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The Top Order Cricket Podcast

The Top Order Cricket Podcast

Written by: The Top Order Podcast
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 A Pom, an Aussie and two Kiwis walk into a bar ... it’s not a joke, it’s The Top Order, a cricketing podcast where good friends mix their own banter and opinion with extended interviews with some of cricket's most interesting characters from the past and present day.Copyright 2024 The Top Order Podcast Cricket
Episodes
  • 2026 ICC Men's T20 World Cup Preview: Black Caps' chances, bold predictions & will India go back-to-back?

    2026 ICC Men's T20 World Cup Preview: Black Caps' chances, bold predictions & will India go back-to-back?
    Feb 1 2026
    In this episode of the show, Binksy, Baldy, Raj and Stu preview the Men's ICC T20 Cricket World Cup 2026. We discuss the key contenders from each group and the questions facing their sides, then make predictions about how the tournament will play out. We start the show with a quick tournament explainer, before moving on to Group A, which features India, Pakistan, Namibia, Netherlands and the USA. The home side comes into the tournament in great form, with runs flowing from the bats of Abhishek Sharma, Suryakumar Yadav & Ishan Kishan, and the likes of Jasprit Bumrah and Varun Chakravarthy with the ball. Pakistan have dealt comfortably with Australia in their most recent games, but will they ever shake their 'mercurial' tag in big ICC events? And can the Kiwi connection help the Netherlands to the Super 8s? Or will the USA be a surprise packet yet again? Group B is home to Sri Lanka, Australia, Ireland, Oman and Zimbabwe, and could be a bit tougher for batters. Pat Cummins is out for the Aussies and Steve Smith wasn't selected, but can Ashes hero Travis Head power them to another title? On paper the Sri Lankan lineup looks a lot of fun, but will playing at home help or hinder their chances? And can Ireland, Zimbabwe or Oman throw a spanner in the works? As the episode continues, we turn our lens towards England's chances in Group C, which also includes the West Indies, Italy, Nepal and Scotland. With Phil Salt, Jos Buttler, Harry Brook, Adil Rashid, Jofra Archer & co., England have plenty of matchwinners - but how many matches will they actually win? The West Indies have power players like Romario Shepherd and Rovman Powell in the lower order, but will the top order set a good enough platform? And will Tom Bruce's Scotland give us a classic World Cup moment? Or will it be the new boys Italy and Nepal? The final group could very well be the most closely fought, with New Zealand's Black Caps, South Africa and Afghanistan battling for two Super 8 spots along with Canada and the UAE. For New Zealand, the batters look in fine touch, with recent runs for Finn Allen, Glenn Phillips and Daryl Mitchell, but will it matter if the bowlers can't keep going the distance? South Africa pushed India hard in the 2024 final, and with Aiden Markram and Quinton de Kock leading the charge, will they go one better this time around? And you'd be brave to write off any side with Rashid Khan, an opening partnership of Ibrahim & Gurbaz, but the real question is - will Gulbadin fall over again? To round out the show, we make our predictions - semi-finalists, winners, top runscorer, top wicket-taker and some bold predictions that may or may not make us look silly in a month's time. We'll be back in your feed again regularly once the tournament starts - potentially with daily recaps from Day 1. 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 2:25 Tournament explainer 6:10 Group A 21:00 Group B 34:30 Group C 47:40 Group D 1:01:55 Predictions Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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    1 hr and 18 mins
  • This Week in Cricket #197: Glenn Phillips in form, who would be a bowler & World Cup or bust for Baz?

    This Week in Cricket #197: Glenn Phillips in form, who would be a bowler & World Cup or bust for Baz?
    Jan 25 2026
    In this episode of the show, Binksy, Baldy and Stu chat about the Black Caps' white-ball series in India, the vibes in the England camp over in Sri Lanka, discuss some future stars at the ICC Under-19 World Cup and finish things off with a big announcement! We start the show by talking about the Black Caps' white-ball tour to India, which at the time of recording was two games into the T20 series. There's been runs for Glenn Phillips and Suryakumar Yadav, along with a host of other players, and we discuss the challenge for bowlers in the powerplay on batter-friendly pitches. [Note there's a brief moment where we lost some audio, so at one point Stu goes from talking about Mark Chapman to highlighting Finn Allen, around the 22:30 mark after the second of silence.] As the episode continues, we turn our lens towards England to see how the mood is over in Sri Lanka a few weeks removed from the disappointment of the Ashes. The conversation inevitably turns to Brendon McCullum's future in the coaching role, and whether the T20 World Cup could be the end of his England tenure. To round out the show, we talk about ICC Under-19 World Cup, which has seen a lot of rain for New Zealand, but impressive performances for both Australia and England. Baldy and Binksy take us through a few names to watch, before there's an announcement about upcoming content from the team in the coming months. We'll be back in your feed again next week with a T20 World Cup preview show, then regularly throughout the tournament. 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 1:30 Black Caps v India: T20 bowlers in the power play 11:00 NZ's seam bowling options 14:05 Runs for Suryakumar Yadav & India 19:05 Glenn Phillips' form a huge positive for NZ 23:10 England v Sri Lanka ODIs 28:15 World Cup or bust for Brendon McCullum? 32:25 Jamie Smith's outlook 35:00 ICC U19 World Cup: Australia & England potential future stars 44:40 Special announcement! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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    56 mins
  • This Week in Cricket #196: Black Caps v India, T20 World Cup squad & the NZ20

    This Week in Cricket #196: Black Caps v India, T20 World Cup squad & the NZ20
    Jan 18 2026
    In this episode of the show, it's a heavy New Zealand focus as Baldy, Raj and Stu discuss the Black Caps' white-ball series in India, New Zealand's T20 World Cup squad and the potential for the NZ20 - a proposed privately-backed T20 franchise league to replace the Super Smash. We start the show by talking about the Black Caps' white-ball tour to India, which at the time of recording was only two games into the ODI series. At the risk of getting too far ahead of ourselves, we talk about Daryl Mitchell's fantastic form, the additional craft Kyle Jamieson seems to have added to his game and the two debutants, Jayden Lennox and Kristian Clarke. As the episode continues, we turn our lens towards New Zealand's T20 World Cup squad. Were Tim Robinson and Bevon Jacobs unlucky to miss out? What role might Jimmy Neesham play? Should Tim Seifert & Finn Allen be over in India rather than at the BBL? How much will newborn babies impact the seam-bowling rotation? And more! To round out the show, we talk about the NZ20 - a proposed franchise T20 competition that could start as early as January 2027. Is it a good idea? Will it be good for players? Good for fans? Good for New Zealand cricket pathways? We'd love to hear what you think, as the details are still thin on the ground at this early stage. We'll be back in your feed again soon with more from the cricketing world, including the Black Caps' white-ball series in India and the lead-in to the T20 World Cup. 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 1:50 Black Caps v India: the ODI series 3:30 Daryl Mitchell looks in great form 8:45 Kyle Jamieson's variations 11:55 Debuts for Jayden Lennox & Kristian Clarke 19:00 India's performances 21:30 Kuldeep Yadav 24:40 Black Caps' T20 World Cup squad discussion 31:55 Bevon Jacobs 34:50 Should the entire T20 WC squad be in India now? 42:45 NZ20 - potential positives & negatives for New Zealand cricket 1:00:55 ICC Under-19 World Cup begins Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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    1 hr and 8 mins
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