The Top Order Cricket Podcast

In this episode, we welcome another international spinner to the show, Canterbury Cricket’s leading wicket-taker and Black Cap in all formats of the game, Todd Astle. Todd speaks openly about his early days as an opening batsman, the U-19 World Cup, his emergence as a spinner, the challenges and highlights of his international career to date, breaking records, World Cup heartbreak, red-ball retirement, his new venture Innerspin, icecreams, sweaty hands, celebrations, bunnies, Aussie crowds and much more in this extended conversation about his life in cricket.

If you enjoyed this episode, give us a like, follow, share or subscribe on all our channels (@toporderpod on Twitter, Facebook & Instagram) and a (5-Star!) review at your favourite podcast provider. It really helps others find the show. Thanks for listening.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In this episode of the show we speak with incumbent Black Caps Test spinner Ajaz Patel. You'll hear about his journey from Auckland age-group seamer to international spinner in a relatively short amount of time, the hard work he put in with Dipak Patel and others to make that happen, his move to Central Districts, his dream debut against Pakistan and how he navigates the variety of roles a spinner can play in different locations and even within a game. We knew Ajaz was a hard worker, but came away from this chat with an enormous amount of respect for what he's achieved and the way he goes about his business - it really is a must listen for fans of the Black Caps and spin bowling in general.

If you like what you hear, give us a like, follow, share or subscribe on all our channels (@toporderpod on Twitter, Facebook & Instagram) and a (5-Star!) review at your favourite podcast provider. It really helps others find the show. Thanks for listening.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

With the return of international cricket on the horizon, we discuss This Week in Cricket (24.00) before we're joined by ESPN Cricinfo's George Dobell to discuss the upcoming England v West Indies series. We talk the bubble, England's conservative selections, the West Indies pace attack and series predictions, plus we turn our attention to worrying times for county cricket despite the imminent return, managing sources as a journalist and take a speculative look at the upcoming international calendar, including the World T20 and IPL.

If you like what you hear, give us a like, follow, share or subscribe on all our channels (@toporderpod on Twitter, Facebook & Instagram) and a (5-Star!) review at your favourite podcast provider. It really helps others find the show. Thanks for listening.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

We celebrate a half-century of episodes with a real treat. Jeetan Patel played almost 80 matches for New Zealand across all formats during a 20-year first-class career for Wellington and Warwickshire. If that’s not impressive enough for you, he was the leading wicket-taker across the domestic and international game in the 2010s - spinning his way to a mammoth 1075 wickets at an average of 29 with 35 five-wicket bags. Has he played his final first-class game? We don’t yet know, but he’s already transitioned into the next phase of his career, taking up a role as a spin bowling consultant for England during their recent tours to NZ, South Africa and the aborted trip to Sri Lanka. This is a lively, open chat filled with the ups and downs of Jeetan's career, mixed in with plenty of laughs and a masterclass inside the mind of a quality spinner.

Remember to like, share and subscribe to the podcast, and follow us @toporderpod on your social media of choice.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Dipak Patel had a first-class career spanning more than 20 years, including over a decade for Worcestershire before moving to NZ and playing 37 Tests and 75 ODIs for his adopted country. Perhaps best known for opening the bowling in the 1992 World Cup, Dipak repeated the dose in 1993 to help spin NZ to a rare Test victory against Australia. Since his playing days, Dipak stayed in the game as a coach, including stints with Central Districts, NZ U-19 and Papua New Guinea. We talk about coming through the grades predominantly as a batsman, England ambitions, the move to NZ, a tough introduction to international cricket against an incredible West Indies side, the NZ tour to Pakistan in 1990, cutting off Dean Jones and opening the bowling at the 1992 World Cup, plus plenty more.

Note: We recorded this interview in two sessions, and unfortunately the audio quality drops for the final 15-20 minutes.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In this episode of the show, we speak with one of England's greatest batsmen of the modern era and current England assistant coach, Graham Thorpe. Graham talks about scoring 100 on debut, learning to be a better player of pace bowling by studying others, his double-hundred in Christchurch that also featured Nathan Astle's memorable innings, the challenges of performing on the field when things aren't going well off it, and where he was on Oval Monday in 2005. Recorded as the West Indies were about to board a plane to the UK for a biosecure tour, Graham also discusses his transition to coaching, the successful four-year campaign to win the 2019 World Cup, building relationships and earning trust as a coach at the international level, and the mindset of the England squad in the post-Covid environment. It's a fascinating discussion with one of the greats - enjoy.

Please remember to subscribe, rate, review and share the podcast, and also check out our back catalogue of interviews with many others from around the cricketing world.

If you've got any comments, guest suggestions, banter or you'd like to sponsor the show, reach out to us at [email protected]. We'd love to hear from you.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In a short aside from the interviews, we discuss the upcoming biosecure West Indies tour to England and how it might be a test run for getting international cricket up and running again. Then we respond to a listener question about the potential for Australia to host the IPL.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Neil Maxwell has had a life in cricket like no other. As a player, he represented Victoria, New South Wales, Canterbury, Australia A and his country of birth, Fiji. If that's not enough variety for you, off the field Neil has worked for New South Wales and New Zealand Cricket, he's a player agent for the likes of Brett Lee, Michael Hussey, Pat Cummins and Josh Hazelwood to name a few, and was the CEO of the Kings XI Punjab in the inaugural season of the IPL. This chat is an absolute ripper, and we could have talked to Neil for days. He's a forward-thinker and an excellent storyteller and it was an absolute pleasure to have him on the show. Enjoy.

Please remember to subscribe, rate, review and share the podcast, and also check out our back catalogue of interviews with many others from around the cricketing world.

If you've got any comments, guest suggestions, banter or you'd like to sponsor the show, reach out to us at [email protected]. We'd love to hear from you.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

This week on the podcast, we're all reunited in the same room once again and we celebrate with a wide-ranging chat about what international cricket might look like when it returns. We cover saliva, sweat, ball maintenance, Covid substitutes, the IPL, T20 World Cup and what it could mean for domestic cricket around the world.

Thanks for listening. If you enjoyed the show, please remember to subscribe, rate, review and share the podcast, and get in touch with us through Facebook and Twitter (@toporderpod) or via email:: [email protected]. Remember to check out our back catalogue of interviews - there's plenty more great guests on the way.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Rob Moody (aka robelinda2) is a hero to cricket fans all around the world. His archive entertains us at the best of times, but during the Covid-19 shutdowns, it has been an absolute lifesaver. We talk about Rob's favourite clips from his staggering collection, the recent Shane Warne/Steve Waugh controversy, recreating The 12th Man and dealing with trolls, before Rob makes Lippy's day by remembering some classic Richie Benaud commentary from the 93-94 World Series.

Remember to give us a like, share and subscribe, and also find us @toporderpod on Twitter and Facebook.

If you somehow haven't seen Rob's YouTube channel before, immediately visit https://www.youtube.com/user/robelinda2

Or find him on Twitter: @robelinda2

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices