Episodes

  • IPL 2025 Week 5: Mumbai on the rise, Virat's quietly impressive season & NZC's MLC investment

    IPL 2025 Week 5: Mumbai on the rise, Virat's quietly impressive season & NZC's MLC investment
    Apr 27 2025
    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 key positions all delivering on what's required. We talk about Virat Kohli's quietly impressive stats, Josh Hazlewood doing the business, Tim David's finishing, Krunal Pandya's key moments and whether it's time to load up on RCB stock before it is too late. From there, we move to Mumbai's charge up the table thanks to Rohit Sharma's return to form, Suryakumar Yadav's consistency, a bag for Trent Boult and a bowling attack that looks so much more complete now that it features Jasprit Bumrah. Then it's time to bounce around a few different topics - from the top 6 teams putting a gap between them and the rest, to left-handed openers like Priyansh Arya and Yashasvi Jaiswal, and the contrasting fortunes of teams like the Delhi Capitals, Sunrisers Hyderabad and Chennai Super Kings. We round out the show with a discussion about New Zealand Cricket's investment in MLC in North America. Is international investment in franchise cricket a glimpse into the future of the game? How will it work in reality? Who could it benefit? Could we ever see something similar in the IPL? We'll be back in your feed again soon with more IPL coverage. If you're enjoying our content 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 0:50 Is it time to invest in RCB & Virat Kohli? 6:35 Mumbai Indians on the charge 10:25 Net Run Rate and the top 6 breaking away 12:45 Can we put a line through CSK and RR? 14:30 Are the Sunrisers also done? 19:25 Do CSK need to look to the future? 22:00 Yashasvi Jaiswal's brilliance 23:35 Is 2025 the year of the specialists? 27:15 Priyansh Arya and the importance of composure 29:55 Why the hesitancy about DC? 36:15 New Zealand Cricket's investment in Major League Cricket Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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    1 hr and 2 mins
  • IPL 2025 Week 4: Suryavanshi's dazzling debut, Klaasen's gloves in the spotlight & Buttler loving life at GT

    IPL 2025 Week 4: Suryavanshi's dazzling debut, Klaasen's gloves in the spotlight & Buttler loving life at GT
    Apr 20 2025
    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 what we were doing at 14 and the confidence of youth, but also about what a missed opportunity this week was for RR to get themselves back into the tournament now that Yashasvi Jaiswal is firing. From there, we bounce around from the chances of the Mumbai Indians to go on a winning streak, CSK doubts, super overs and close games, Mitchell Starc yorkers and RCB's Josh Hazlewood tactics. There's also praise for Jos Buttler and the way he's adjusted to life at the Gujarat Titans, excitement from the Auckland studio about wrist-spinners and Yuzvendra Chahal in particular, before we start yelling at clouds about robot dogs, obscure applications of the laws of cricket involving Heinrich Klaasen's wicketkeeping gloves and we update our tournament winner predictions as the tournament passes the halfway mark. We'll be back in your feed again soon with more IPL coverage. If you're enjoying our content 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 Vaibhav Suryavanshi's debut at 14 years old 8:30 Rajasthan's missed opportunities 12:05 Mumbai Indians poised to swoop 15:15 CSK's win papered over the cracks 17:25 Close games, super overs and the 180-run sweet spot 22:20 Mitchell Starc & Josh Hazlewood bowling well 25:40 Gujarat Titans - Jos Buttler & co. continue to impress 33:55 Wrist spinners starting to shine - Chahal, Varun, Kuldeep 41:15 Robot dogs, rulebook badgers & Heinrich Klaasen's wicketkeeping gloves 47:15 Tournament predictions at the halfway point Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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    57 mins
  • IPL 2025 Week 3: Sunrisers are back, Nicky P is must-watch TV & injuries are no fun

