In this episode of the show, Jamie and Stu discuss India v Pakistan at the Asia Cup, the white-ball series between South Africa & England, NZ A's tour to South Africa and the NZC casual contracts that leave the Black Caps with some tough decisions in the build up to the T20 World Cup.

We start the show by talking about India's dominant performance against Pakistan in the Asia Cup group stage. We talk about India's depth and the balance that their two brilliant allrounders - Hardik Pandya and Axar Patel - provide, as well as the impressive contributions of the likes of Kuldeep Yadav, Abhishek Sharma and Suryakumar Yadav. Saim Ayub's bowling was a bright spot for Pakistan in what was otherwise a tough day at the office for Mike Hesson's side.

Next we move to the final stages of the English home summer to discuss a damp end to the white-ball series against South Africa, which saw a return to form for England's batters in between the rain. After scores of 400 in an ODI then 300 in a T20, it wasn't hard to hand out praise, with Phil Salt and Jacob Bethell in particular our topics of conversation. We also look back at a full international summer from Jofra Archer and try to make sense of a very full domestic calendar.

We round out the show with a Black Caps focus - first a NZ A performance against South Africa which put the likes of Rhys Mariu, Dale Phillips, Curtis Heaphy, Adi Ashok and Matt Fisher in the spotlight, before running through NZ Cricket's decision to hand out five casual contracts to Finn Allen, Tim Seifert, Lockie Ferguson, Devon Conway and Kane Williamson. Does Kane's inclusion mean we might see him at the T20 World Cup? And did you realise the NZ home international summer is only two weeks away? Finally, we mention Gary Stead's new gig in the Ranji Trophy, and shout out Leicestershire for gaining promotion in the County Championship.

We'll be back in your feed again next week to discuss more stories from the world of cricket, including the Asia Cup & more from England and New Zealand - maybe even some Australia A v India A content. 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

0:40 Asia Cup - India's dominant win against Pakistan

15:05 England's batters come to life against South Africa

18:30 Phil Salt's impressive performance

22:10 Jacob Bethell's hundred

26:30 Jofra Archer's home summer

29:15 England's disjointed domestic schedule

33:15 Mariu, Ashok, Fisher & more shine for NZ A

40:00 NZ Cricket's casual contracts

46:30 Gary Stead's Ranji Trophy gig & Leicestershire's promotion

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