The Top Order Cricket Podcast

In this episode of the show, Baldy and Stu look ahead to the upcoming Test series between the West Indies and Australia. Fresh off a loss in the World Test Championship Final, Australia head to the West Indies with very little time to lick their wounds and a lot of questions hanging over their heads, particularly the batters. Steve Smith is injured (at least for the first Test), Marnus Labuschagne...

In this episode of the show, Raj, Baldy, Binksy and Stu look ahead to the upcoming Test series between England and India. We start the show with a short summary of what's ahead of us in this five-match series, before sharing what excites us most about India's tour to the UK. We discuss the unknown quantities of a visiting side led by Shubman Gill and missing the experience of Rohit Sharma and Vira...

In this episode of the show, Binksy, Baldy, Raj and Stu relive the rollercoaster ride that was the 2025 ICC World Test Championship Final, which saw South Africa crowned champions as they defeated Australia by 5 wickets at Lord's. We start the show with our thoughts, feelings and emotions from a game that swung back and forth and up and down across the three and a bit days of cricket. We talk Sout...

In this episode of the show, it's a full house and a packed runsheet with RCB winning IPL 2025, the Black Caps naming a new coach and an updated central contract list, England announcing their squad for the first Test against India and preview of the World Test Championship Final between Australia and South Africa. We start the show by talking about the IPL final, which saw Royal Challengers Benga...

In this episode of the show, Binksy, Raj, Baldy and Stu discuss an eventful couple of weeks, which have seen RCB win their way to the IPL final, England demolish Zimbabwe, Karun Nair strengthen his case for a Test recall, Shubman Gill named India Test captain and Copilot names its favourite podcast host. We start by talking about IPL 2025's most recent game, which saw the Mumbai Indians advance, e...

In this episode of the show, Binksy, Jamie, Baldy and Stu discuss an eventful week, which saw the return of the IPL but not all its players, the Test cricket retirements of Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma, squad news galore and some potential candidates emerge for the Black Caps coaching role. We start by talking about the IPL's resumption and the players such as Jos Buttler and Mitchell Starc who ha...

In this episode of the show, Binksy, Jamie and Stu look back at week 6 of IPL 2025, which saw the top 7 sides break away, Vaibhav Suryavanshi score a 35-ball century, Mumbai demolish Rajasthan, KKR win a final-ball thriller, Punjab secure a crucial two points against LSG, England name their first Test squad of the summer, and plenty more! We start this week by talking about Sunday's double-header,...

In this episode of the show, Raj, Baldy and Stu look back at week 5 of IPL 2025, which saw Mumbai and RCB make their moves, CSK start looking to next season and New Zealand Cricket invest in Major League Cricket in the USA. We start this week with a check in about RCB. It's been a strange season for them so far - less hyped than previous years, struggles at home, but with a lot of the players in k...

In this episode of the show, Raj, Baldy, Binksy, Jamie and Stu look back at week 4 of IPL 2025, which saw a host of close matches, a few low scores, highlights from Jos Buttler, Mitchell Starc, Yuzvendra Chahal, a debut for 14-year-old Vaibhav Suryavanshi and plenty more. We start this week by talking about the remarkable debut of Vaibhav Suryavanshi for the Rajasthan Royals. There's talk about wh...

In this episode of the show, Baldy, Jamie and Stu look back at week 3 of IPL 2025 through a stock market lens. Who are we buying? Who are we selling? And what are we watching with our fingers poised ready to pounce in the coming weeks? We start this week with an injury update - and it's not been good news both on the field for the Kiwis Lockie Ferguson and Glenn Phillips, and in the podcast studio...

In this episode of the show, Baldy, Raj and Stu look back at the two white-ball series between New Zealand and Pakistan, which the Black Caps won in dominant style - 7-1 across the ODI and T20s combined. We start the show as we mean to continue, with huge praise for NZ and the depth on display during the two series, but also with a big question to answer: Were the Black Caps fantastic or was Pakis...

In this episode of the show, Binksy, Baldy, Raj and Stu look back at week 2 of IPL 2025 through a stock market lens. Who are we buying? Who are we selling? And what are we watching with our fingers poised ready to pounce in the coming weeks? We start on a positive note with praise for the Delhi Capitals and Rajasthan Royals for their performances this week, as well as a shout out to the mega aucti...

In this episode of the show, Raj and Stu look back at two midweek games: Punjab Kings vs Lucknow Super Giants and Royal Challengers Bengaluru vs Gujarat Titans. We start by discussing the most recent game, which saw Gujarat spoil Raj's return to our IPL coverage with a dominant win in Bengaluru. Mohammed Siraj knocked the top off the RCB batting lineup and despite a recovery through the middle and...

