The Top Order Cricket Podcast The Top Order Podcast

In this episode of the show, we look back at the final group games at the T20 World Cup, which saw the USA qualify for the next round and the Black Caps limp out of the tournament. We also look ahead to the Super 8 phase, previewing the two groups and the chances of heavy hitters like India, Australia, England and South Africa, as well as the two hosts.

We start the show by discussing Australia's win against Scotland, which had Binksy reaching for the tinfoil hat and Baldy drifting off to Tatooine. Brandon McMullen shone, but ultimately a partnership from Marcus Stoinis and Travis Head secured England a spot in the next round.

From there we try to wrap our heads around South Africa's performances so far - four wins from four, winning all the big moments, but not reaching 120 yet with the bat. Is this a different South Africa than we've seen before? Is their batting about to fire? Or will their top order woes continue in what looks like a challenging Super 8 group? We discuss the Heinrich Klaasen's run out against Nepal, Binksy hands out the turquoise cap and we attempt to fix a flaw in the DRS procedure that may have cost Bangladesh a victory.

In the second half of the show, Stu is put under the microscope to review the Black Caps' early exit from the tournament, and what the next steps are for this side. Has Trent Boult played his final game for New Zealand? Do the Black Caps have a T20 identity? Is it time for change?

We finish the show with some praise for the West Indies, with Nicholas Pooran leading the charge against Afghanistan and backed up by a deep batting line up and some quality spin options. There's also talk about India's quiet week/tournament so far, and whether that might actually be great for their prospects over the next 10 days or so as this World Cup makes its way towards a conclusion.

We are planning to record regularly throughout the next phases of the tournament, so will hopefully be in your feed every few days. 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 - Super 8 groups confirmed
3:20 Australia do England a big favour by beating Scotland
16:12 Pitches and the jeopardy of the tournament
21:52 South Africa coming through in the clutch!
27:15 DRS controversy
33:17 New Zealand's limp exit - will this be a turning point?
51:12 West Indies looking dangerous
54:35 India's quiet tournament so far - a good thing?
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In this episode of the show, we look back at a busy week of games at the T20 World Cup, which saw India and the USA beat Pakistan, Afghanistan beat New Zealand, plus Australia and South Africa take control of their groups.
We start the show by discussing the low-scoring thriller between India and Pakistan, which saw Jasprit Bumrah, Hardik Pandya and others shine as India roared home to secure a crucial victory in Group A. We discuss Saurabh Netravalkar and USA's Super Over tactics, whether there's still a chance for Pakistan and wonder why teams are unable to turn good batting starts into big scores.
In Group B we heap praise on Scotland's performances so far, before turning our attention to the marquee matchup between Australia and England. Baldy enjoyed David Warner's control of the powerplay, Binksy couldn't understand England's tactics and Adam Zampa's consistency came into the spotlight.
As attention turned to Group C, it was Stu and Raj's turn to show their frustration, as we looked back at an uncharacteristically poor performance by the Black Caps, particularly in the field. We talked team selection, build up, whether they can bounce back against the West Indies or if their tournament is as good as over already.
To round out the show, we try to predict who will make it out of Group D, with South Africa taking charge and the Netherlands perhaps the most impressive of the other sides so far. Can Sri Lanka find a way back? What about Bangladesh?
We are planning to record regularly throughout the tournament, particularly as we approach the Super 8 and knockout stages. 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
1:05 Group qualification looking harder to predict than the seedings suggested
2:15 India's win against Pakistan
5:50 Jasprit Bumrah's brilliance
10:45 Hardik Pandya and Axar Patel
14:15 Why are teams not capitalising on strong positions?
17:40 Are Pakistan gone? USA in the box seat
21:10 USA v Pakistan Super Over
23:10 Group B - Scotland top the group
26:10 Australia v England - David Warner controlled the powerplay
28:10 Did England get their tactics wrong?
33:25 Adam Zampa's consistency
36:50 Group C - NZ's shocker against Afghanistan
53:15 Group D - Who will join South Africa in the Super 8s?
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In this episode of the show, the team are all in the same room to review the first few days of the ICC T20 World Cup hosted by the West Indies and USA.
We discuss our early impressions, throw out a few hot takes and share our favourite performances from the opening week.


Are the pitches no good?

Is it already time to write off Sri Lanka?

How good is Aaron Jones’s bat?!

Is Anrich Nortje back?

What's going on with the Super 8 groups?

Are Afghanistan a danger side?

Could Ireland upset India

And much more!


