The Top Order Cricket Podcast

The ICC Men's Cricket World Cup 2023 is here, and the Top Order Podcast has you covered with regular game reviews and recaps. In this episode of the show, we discuss the match between India and Australia, which saw a win for the home side as Ravindra Jadeja, Kuldeep Yadav and Ravichandran Ashwin combined for 6 wickets and a big partnership from Virat Kohli and KL Rahul steadied the ship after an e...

The ICC Men's Cricket World Cup 2023 is here, and the Top Order Podcast has you covered with regular game reviews and recaps. In this episode of the show, we discuss the a day of contrasts that saw Bangladesh take on Afghanistan and South Africa against Sri Lanka. In game one, Shakib al Hasan and Mehidy Hasan Miraz combined for 6 wickets as Bangladesh restricted Afghanistan to 156 all out. The sec...

The ICC Men's Cricket World Cup 2023 is here, and the Top Order Podcast has you covered with regular game reviews and recaps. In this episode of the show, we discuss the second match of the tournament, between Pakistan and the Netherlands, in which a somewhat scratchy Pakistan found contributions from the likes of Saud Shakeel, Mohammad Rizwan and Haris Rauf to help them secure a win despite an im...

The ICC Men's Cricket World Cup 2023 is here, and the Top Order Podcast has you covered with regular game reviews and recaps. In this episode of the show, we discuss the opening match of the tournament, between England and the Black Caps, in which a sublime partnership between Rachin Ravindra and Devon Conway secured a dominant victory for New Zealand. We'll be back again tomorrow with more news a...

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...

The ICC Men's Cricket World Cup is almost here, and what better way to celebrate than a two-part bonanza of cricket content. In this first episode, we take a close look at the four sides that we feel most aligned with - India, Australia, England and the Black Caps. For each team, we discuss: Why will things go well? What are the potential weaknesses? Key players? Any injury concerns? Potential bes...

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 agains...

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 o...

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. F...

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 Atkinso...

(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....

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 t...

This week on the show, Binksy, Baldy and Stu recap the rain-affected 4th men's Ashes Test at Old Trafford, discuss a few talking points from the Black Caps' T20 squad to face the UAE and England, plus give a shout out to Virat Kohli for his 29th Test hundred in his 500th international match. Were England robbed? What happened with Australia's team selection? Should Ben Stokes have declared? Is Pat...

This week on the show, Binksy, Raj and Stu recap the week that was and look ahead to the 4th men's Ashes Test at Old Trafford. We start by discussing India's dominant victory against the West Indies, which saw a big century on Test debut for Yashasvi Jaiswal and a 12-wicket haul for Ravichandran Ashwin. Alick Athanaze offered some glimmers of positivity for the West Indies, but, apart from winning...

In this episode of the show, Binksy, Baldy and Stu look back at the 3rd Ashes Test at Headingley, which saw England secure a crucial win to keep the series alive. After yet another close finish, there's plenty to discuss about these two good cricket sides who both still have a lot of questions to answer. Is Bazball good again? Why was this Mark Wood's first Test of the series? How much did Austral...

In this episode of the show, Binksy and Baldy review the second Ashes Test of 2023. Australia won the Test, but who is winning the PR battle? There was controversy galore - from Mitchell Starc’s (non) catch, to the Alex Carey/Jonny Bairstow run out and the reaction of the MCC members at Lord’s - but are all the distractions making it hard to step back and consider which team is actually playing th...

In this episode of the show, we cover a lot of ground. From India's Test squad, to the women's and men's Ashes, across to the ICC World Cup Qualifiers and back to New Zealand. We start by discussing India's Test squad for their upcoming tour to the West Indies, which does not include Cheteshwar Pujara, but instead features the young talents of Yashasvi Jaiswal and Ruturaj Gaikwad. Was it the right...

In this episode of the show, we review the first Ashes Test of 2023, which saw Australia defeat England by 2 wickets. Zak Crawley signalled England's intent from the first ball, and from there the game see-sawed back and forth in front of a raucous crowd until Pat Cummins and Nathan Lyon combined with the bat to carry Australia across the line. We talk declarations, tactics, leadership, throwing y...

On this episode of the show, we look ahead to one of the most anticipated Ashes series in a while, as the recently crowned World Test Champions look to become the first team to win a series against England in the Brendon McCullum-Ben Stokes era. We start by discussing why this particular series feels different - and more exciting - than in recent years, before working our way through the big quest...

In this episode of the show, we look back at the World Test Championship final, which saw Australia defeat India to claim the title. We discuss the selections - most notably India leaving Ravichandran Ashwin on the bench - the toss, the pitch, the over rates, the format and even some of the actual cricket in what proved a fascinating contest, despite Australia holding the upper hand by tea on Day...

In this episode of the Top Order Podcast Men's Test Cricket Hall of Fame, we discuss and compare the careers of Sri Lanka's Muttiah Muralitharan and Australia's Shane Warne in order to determine who is the greatest ever spinner (and bowler) in the history of Test cricket. With more than 1500 Test wickets between them, it's hard to split these two giants of the game, but we do our best as we look a...

In this episode, we look ahead to the World Test Championship final between India and Australia at The Oval. Is it growing in stature as an ICC event? Or is it losing some lustre second time around? Do Australia care more about this game or the Ashes? Is India in desperate need of an ICC event victory? Can India fit both Ravi Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja into their playing XI? Shami & Siraj v Cummin...

In this episode of the show, we discuss the IPL final, which saw the Chennai Super Kings defeat the Gujarat Titans, plus the upcoming Test match between England and Ireland. The IPL 2023 final was a thriller, with Ravindra Jadeja hitting 10 off the final two balls of the match to seal yet another title for CSK - a fitting way to end a fantastic tournament. We discuss the key moments and key player...

In this episode of the Top Order Podcast, we look back at the final week of the IPL 2023 round robin - then make our predictions about who will win it all. We start the show by discussing RCB and the Rajasthan Royals - two teams who most likely view this year's tournament as a big missed opportunity. Virat Kohli hit back-to-back hundreds, Faf du Plessis lead the run charts, Yashasvi Jaiswal looks...

This week on the show we talk about the runfest at the IPL, which saw Yashasvi Jaiswal, Suryakumar Yadav, Prabhsimran Singh and Shubman Gill post individual scores of 98+ within a span of five days. Throw in impressive performances from players like Glenn Maxwell and Rinku Singh and the question becomes: Is bat dominating ball too much? The Rajasthan Royals would argue otherwise, as their epic col...