This Week in Cricket #116 - Black Caps v Pakistan, Australia v South Africa and notes on the Super Smash and BBL

It's a new year, but regular transmission resumes at Top Order Towers. Raj, Baldy, Binksy and Lippy are together in the same room to review the Test series in Pakistan and Australia, plus highlight a few players from the BBL and Super Smash. We start the show by discussing the drawn series between the Black Caps and Pakistan. Is traditional Test cricket still fun to watch? Did New Zealand get their tactics right? Which players stood out above the rest? Do the Black Caps have (or need) a succession plan at Test level? And is Test cricket shooting itself in the foot as an entertainment product? In the second half of the show, we recap another dominant series win by Australia and try to identify the qualities needed the challenge the Aussies on home soil. There's praise for Travis Head, Baldy's still not convinced by Marnus Labuschagne and we cast our eyes forward to the upcoming series in India. To round out the conversation, we look to the BBL and the Super Smash for standout performances. There are swinging arms, Jonny Wilkinson impersonations, power hitters and really long names as we discuss a host of players who might soon get a taste of international cricket. 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 recent conversation with Cam Fletcher, plus chats with Wasim Khan, Shane Bond, Sophie Devine, Mike Hussey, Finn Allen 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