In this episode of the show, Baldy, Jamie and Stu chat with Australian international Pete Handscomb about The Ashes and the ups and downs of his cricket career so far.

We start the show by diving into Pete's experience watching the Ashes as someone playing first-class cricket and with a lot of connections on both sides. Has anything come as a surprise so far? How tough is the challenge as a batter of moving from English pitches to Australian pitches? And should we expect anything different from in Adelaide or Melbourne?

As the conversation continues, we move to Pete's own Ashes experience and the extra levels of scrutiny that come from playing on the biggest of stages. There's plenty in here about mindset and approach, and how tough times led to a rethink that has paid huge dividends in recent seasons. Along with sharing the tough times, Pete also recalls the moment he first received his Baggy Green from long-time friend and current Cricket Victoria coach Chris Rogers, and the moment he scored his first Test hundred against Pakistan.

With the fires still burning for an international recall, Pete talks about how the game has changed since his debut, looks back at the challenge of facing India in India on difficult batting surfaces and shares what he's learned about the leadership style that works best for him, plus a few young players to watch out for on the Australian domestic circuit, such as Campbell Kellaway and Oliver Peake.

To round out the show, we run through our quickfire round that hits on a number of topics, such as Pete's favourite innings, the toughest bowler he's faced and the most talented cricketer he's ever encountered. All in all, it was a conversation we really enjoyed and we hope you will too.

We'll be back in your feed after the Test matches between England & Australia and New Zealand & the West Indies. 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 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: Pete Handscomb joins the show

0:55 Pete's experience and thoughts on The Ashes so far

5:55 Challenges for English batters in Australian conditions

7:55 Could moving to Adelaide help England get back on track?

16:20 Pete's own Ashes experience from 2017

21:50 Working through the tough times

31:10 The drive to play international cricket again

35:15 How cricket has changed over the past 10 years

40:05 Baggy Green and first Test hundred

43:50 Leadership

47:15 Facing up to India in India in 2023

54:00 Young players to watch out for in Australia

56:40 Quickfire round - favourite moments and toughest opponents

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