The IPL 2026 playoff picture, England Test squad, plus runs for Virat Kohli & Finn Allen

In this episode of the show, Binksy, Baldy and Stu look back at the week that was in IPL 2026, discuss England's Test squad to take on the Black Caps and cover off some news from New Zealand, Australia and the World Test Championship.

We start the show by trying to make sense of an increasingly murky IPL playoff picture after KKR's big win over the Gujarat Titans in the early hours of Sunday morning New Zealand time. With plenty set to change overnight, we looked at both Kolkata and Gujarat to investigate what's been going well for these two sides recently. There's praise for spinners Varun Chakravarthy and Sunil Narine, seamers Kagiso Rabada and Kartik Tyagi, plus the powerful striking of Finn Allen.

As the conversation continues, attention turns to the Punjab Kings, who at the time of recording were on an almighty slump. We spotlight the impact (or lack thereof) of their overseas seam-bowling contingent - particularly T20 World Cup standout Marco Jansen. We also take the time to chat about Virat Kohli's masterful hundred for RCB against KKR and the need to appreciate greatness when it's right in front of your eyes.

In the second half of the show, we head to the UK to examine the newly announced 15-player England Test squad to take on the Black Caps (at least for the first Test). Zak Crawley has run out of chances and Emilio Gay & James Rew join, but it's the bowling attack which has seen the largest number of changes since The Ashes. There's a return for Ollie Robinson, talk of Ben Stokes opening the bowling and possible opportunities for Matthew Fisher and Sonny Baker.

To round out the show, we cover off the news that the NZ20 has been officially delayed until December 2027, Devon Conway is keen for a central contract, Australia named a youthful looking white-ball squad featuring the likes of Cooper Connolly & Ollie Peake, and the ICC are set to discuss one-Test series in the World Test Championship.

We'll be back in your feed again soon with more cricket news, including the charge to the IPL finals and the Black Caps' tour to England. Until then please take the time to give us a like, follow, share or !) 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
1:00 IPL 2026: The playoff picture is murky
3:15 KKR enters the chat
5:45 Was Finn Allen robbed of POTM?
10:15 Punjab Kings losing streak
18:30 Virat Kohli appreciation
25:45 Fielding & scheduling
29:20 England Test squad v NZ
30:05 Changes to the bowling attack
43:15 Pitches and ball conditions
49:00 NZ20 delay, Devon Conway contract
54:35 Australia's youthful white-ball squads
1:01:10 ICC considering 1-Test WTC series