This Week in Cricket #63 - Black Caps and White Ferns squads, England v India recap and Australia's struggles continue

The Top Order Cricket Podcast

We're a man down on this episode, with Raj unavailable, but we soldier on to review the cricketing week that was.

We start with a solo performance by Stu, as the Black Caps squads and New Zealand Cricket's plans for the rest of the year were announced on Tuesday morning - the day after our initial recording. He runs through the team lists and a few initial thoughts, particularly about the T20 World Cup side and the spin-heavy look, which includes the likes of Mark Chapman and Todd Astle (full team lists and info available here). Plus, of course, there's a shout out to Riccarton Cricket Club and their potential debutant Cole McConchie, and thoughts on the White Ferns tour to England.

The podcast restarts proper with Baldy hitting the replay button as we discuss Australia's woes and whether there are any positives they can take from the T20 series loss against Bangladesh - or whether it even matters at all with so much cricket still to be played before the World Cup. We talk about scheduling challenges for The Hundred, and introduce a new segment - Media Watch - which this week highlights George Dobell's live blog of the first England v India Test.

After the swish, we break down the Trent Bridge Test, in which a potentially fascinating Day 5 was washed away by the rain. Who came away with the points victory? Why didn't India play Ravi Ashwin and will we see him at all in this series? Will anyone other than Joe Root score runs for England? Will The Ashes be cancelled? Is Virat Kohli still good? And who will win the second Test at Lord's?

If you haven't already, be sure to check out our Hall of Fame, both via our website and by listening to earlier episodes (we've introduced 100-91 so far). You'll find the Preamble, plus the list, which will eventually feature detailed write-ups and discussions about every player from 103 to 1 as we make our way through the Hall in the coming weeks and months. We'd love to hear if you agree or disagree with our rankings so far.

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. If you'd like to reach out to us with feedback, questions or guest suggestions, get in touch at [e-mail].

Thanks for listening.

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