    IPL 2025 Week 3: Sunrisers are back, Nicky P is must-watch TV & injuries are no fun
    Apr 13 2025
    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, with almost all of us suffering from one ailment or another. Once things do turn positive, it's the Gujarat Titans who are first to receive praise - in particular Sai Sudharsan and the consistency he's shown throughout the tournament so far. We also talk about Punjab's Indian core and the golden duck to century turnaround for Priyansh Arya. Dr Jamie takes us through the mindset needed to succeed across a long tournament like the IPL, in which you're bound to fail along the way - perhaps more often than you do succeed. Next we talk about the Sunrisers Hyderabad after Abhishek Sharma's outrageous 141, which saw them chase down almost 250 and maybe kick-start their turnaround. Is it time to load up on SRH stock? Or are there still worrying signs? Things get dark when discussion turns to CSK - the intent has disappeared, no one is scoring runs and not even MS Dhoni cameos can really get the crowd excited any more. Can they turn it around? Or is it already time to sell all our stock despite it reaching an all-time low? To round out the show, we detour briefly to talk about Harry Brook's appointment as England captain, we talk Digvesh Rathi's celebrations, Vipraj Nigam establishing DC's spin trio & Nicholas Pooran's six-hitting prowess as LSG continue to impress. We expect to be back in your feed later in the week with more IPL coverage. If you're enjoying our content 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 2:00 Injuries to Glenn Phillips & Lockie Ferguson 4:45 Gujarat Titans - batting consistency & Sai Sudharsan 14:20 Punjab Kings - Indian batting core & Priyansh Arya's hundred 19:40 Sunrisers Hyderabad - we're back, baby! Abhishek Sharma & Travis Head go boom 29:15 Chennai Super Kings - what on earth is going on? 40:30 Digvesh Rathi's celebrations & DC's spin trio looking good 43:10 Harry Brook named England white-ball captain 48:15 Lucknow Super Giants - Rishabh Pant & Nicholas Pooran Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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    1 hr and 2 mins
  • Black Caps v Pakistan series review: NZ depth on show in dominant display

    Black Caps v Pakistan series review: NZ depth on show in dominant display
    Apr 8 2025
    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 Pakistan terrible? As things get specific, plenty of New Zealanders are thrust into the spotlight. Jacob Duffy is now the world's number-one-ranked T20 bowler, Ben Sears took back to back five-wicket bags and Will O'Rourke continues to impress. On the batting front, we saw impressive debuts from Muhammad Abbas and Rhys Mariu, Mark Chapman continued to take his opportunities, Mitch Hay produced an innings of real substance and Tim Seifert blasted his way to the Player of the Series in the T20s. Who are we most excited about? And when might there be more opportunities for these players to shine? To round out the show, there's also a word for Neil Wagner's fairytale finish - a five-wicket bag to seal the Plunket Shield for Northern Districts in his final first-class appearance in New Zealand. Legend. We'll be back in your feed in a few days to continue our IPL coverage. If you're enjoying our content 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 0:25 Black Caps v Pakistan - were NZ incredible or were Pakistan not very good? 4:40 Fringe players and returnees step up: Seifert, Duffy & Chapman 9:30 Younger players show promise: Mitch Hay, Muhammed Abbas, Rhys Mariu 14:55 Will O'Rourke & Ben Sears 15:55 Michael Bracewell leads from the front 16:25 Do we like the return of uncontracted players? 19:30 What do the next 12 months look like for NZ? 21:50 Fairytale finish for Neil Wagner Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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    26 mins
  • IPL 2025 Week 2: DC on top, favourites in trouble & Jasprit Bumrah's return

    IPL 2025 Week 2: DC on top, favourites in trouble & Jasprit Bumrah's return
    Apr 6 2025
    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 auction player reshuffle that has led to an unpredictable start to the 2025 edition of this tournament. As we move through the episode we hit on a number of other topics: Can DC keep up their good form? What's happened to Travis Head and the Sunrisers Hyderabad batting lineup? Are the Chennai Super Kings confused? And is MS Dhoni part of the problem? Is the impact player rule leading to fewer competitive games? Will the return of Jasprit Bumrah change the fortunes of the Mumbai Indians? Why isn't the fielding better? Is it time to reinvest in pace bowlers? And much more! We'll be back in your feed in a day or two with a NZ-focused episode looking back at the two Black Caps white-ball series against Pakistan. If you're enjoying our content 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 2:10 Buying: Rajasthan Royals, Delhi Capitals & the unpredictable nature of the tournament 6:30 Can DC keep up this great form? 8:13 Selling: CSK - role confusion, batting struggles and MS Dhoni 14:15 Watching: SRH's slump - what's happened to their powerplay? 19:00 Are impact players leading to less competitive games? 26:15 Watching: KL Rahul and more DC stock 28:35 Watching: Jasprit Bumrah's return for MI 33:20 Sell: MS Dhoni & Rishabh Pant? 38:25 Sell: Fielding - why isn't it better? 45:05 Buy: Mohammed Siraj, Jofra Archer, Lockie Ferguson Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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    53 mins
  • IPL 2025 Review Show: RCB v GT & Punjab v LSG - Shreyas, Siraj, Buttler and more!

