World Test Championship Final, Day 3: South Africa have looked the underdog throughout this WTC final, but halfway through the third day, that all changed. Even the torment that Starc and Hazlewood put them through with the bat was washed away, as Aiden Markram put together the innings of his life. But they're not done yet, and for South Africa, the last part of the climb has so far proved too hard. Can they finish the job on Day 4?
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Simon Hughes and Simon Mann review the first day of the ICC World Test Championship final at Lord's - the Home of Cricket - when fourteen wickets fell for little more than 250 runs. Australia predictably have the upper hand against South Africa's makeshift batting line-up after being bundled out themselves for 212. . England's T20 series whitewash of the West Indies is also assessed. Final reminder if you want to attend our live 'Scary Moments' podcast on June 18th in Bristol in aid of Syd Lawrences's MND cause - visit - https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/the-analyst-inside-cricket-podcast-live-tickets-1353264403259
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Endurance icon and Ironman World Champion Lucy Charles-Barclay shares the mental strategies she relies on to push through the toughest moments in training and racing. In this powerful micro-lesson, she breaks down how visualisation, positive self-talk, and reflecting on past wins can help you stay strong when things get hard. Whether you're navigating challenges in sport, business, or everyday life, you'll come away with practical tools to manage discomfort and stay focused on your long-term goals.As a listener to the show, start your free 7 day trial of Sporting Edge’s Mindset Toolkit here. You’ll be able to explore over 1000 inspirational insights and high-performance strategies to make you more confident, focused and resilient. Listen to ‘Mandela to Mars’ featuring Ahmed Kathrada Podcasts | Sporting Edge | From Mandela to MarsListen to Lucy Charles Barclay’s full episode Podcasts | Sporting Edge | Mastermind - Lucy Charles-BarclayConnect with JeremyContact hello@sportingedge.com LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/jeremysnape/ Website https://www.sportingedge.com/
Ian Shepherd is joined by Peter Wanless and Ben Warren to chat about Somerset Men's perfect start to the Blast Campaign, dissect the proposals for the restructuring of the county schedule, and cross our collective fingers that one of us will still be in a job this time tomorrow...
On this week's podcast episode, Varun, DJ and Ashwin get together to discuss RCB's #TataIPL win! #IPL18 #viratkohli
In this episode of the show, it's a full house and a packed runsheet with RCB winning IPL 2025, the Black Caps naming a new coach and an updated central contract list, England announcing their squad for the first Test against India and preview of the World Test Championship Final between Australia and South Africa.
We start the show by talking about the IPL final, which saw Royal Challengers Bengaluru defeat the Punjab Kings to take out the title for the first time in 18 years. There's praise for Krunal Pandya's match-defining spell, RCB's middle order and a generous backyard cricket invitation for Virat Kohli now that he's ticked another item off his bucket list.
Next we move to New Zealand to talk Black Caps announcements, with Rob Walter named as the new head coach with the latest batch of central contracts offered shortly after. There's talk about the faith shown in Walter by NZC, Gary Stead's legacy, the uncharacteristically youthful look to the contract list and Devon Conway's future.
We swing back to the UK to discuss another announcement - this time the England squad for the first Test against India. Gus Atkinson is out with injury and Jofra Archer's not quite ready, so does that leave England with enough bowling quality to take 20 wickets? And will there be a spot in the starting XI for Jacob Bethell?
To round out the show, we discuss the upcoming World Test Championship Final between Australia and South Africa at Lord's. Who will open for the Aussies? Where will Cameron Green slot in? Can South Africa score enough runs to challenge? What should we expect from the pitch? Does the WTC have a scheduling problem? And who will win?
We'll be back in your feed next week to review the WTC final and preview the India v England Test series. 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 thetoporderpodcast@gmail.com.
Thanks for listening.
0:00 Intro
1:55 RCB wins IPL 2025
8:10 Where to now for Virat Kohli?
10:10 A word on the Punjab Kings
14:50 Rob Walter appointed Black Caps' coach
21:10 Gary Stead's legacy
27:00 Youthful look to NZ's central contract list
28:45 Devon Conway's international future
33:45 Adi Ashok in, Ajaz Patel and Ish Sodhi out
36:15 England's bowling stocks to take on India
43:15 Is there room for Jacob Bethell?
47:50 World Test Championship Final Preview
48:45 Australia's batting selection questions
59:55 Is South Africa's batting lineup a concern?
1:05:25 What should we expect to from Lord's?
1:08:55 Does the WTC Final have a scheduling problem?
1:11:45 Predictions
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Welcome to a new episode of the podcast!
We are happy to have a friend of the show, Manjunath joining us.
Games Covered
IPL 2025: Finals.
ENG v WI: ODI series.
ENGw v WIw: ODI series.
SCO v NED v NEP: WCL2 games.
Other news
WTC Finals Preview: AUS start favourites.
Stead steps out as NZ men's coach. Rob Walter steps in.
Overton in, but no Wood or Archer in ENG's 1st test squad to play IND.
Owen breaks into the AUS T20i squad to face WI in July. Jake Frasier McGurk dropped.
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It's ten years since Jarrod Kimber's excellent documentary "Death of a Gentleman" which investigated match-fixing, corruption and the threat - even then - to the future of Test cricket. It's also six years since Jarros was one of the very first guests on "98 Not Out", so a catch up was well overdue... In this chat we talk about an idea of franchised Test cricket, whether the "Big Three" of England, Australis and India could be outmanoeuvred by the financial might of Saudi Arabia and how might it all lead to the relationship between Narendra Modi and Donald Trump! Jarrod's also got a new book out, "The Art of Batting" and he tells us how he managed to compile such a fascinating list.https://amzn.eu/d/5xmokbP
With just over a week to go until the World Test Championship Final against South Africa, excitement is building and so are the questions. What will the Aussie line-up look like? What should it look like? And could this be Steve Smith’s final outing in the baggy green?Plus, we dive deep into the fiery stadium debate brewing in Tasmania.
Charlie English is the author of "The CIA Book Club: The Best Kept Secret of the Cold War". In this episode he talks about a little-known chapter in Cold War history where the CIA smuggled banned books into the Eastern Bloc in an effort to challenge communist ideology. Charlie shares how the CIA ran this literary operation for over three decades, why even detective novels had political weight in Soviet-ruled countries, and what it meant to grow up under state censorship so tight you needed permission to buy a sheet of paper.