We are planning to record regularly throughout the tournament, particularly as we approach the Super 8 and knockout stages. All going well, we’ll have at least one more episode available by Sunday night. 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
1:20 Super 8 seedings are ridiculous
10:25 USA v Canada - How good is Aaron Jones's bat?
18:25 West Indies v PNG - The importance of a gameplan against spin
23:50 Bowlers on top so far
30:45 South Africa v Sri Lanka - Sri Lanka in trouble already?
34:40 Afghanistan's impressive start
37:30 Namibia v Oman Super Over drama
41:00 Are the low scoring games fun to watch?
43:45 Can Ireland upset India?
46:50 New Zealand's build up
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In this episode of the show, the team are all in the same room to preview the ICC T20 World Cup hosted by the West Indies and USA.

We discuss the 20-team format, what overall tournament success looks like for the ICC, the quick turnaround from the IPL and the type of cricket we might see played throughout the month of June.

We then look at the 4 groups in more detail - will India and their star-studded line-up cruise through Group A? How much pressure is there on England to bounce back from their ODI World Cup disappointment? Will the Black Caps make it to the knockout stages yet again? Is this South Africa's moment? Or is a home win for the West Indies written in the stars? Which teams hold the biggest upset potential? And prediction time!

We won't be doing daily updates of this World Cup, but are hoping to record regularly throughout the tournament, particularly as we approach the Super 8 and knockout stages. 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 - when and where?
3:29 Do we like the 20-team format?
7:10 What does success look like for the ICC?
10:07 Short turnaround from the IPL
14:43 Expectations for pitches and scores?
19:00 Group A preview - India, Pakistan, Ireland, USA, Canada
29:15 Group B preview - Australia, England, Namibia, Scotland, Oman
41:15 Group C preview - West Indies, New Zealand, Afghanistan, PNG, Uganda
52:50 Group D preview - South Africa, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, the Netherlands, Nepal
1:01:55 Predictions!
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In this episode of the show, the team are all back in the same room to discuss the IPL 2024 final, which saw a dominant performance from the Kolkata Knight Riders that reflected their dominant season.

We discuss Mitchell Starc’s magic delivery to Abhishek Sharma, and how his best performances of the season came in the biggest games. There’s praise for Venkatesh Iyer and the young bowling pair of Vaibhav Arora and Harshit Rana, plus special mention for Sunil Narine’s outstanding campaign.

We also discuss Sunrisers Hyderabad and what they need to improve to go one step further next year, as well as some general thoughts about the length of the tournament, the impact player rule and global fan engagement with such a big window carved out for the IPL. .

This episode ends our IPL coverage, but the T20 action doesn’t stop - we’ll back in your feed in a couple of days with a full preview of the ICC T20 World Cup, which starts on 2 June. 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
1:05 KKR win IPL 2024
2:30 KKR's dominant bowling attack
3:53 Mitchell Starc's peach and how he stepped up
5:15 Complete team effort from KKR
9:30 Sunrisers season - where did they come up short?
11:45 Abhishek Sharma and Travis Head
17:10 Gautam Gambhir's impact and potential India coach?
23:50 Impact player rule
30:13 Is the length of the window too long?
31:30 How can the IPL improve global fan engagement and buy in?

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In this episode of the show, Binksy and Stu look back at the final week of the IPL 2024 regular season before previewing the upcoming knockout fixtures.
Recorded on 20 May, we talk about a week that saw Royal Challengers Bengaluru storm into the playoffs, Sunrisers Hyderabad snatch second place, Kolkata Knight Riders watch some rain fall, Rajasthan Royals extend their losing streak and missed opportunities for Lucknow Super Giants and the Chennai Super Kings.
We discuss the epic match between RCB and CSK, which essentially became a quarterfinal thanks to LSG's slip up earlier in the week, and then take a closer look at all four playoff teams as we move to the business end of the season.

KKR have been superb all season, but will Phil Salt's absence and consecutive washouts leave them vulnerable?

The Sunrisers Hyderabad bowling attack has improved throughout the season, but are their chances tied heavily to the success of Abhishek Sharma and Travis Head at the top of the order?

With the Rajasthan Royals in a slump and Jos Buttler gone - is Ravichandran Ashwin at 5 really the answer?

Virat Kohli's form has been immense all season for RCB, but have they become an all-round threat during this six-game win streak?

Plus predictions and much more!


We might be back again later in the week with more news and views if there's an incredible game we can't wait to talk about, but if not we'll be in your feed again about this time next week to wrap up the final and also look ahead 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 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
1:30 RCB beat CSK to roar into the playoffs
5:20 Rachin Ravindra's contribution
7:45 Virat Kohli's fantastic season
10:50 RCB's all-round game
14:50 Rajasthan's losing streak - can they turn it around?
21:15 Rajasthan's middle order struggles
24:05 KKR fully deserve their number-one spot
29:20 Potential for KKR v SRH to be a run-fest
31:30 Do the Sunrisers chances rest solely on whether Head and Sharma fire?
36.50 Predictions
40:30 Final general thoughts
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