Black Caps v South Africa Test series preview: Can New Zealand make history?

With the Black Caps v South Africa Test series starting on Thursday, we decided to break from tradition and release this stand-alone episode before our regular This Week in Cricket show. We discuss potential lineups, key matchups, two batting orders missing important players, bold predictions and series winners as we deep-dive into this eagerly anticipated series, which sadly is only two Tests, both at the home of cricket, Hagley Oval. Ravindra or De Grandhomme for the first Test? Is Tom Blundell under serious pressure for his place in the side? Are South Africa the real deal after beating India? Will Dean Elgar regret his pre-game comments? Have New Zealand lost their aura of invincibility at home? Should Ross Taylor have been recalled? And can the Black Caps, who have never beaten South Africa in a Test series and only won 4 individual Tests against the Proteas, make history at Hagley Oval over the course of the next two weeks? We'll be back in your feed again later this week to discuss all things IPL auction, the White Ferns, Australia v Sri Lanka and much more in our 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 - including conversations with Finn Allen, Mike Hussey, Frankie Mackay, Firdose Moonda, Lockie Ferguson 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. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices