In this episode of the show, Binksy, Baldy, Raj and Stu preview the Men's ICC T20 Cricket World Cup 2026. We discuss the key contenders from each group and the questions facing their sides, then make predictions about how the tournament will play out. We start the show with a quick tournament explainer, before moving on to Group A, which features India, Pakistan, Namibia, Netherlands and the USA. The home side comes into the tournament in great form, with runs flowing from the bats of Abhishek Sharma, Suryakumar Yadav & Ishan Kishan, and the likes of Jasprit Bumrah and Varun Chakravarthy with the ball. Pakistan have dealt comfortably with Australia in their most recent games, but will they ever shake their 'mercurial' tag in big ICC events? And can the Kiwi connection help the Netherlands to the Super 8s? Or will the USA be a surprise packet yet again? Group B is home to Sri Lanka, Australia, Ireland, Oman and Zimbabwe, and could be a bit tougher for batters. Pat Cummins is out for the Aussies and Steve Smith wasn't selected, but can Ashes hero Travis Head power them to another title? On paper the Sri Lankan lineup looks a lot of fun, but will playing at home help or hinder their chances? And can Ireland, Zimbabwe or Oman throw a spanner in the works? As the episode continues, we turn our lens towards England's chances in Group C, which also includes the West Indies, Italy, Nepal and Scotland. With Phil Salt, Jos Buttler, Harry Brook, Adil Rashid, Jofra Archer & co., England have plenty of matchwinners - but how many matches will they actually win? The West Indies have power players like Romario Shepherd and Rovman Powell in the lower order, but will the top order set a good enough platform? And will Tom Bruce's Scotland give us a classic World Cup moment? Or will it be the new boys Italy and Nepal? The final group could very well be the most closely fought, with New Zealand's Black Caps, South Africa and Afghanistan battling for two Super 8 spots along with Canada and the UAE. For New Zealand, the batters look in fine touch, with recent runs for Finn Allen, Glenn Phillips and Daryl Mitchell, but will it matter if the bowlers can't keep going the distance? South Africa pushed India hard in the 2024 final, and with Aiden Markram and Quinton de Kock leading the charge, will they go one better this time around? And you'd be brave to write off any side with Rashid Khan, an opening partnership of Ibrahim & Gurbaz, but the real question is - will Gulbadin fall over again? To round out the show, we make our predictions - semi-finalists, winners, top runscorer, top wicket-taker and some bold predictions that may or may not make us look silly in a month's time. We'll be back in your feed again regularly once the tournament starts - potentially with daily recaps from Day 1. 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 conversations with Mike Hesson, 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. 0:00 Intro 2:25 Tournament explainer 6:10 Group A 21:00 Group B 34:30 Group C 47:40 Group D 1:01:55 Predictions Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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