The Top Order Podcast crew is a man down this week, with Raj out of action, but the remaining trio look back at a somewhat puzzling week for New Zealand cricket, plus an IPL final triumph for the Gujarat Titans.
We start the show in India, discussing IPL 2022 as a whole and highlighting the impact of two of the tournament's biggest stars - Hardik Pandya and Jos Buttler.
It's been a strange week back here in Aotearoa, with the White Ferns' latest contract list missing some big names - most notably Amy Satterthwaite. We try to make sense of this decision. Was it bold, confusing, disrespectful or all of the above?
Finally, we look ahead to the Black Caps v England Test series by discussing a New Zealand side that doesn't feel quite as assured as they did a year ago - particularly after a loss to the First-class Counties Select XI.
What will the bowling attack look like at Lord's on Thursday? Will the batting line-up fire? Will Brendon McCullum's impact on England be instantly noticeable? Plus bold predictions, mind games and plenty more as we gear up for what promises to be a fascinating series.
We'll be back next week to review the first Test, but before then please take the time to give us a like, follow, share or subscribe on all our channels (@toporderpod on https://twitter.com/Toporderpod (Twitter) and https://www.facebook.com/Toporderpod (Facebook), & @thetoporderpodcast on https://www.instagram.com/thetoporderpodcast/ (Instagram)) 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 https://www.thetoporderpodcast.com/ (website), and a few of our episodes are available on https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCo3GSknJELxxH4IDec2AjUA (YouTube) - we're slowly chipping away at populating this channel.
You can also dip back into our guest episodes - including the recently retired Katey Martin, Colin 'Funky' Miller, Shane Bond, Finn Allen, Wasim Khan and many more fascinating people from all across the cricketing world.
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