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 [email protected].

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