In this episode of the show, Binksy, Baldy, Jamie and Stu look back at week 1 of IPL 2025 through a stock market lens. Who are we buying? Who are we selling? And what are we watching with our fingers poised ready to pounce in the coming weeks? We start on a positive note, highlighting a balanced RCB side unbeaten at the time of recording thanks to a bowling attack featuring the quality of Josh Haz...

In this episode of the show, Baldy, Jamie and Stu look back at the opening game of IPL 2025, before diving into team by team previews of Royal Challengers Bengaluru, Delhi Capitals, Gujarat Titans, Punjab Kings and Lucknow Super Giants. Recorded on Sunday 23 March, we start by discussing game 1 of the tournament, which saw RCB record an impressive victory against the defending champions KKR. New r...

In this episode of the show, Binksy, Jamie, Baldy and Stu kick off the IPL 2025 coverage by previewing the fortunes of the Kolkata Knight Riders, Sunrisers Hyderabad, Rajasthan Royals, Mumbai Indians and the Chennai Super Kings. We start with a Baldy explainer, and a quick chat about the impact of the mega auction, before moving straight into the team previews. We discuss what excites us about our...

This week on the show, Binksy, Jamie, Baldy and Stu felt like bouncing around a few topics in the aftermath of the Champions Trophy before the news cycle is dominated by the IPL. There's a bit of ODI format chat, then a quick check-in on the teams we support - Australia, England and New Zealand. The episode starts with a discussion about the Champions Trophy format and ODI cricket in general. Did...

In this episode of the 2025 ICC Champions Trophy daily review, Binksy, Raj and Stu look back at the tournament final between New Zealand and India. It's a tough morning for Black Caps fans as another ICC final ends in defeat, but for India it was congratulations all around as we saw a continuation of an astonishing run of form for their white-ball side - which has seen them as runners-up in 2023 a...

In this episode of the 2025 ICC Champions Trophy daily review, Binksy and Stu look back at the second semi-final between South Africa and New Zealand, then glance forward to a Dubai final where the Black Caps will face the might of India. It was just about the perfect performance for New Zealand, with Rachin Ravindra and Kane Williamson both scoring hundreds to set up a platform from which Glenn P...

In this episode of the 2025 ICC Champions Trophy daily review, Binksy and Baldy reflect on a command performance by India as they cruise past Australia on their way to the ICC Champions Trophy final. Mohammed Shami set the early tone for India, and despite Australia trying to match India's strength by also selecting four spinners, the slow bowlers dominated Australia's batting efforts. Crucial cha...

In this episode of the 2025 ICC Champions Trophy daily review, Raj and Stu look back at the final group match of the tournament between India and New Zealand, then glance forward to the semi-finals. The Black Caps made a brilliant start in Dubai, with a quality opening burst from the seamers and some outstanding catching headlined by Glenn Phillips' screamer to dismiss Virat Kohli, but ultimately...

In this episode of the 2025 ICC Champions Trophy daily review, Jamie. Raj and Baldy dissect the disappointment of England's performance against South Africa. South Africa are on a roll with bat and ball, but do they have a selection headache for the semi? For England, their exit with a whimper raises questions for the future of white-ball Baz-ball. The hits keep on coming in this episode as Baldy...

In this episode of the 2025 ICC Champions Trophy daily review, Binksy and Jamie discuss another ICC tournament catastrophe for England as they crash out in the group stages. They discuss England’s batting order and bowling plans and the stand out performers for Afghanistan. They also take a look forward to the closing fixtures of the group stages and early thoughts on the knockout stage. We'll be...

In this episode of the 2025 ICC Champions Trophy daily review, Binksy, Raj and Stu review the Group A clash between New Zealand and Bangladesh, and look ahead to Australia v South Africa. On paper things looked fairly comfortable for the Black Caps, thanks in part to Michael Bracewell's 4-26, which helped restrict Bangladesh to 236-9. And despite a few nervy moments, a Rachin Ravindra hundred and...

In this episode of the 2025 ICC Champions Trophy daily review, Baldy and Stu review the Group A clash between India and Pakistan, and look ahead to the Black Caps' upcoming match against Bangladesh. It was a fairly comfortable Indian victory in the end in what shaped as an important fixture for both sides. Babar Azam flashed his quality early on, but Hardik Pandya and the Indian spin trio chipped...