This Week in Cricket #43 - Boxing Day Test Bonanza, ICC Teams of the Decade and a bit of jousting

It’s a new year but same Top Order Podcast, as we recap the final week of 2020. Baldy starts the show (0:45) with a deep dive into the BBL table and a few players who’ve caught the eye so far in that tournament, including Ollie Davies and Tanveer Sangha, before a quick review of the first South Africa/Sri Lanka Test, where injuries played a big part and Faf du Plessis’s 199 set up a big win for the Proteas. We ask whether NZ needs to push for longer Test series, and ask whether David Warner, Steve Smith and Shakib al Hasan deserved to be honoured in ICC Teams of the Decade. As we move to the Australia v India series (24:00), we discuss a stunning response from India at the MCG to level the series. Shubman Gill, Mohammed Siraj, Ravindra Jadeja, Ravi Ashwin and Ajinkya Rahane all receive praise, Binksy signals a momentum shift, Baldy comes off the long run about Australian team selection and Raj talks about himself in the third person. We wrap up the show with the thrilling Boxing Day Test at Bay Oval (47:20), where the Blackcaps beat Pakistan just before time expired on Day 5. Kane Williamson moves to #1 in the Test rankings, Neil Wagner has all of us glowing and Mitchell Santner has us discussing a spinner taking the final wicket for NZ in home conditions. Pakistan, with the likes of Mohammad Rizwan, Fawad Alam, Faheem Ashraf and ‘Charlie’ Shaheen Shah Afridi, played their part in an excellent Test, but do we give them any chance to level the series? A massive thanks to everyone who has listened to us so far - it really means a lot. If you're a new listener to the podcast, check out our back catalogue. There's plenty more great interviews with current players, legends, journalists and characters from all over the cricketing world. 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. It really helps others find the show. And if you'd like to reach out to us with feedback, questions or guest suggestions, get in touch at thetoporderpodcast@gmail.com . Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices