ICC T20 World Cup 2024: Black Caps limp out, Australia help England & a Super 8s preview

The Top Order Cricket Podcast

In this episode of the show, we look back at the final group games at the T20 World Cup, which saw the USA qualify for the next round and the Black Caps limp out of the tournament. We also look ahead to the Super 8 phase, previewing the two groups and the chances of heavy hitters like India, Australia, England and South Africa, as well as the two hosts.

We start the show by discussing Australia's win against Scotland, which had Binksy reaching for the tinfoil hat and Baldy drifting off to Tatooine. Brandon McMullen shone, but ultimately a partnership from Marcus Stoinis and Travis Head secured England a spot in the next round.

From there we try to wrap our heads around South Africa's performances so far - four wins from four, winning all the big moments, but not reaching 120 yet with the bat. Is this a different South Africa than we've seen before? Is their batting about to fire? Or will their top order woes continue in what looks like a challenging Super 8 group? We discuss the Heinrich Klaasen's run out against Nepal, Binksy hands out the turquoise cap and we attempt to fix a flaw in the DRS procedure that may have cost Bangladesh a victory.

In the second half of the show, Stu is put under the microscope to review the Black Caps' early exit from the tournament, and what the next steps are for this side. Has Trent Boult played his final game for New Zealand? Do the Black Caps have a T20 identity? Is it time for change?

We finish the show with some praise for the West Indies, with Nicholas Pooran leading the charge against Afghanistan and backed up by a deep batting line up and some quality spin options. There's also talk about India's quiet week/tournament so far, and whether that might actually be great for their prospects over the next 10 days or so as this World Cup makes its way towards a conclusion.

We are planning to record regularly throughout the next phases of the tournament, so will hopefully be in your feed every few days. 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 a recent conversation with Mike Hesson, plus chats with former World Cup stars 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 [e-mail].

Thanks for listening.

0:00 Intro - Super 8 groups confirmed

3:20 Australia do England a big favour by beating Scotland

16:12 Pitches and the jeopardy of the tournament

21:52 South Africa coming through in the clutch!

27:15 DRS controversy

33:17 New Zealand's limp exit - will this be a turning point?

51:12 West Indies looking dangerous

54:35 India's quiet tournament so far - a good thing?

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