Mike Hesson - Cricket World Cup stories, Black Caps succession and the IPL experience

In this episode of the show we’re taking a brief detour away from our daily updates of the 2023 Cricket World Cup to speak with one of the best cricketing minds in the business. Mike Hesson took the Black Caps to their first ever World Cup final, their first ever number-one ranking in any format, and more recently guided RCB to three playoff spots in the past four seasons of the IPL. In this extended conversation, Stu talks with Mike about what goes into a World Cup campaign, how to balance development with winning and Rachin Ravindra's breakthrough innings. Mike also shares some memories from the 2015 World Cup, including that epic semi-final against South Africa, Brendon McCullum's impact at the top of the order and soaking in the atmosphere of the Black Caps' run to the final. To round out the conversation, Mike discusses the differences in team-building between the IPL and international cricket, what it was like to walk into the RCB dressing room with stars like Virat Kohli and AB de Villiers and the pressure that comes with that high-profile tournament. We'll be back again every day throughout this World Cup to review the previous day's games. If you've enjoyed this episode, please also 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 more of our guest episodes - including 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 thetoporderpodcast@gmail.com . Thanks for listening. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices