Zealand's performances in 2024 take stock of where the side is at heading into a relatively quiet 2025. We open the show by reviewing the 2024 results, which paint a picture of a middling side that had a big gap between their best performances and their worst ones, before discussing a bowling attack that saw some big changes over the past 12 months with the retirements of Neil Wagner and Tim Southee, plus the emergence of the likes of Will O'Rourke and Ben Sears. We also discuss the spin stocks and whether this is an area of concern. As we move to the batting department, there's plenty to discuss - primarily the lack of runs by the majority of the core group of players. We talk about Devon Conway, Will Young, Glenn Phillips, Rachin Ravindra, Kane Williamson and many others, plus the central contracting system and how New Zealand Cricket are managing the competing pull of franchise leagues. To round out the show, we look ahead to a 2025 fixture list that looks quite bare after the Champions Trophy to consider where we'd like the side to be by the end of the year.. We'll be back in your feed again later in the week or early next with our regular This Week in Cricket show. 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 with 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: Black Caps' 2024 results 2:55 Thoughts on 2024 as a whole 6:20 NZ's pace-bowling refresh 10:50 Are the spin-bowling stocks a concern? 20:30 Batting depth 22:25 Devon Conway - are we still optimistic about his international future? 25:30 Tom Blundell & wicketkeeping position moving forward 29:55 Casual and central contracts 38:20 Will Young - can he cement a spot in 2025? 42:25 Glenn Phillips - what should his role be in this NZ side? 45:40 Rachin Ravindra's development 51:10 Kane Williamson's form and future 55:20 NZ's fixtures in 2025 and hopes for the year 1:07:22 Coaching situation and ideal potential candidates Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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    1 hr and 22 mins
  • England Cricket 2024 Review & 2025 Preview: A look back, a look forward & a white-ball revolution?
    Jan 12 2025
    In this episode of the Top Order Podcast it’s an England-centric view as Binksy and Jamie review England’s red- and white-ball performances in 2024 and look forward to a mouthwatering 10 tests against old enemies Australia and India in 2025. The boys dissect what they want to see as Bazball disciples and look at the personnel England should and might use in 2025. There is confidence in Joe Root, Harry Brook and Gus Atkinson, but question marks surrounding Zak Crawley, Ollie Pope and the fitness of talismanic skipper Ben Stokes. With no Baldy to respond, Binksy and Jamie dream of recapturing the urn in Sydney as they forecast the year 2025. The boys also discuss the dramatic decline of the England men’s white-ball side and ponder whether a partnership of Brendon McCullum and Jos Buttler can revive fortunes in an ICC Champions Trophy year. If you enjoy our content, please vote for us as the Best Cricket Podcast in the Sports Podcast Awards. We’re delighted to be shortlisted and really appreciate your support: https://www.sportspodcastgroup.com/sports_category/best-cricket-podcast/ We'll be back in your feed again soon with a similar show focused on the Black Caps. 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 with 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 4:30 expectations on our red ball team 11:19 Personnel and emerging talent 21:25 Looking ahead and bolter selections? 27:16 is The Ashes McCullum's Everest? 35:38 White-ball cricket: evolution or revolution? 45:23 Lifting the urn in 2025? Dare to dream? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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    55 mins