    IPL 2025 Review Show: RCB v GT & Punjab v LSG - Shreyas, Siraj, Buttler and more!
    Apr 2 2025
    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 a messy fielding performance from GT, it turned out that 169 wasn't close to enough. Sai Sudharsan set the platform for GT in the powerplay, before Jos Buttler's 73 guided them home. Next we move to Punjab's impressive win against LSG. There's talk about Shreyas Iyer's excellent run of form, PBKS's Indian core doing the business, LSG's absences, Nicholas Pooran's ball-striking and whether it's time to start worrying about Rishabh Pant's lack of runs. To finish, there's a quick look ahead to the upcoming SRH v KKR clash - a 2024 final rematch that now shapes as an important fixture for different reasons in 2025. We'll be back in your feed on Monday with our weekly IPL Buy/Sell/Hold show. If you're enjoying our content 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 0:20 GT v RCB - Siraj, Buttler & Sudharsan shine in big GT win 14:30 PBKS v LSG - Shreyas Iyer is on fire 33:50 SRH v KKR - Important game ahead Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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    42 mins
  • IPL 2025 Buy/Sell/Hold? RCB looking good, Mumbai's batting woes & will SRH get to 300?

    IPL 2025 Buy/Sell/Hold? RCB looking good, Mumbai's batting woes & will SRH get to 300?
    Mar 30 2025
    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 Hazlewood and a top order that's firing thanks to Phil Salt, Virat Kohli, Rajit Patidar and co. In the Buy section of the show there's also praise for Sai Sudharsan, MS Dhoni and wicketkeepers in general. We're watching the impact player performances and how that's impacting games and batting lineups. We're selling a star-studded Mumbai Indians batting lineup featuring Rohit Sharma, Suryakumar Yadav, Tilak Varma, Hardik Pandya and friends because we can't understand why they're continuing to struggle, and watching closely to see how much tinkering do with their teamsheet, tactics and batting lineup with the likes of Curran, Dhoni, Jadeja and Ashwin who could all slide up and down the middle order. To round out the show, there's chat about whether teams will score 300, how home ground advantage could play a role and if it is too early to be worried about Pat Cummins and his SRH bowling attack. We'll be back in your feed later in the week with more of a game review style show. If you're enjoying our content 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 2:00 Buy - RCB top of the table thanks to Hazlewood, Salt, Patidar & co. 5:05 Buy - Wicketkeepers: MS Dhoni, Jurel, Kishan, Buttler, De Kock, Pooran 7:05 Buy - Sai Sudharsan & GT's batting lineup 9:00 Watch - Impact player performances 17:50 Sell - Mumbai Indians - Why are they struggling with the bat? 24:05 Sell - Umpire review of wides 26:20 Sell - Do seam bowlers need more craft? 33:20 Sell/Watch - CSK's batting order Ashwin/Jadeja/Curran/Dhoni 37:45 Watch - Will we see 300 scored this season? 41:55 Watch - Is SRH's bowling lineup a concern? 45:05 Watch - Variation across venues Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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    56 mins
  • IPL 2025 Preview Part 2: RCB, DC, GT, PBKS, LSG and prediction time!

    IPL 2025 Preview Part 2: RCB, DC, GT, PBKS, LSG and prediction time!
    Mar 23 2025
    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 recruit Josh Hazlewood was excellent, as well as Krunal Pandya, as RCB restricted Kolkata from 100-1 to 174-8. Then it was Virat Kohli, Phil Salt and Rajit Patidar who took charge as the away side cruised to a comfortable victory in the end. Was that the perfect formula for RCB? Will they be able to repeat it enough times to make the playoffs in 2025? For the Delhi Capitals, there were questions around how much Harry Brook's decision to withdraw has left them short on options, plus a chat about the potential impact of spin duo Axar Patel and Kuldeep Yadav. Gujarat on the other hand have a big-name Englishman in the squad in the form of Jos Buttler, but do he and Shubman Gill have enough batting support to help out their well-balanced bowling attack? Punjab have completely overhauled their roster, with Ricky Ponting bringing in a host of his fellow countrymen to join Arshdeep, Prabhsimran and Shashank Singh, plus a new captain in Shreyas Iyer. Will the overseas matchwinners bring enough consistency to lead this team to the knockout stages? And will the young Indian talent like Priyansh Arya, Suryansh Shedge and Nehal Wadhera perform well enough to give Punjab a wide range of options for their bowling attack? For Lucknow's not-just-regular giants, their strategy seems to have been to stack the batting with overseas talent and rely on a quality local group of seamers to assist Ravi Bishnoi with the ball. But have injuries to Mayank Yadav and co. already crushed their title dreams? To round out the show, the boys do their best to predict some playoff teams and give their pick for who will be lifting the trophy at the end of May. We'll be back in your feed at least a couple of times a week for the duration of IPL 2025. So if you're enjoying our content 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 RCB's win against KKR - a template for future success? 13:45 DC: Has Harry Brook's withdraw set them back? 23:15 GT: Do they have enough batting quality? 33:05 PBKS: A talented side, but what will it look like in reality? 44:30 LSG: Have injuries already curtailed their chances? 50:20 Prediction time! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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    1 hr and 7 mins
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