This Week in Cricket #87 - Dean Elgar's brave decision, Lockie Ferguson's pace and the England v West Indies lottery

03/05/22 • 51 min

This week on the show we discuss a bounce back performance by South Africa to draw the Test series with the Black Caps, then try to make sense of the upcoming England Test tour to the West Indies and recap a winning week for Auckland and Otago on the NZ domestic circuit.

There are plenty of apologies during the New Zealand v South Africa segment as we examine what changed so drastically from the first Test to the second.

Where did it go wrong for the Black Caps?
How did Dean Elgar and his side get things so right?
Who else thought Colin de Grandhomme's international career was over?
Is this a sign of things to come for South Africa?
And are NZ's dreams of retaining the World Test Championship mace all but over?

Later in the show, we briefly move away from New Zealand to discuss the upcoming West Indies v England series. We talk about our expectations for both sides, and whether there's a way back for Stuart Broad and Jimmy Anderson during the English home summer. And then we round things off with shout outs to a few winners on the NZ domestic circuit, with the Hallyburton Johnstone Shield and Ford Trophy seasons coming to a close, as well as recapping an impressive win for the White Ferns during the World Cup warm up matches.

We'll be back in your feed next week to discuss the many different international series and tournaments going on around the world. In the meantime, if you haven't already, please take the time to give us a like, follow, share or subscribe on all our channels (@toporderpod on Twitter and Facebook, & @thetoporderpodcast on 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 website, and a few of our episodes are available on YouTube - we're slowly chipping away at populating this channel.

You can also dip back into our guest episodes - including our most recent conversation with Kristy Havill previewing the Women's World Cup, plus chats with Wasim Khan, Ajaz Patel, Dion Nash, Colin 'Funky' Miller, George Dobell 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.

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There are plenty of apologies during the New Zealand v South Africa segment as we examine what changed so drastically from the first Test to the second.

Where did it go wrong for the Black Caps?
How did Dean Elgar and his side get things so right?
Who else thought Colin de Grandhomme's international career was over?
Is this a sign of things to come for South Africa?
And are NZ's dreams of retaining the World Test Championship mace all but over?

Thanks for listening.

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

Previous Episode

Pakistan v Australia Test series preview

For the first time since 1998, Australia are in Pakistan for a Test series and it's one that holds a lot of importance in the cricket world, both on and off the field.

We talk through the key questions facing both sides, plus our expectations for the series.

Will Shaheen Shah Afridi outshine the Australian pace attack?
How will Marnus Labuschagne go in foreign conditions?
Is Nathan Lyon under pressure?
Will the pitches favour spin or seam?
Are we about to watch a World Test Championship final preview?
Who will win the series?
And will any of our bold predictions come true?

*NOTE: Since we recorded the episode last night (Tuesday 1 March, NZ time), Haris Rauf has tested positive for Covid-19 and will miss the first Test (https://www.espncricinfo.com/story/pak-vs-aus-2021-22-haris-rauf-ruled-out-of-first-test-against-australia-after-testing-positive-for-covid-19-1303174). Pakistan's bowlers aren't having much luck at the moment!

We'll be back in your feed later in the week to review the Black Caps v South Africa Test series, look ahead to England v West Indies and recap a weekend of trophies on the NZ domestic scene. In the meantime, if you haven't already, please take the time to give us a like, follow, share or subscribe on all our channels (@toporderpod on Twitter and Facebook, & @thetoporderpodcast on 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 website, and a few of our episodes are available on YouTube - we're slowly chipping away at populating this channel.

You can also dip back into our guest episodes - including our most recent conversations with Kristy Havill previewing the Women's World Cup, plus Wasim Khan, Matt Henry, Mike Hussey, Colin 'Funky' Miller, Dion Nash 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.

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

Next Episode

The Test Cricket Hall of Fame - Shane Warne

The cricket world was rocked this week by the news that Shane Warne had passed away at the age of 52. Since then, there's been an outpouring of tributes from family, friends, teammates, opponents and many others from all around the world. And, to be honest, it's hit us harder than we thought, considering three out of four of us spent most of his career cheering against him.

So we thought the best way we could pay tribute was to make him an early entrant into our Test Cricket Hall of Fame and discuss what made him such an icon of the game. We talk about our first memories of the King of Spin, his impact on the art of legspin and the consistency he showed throughout his career. We discuss what made him such an outstanding bowler, ponder some unanswerable questions and generally marvel at the feats of one of the best cricketers we've ever seen.

We'll be back in your feed in about 24 hours to discuss the Women's World Cup, India v Sri Lanka, Pakistan v Australia and more in our regular This Week in Cricket show. In the meantime, if you haven't already, please take the time to give us a like, follow, share or subscribe on all our channels (@toporderpod on Twitter and Facebook, & @thetoporderpodcast on 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 website, and a few of our episodes are available on YouTube - we're slowly chipping away at populating this channel.

You can also dip back into our guest episodes - Ken Rutherford and Mike Hussey stand out as a couple of guests who shared stories about Shane Warne. We'd love to hear your own memories of Shane Warne bowl, so don't hesitate to contact us on social media or via email at [email protected] and we'll happily share your stories next week.

Thanks for listening.

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