ICC T20 World Cup Preview: Black Caps' unknowns, English pressure & the 20-team format

The Top Order Cricket Podcast

In this episode of the show, the team are all in the same room to preview the ICC T20 World Cup hosted by the West Indies and USA.

We discuss the 20-team format, what overall tournament success looks like for the ICC, the quick turnaround from the IPL and the type of cricket we might see played throughout the month of June.

We then look at the 4 groups in more detail - will India and their star-studded line-up cruise through Group A? How much pressure is there on England to bounce back from their ODI World Cup disappointment? Will the Black Caps make it to the knockout stages yet again? Is this South Africa's moment? Or is a home win for the West Indies written in the stars? Which teams hold the biggest upset potential? And prediction time!

We won't be doing daily updates of this World Cup, but are hoping to record regularly throughout the tournament, particularly as we approach the Super 8 and knockout stages. 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 a recent conversation with Mike Hesson, plus 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 [e-mail].

Thanks for listening.

0:00 Intro - when and where?

3:29 Do we like the 20-team format?

7:10 What does success look like for the ICC?

10:07 Short turnaround from the IPL

14:43 Expectations for pitches and scores?

19:00 Group A preview - India, Pakistan, Ireland, USA, Canada

29:15 Group B preview - Australia, England, Namibia, Scotland, Oman

41:15 Group C preview - West Indies, New Zealand, Afghanistan, PNG, Uganda

52:50 Group D preview - South Africa, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, the Netherlands, Nepal

1:01:55 Predictions!

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