With the Black Caps v South Africa Test series starting on Thursday, we decided to break from tradition and release this stand-alone episode before our regular This Week in Cricket show.

We discuss potential lineups, key matchups, two batting orders missing important players, bold predictions and series winners as we deep-dive into this eagerly anticipated series, which sadly is only two Tests, both at the home of cricket, Hagley Oval.

• Ravindra or De Grandhomme for the first Test?

• Is Tom Blundell under serious pressure for his place in the side?

• Are South Africa the real deal after beating India?

• Will Dean Elgar regret his pre-game comments?

• Have New Zealand lost their aura of invincibility at home?

• Should Ross Taylor have been recalled?

• And can the Black Caps, who have never beaten South Africa in a Test series and only won 4 individual Tests against the Proteas, make history at Hagley Oval over the course of the next two weeks?

Hours after we recorded our This Week in Cricket episode earlier in the week, news came out that England Cricket legends Jimmy Anderson and Stuart Broad had been dropped from the Test squad to tour the West Indies. Binksy added a short instant reaction into that episode but the frustration was still brewing, so Baldy jumped on a call to help him talk through the latest in a series of changes going on in English Cricket.

• Why have they done this?

• Was it the right thing to do?

• Is there any way back for Jimmy and Stuart?

• And what about Dawid Malan?

We were planning to pop this segment into our Great Resignation episode, but after the Pat Cummins' press conference, there was quite a bit to digest, so here it is as a stand-alone episode. Enjoy!

What a week it has been at the English and Australian cricket boards!

The fall out from The Ashes has led to a clean out at the ECB and the resignation of Justin Langer. Recorded on Tuesday night, there's plenty of debate as we discuss:

• Should Langer have been retained?

• What were Cricket Australia thinking?

• Will England's clean out change anything?

• Who will take the reins in the coming weeks?

• And much more!

We start the show this week with Binksy's reaction to the breaking news that England have dropped James Anderson and Stuart Broad from their upcoming Test tour to the West Indies, before we travel the world again to discuss a wide range of news from the cricketing week that was.

We go in-depth on the Black Caps' Test squad to face South Africa, which features call-ups for Cam Fletcher and Blair Tickner, as well as recalls for Colin de Grandhomme and Hamish Rutherford. Should anyone feel snubbed? How will the batting order line up at Hagley? And how worried are we about Kane Williamson's elbow? Selection discussions continue with a look at the White Ferns' World Cup squad, including the omission of Leigh Kasperek.

The conversation then turns to youthful exuberance as we look back the the ICC U19 World Cup and a few future stars that caught our eye, before jetsetting off to the conclusion of the Ashes, the West Indies v India ODI series and the upcoming IPL auction.

This week's show was recorded about 20 minutes after the conclusion of the Ashes Test, so naturally we start by discussing the final-day drama. We talk declarations, Heather Knight's big hundred and 4-day Tests as the multi-format series now shifts to ODIs.

From long-form cricket we move to T20s, recapping the finals of the BBL and Super Smash, which resulted in wins for the Perth Scorchers, Wellington Blaze and Northern Brave. Should the Sixers have been allowed to retire Jordan Silk? Are the Blaze too good? And have any uncapped Super Smash players made a case for international honours?

We finish the episode by discussing the entertaining T20 series between the West Indies and England, which was perfectly poised at 2-2 when we recorded the show. Rovman Powell smashed a hundred, Adil Rashid bowled a googly and Raj and Binksy go head-to-head on a prediction for the final game before Baldy gives us an update on the U19 World Cup.

On this week's episode we begin by taking a look at both the BBL and the Super Smash as those competitions head into the playoff rounds. Baldy is upset about a snub for Glenn Maxwell, there's confusion about Steve Smith and Lippy thinks the Wellington Blaze are unbeatable, but that anything could happen on the men's side of the draw. We also speculate about the prospect of a Women's World Cup without fans, and whether the rain will stop in Australia so that the women's Ashes players can take the field.

As the show continues, we talk about whether it's time for India to panic after South Africa's 3-0 win in the ODI series, which followed their impressive showing in the Tests, and Raj highlights the impact that players like Temba Bavuma and Rassie van der Dussen are having on the Proteas. And then to round out our world tour, there's a stopover in the West Indies, where Binksy gives us the lowdown on the first two T20 matches with England.

It was one-way traffic in the men's Ashes this summer, but there was still plenty to talk about as we looked back at the series in detail.

• Did England give themselves the best opportunity to succeed?

• Will any of their 'promising' batters ever become consistent at Test level?

• Did Mark Wood become Neil Wagner in disguise?

• How much longer will Chris Silverwood be coach and Joe Root be captain?

• And can Binksy's Blueprint for success save English cricket?

As we shone the light on Australia, everything became much brighter:

• Will we one day be talking about Cameron Green as an all-time great?

• Why are there still question marks about Justin Langer's reappointment?

• Did the 4-0 scoreline flatter Australia?

• Will Scott Boland play more than 10 Tests?

• And how did we go with our bold predictions?

This week on the show we discuss the Black Caps postponed tour to Australia and what might have been had the tour gone ahead. We debate which players had their flights cancelled, whether Colin de Grandhomme's return to form in the Super Smash and Ford Trophy will be enough to return him to the international stage, and highlight two moments of absolute genius from Amelia Kerr.

As the show continues, Baldy takes a look to the future by introducing us to a potential star at the Under-19 Cricket World Cup, before we review South Africa's highly entertaining Test series victory over India. There were disputes, disrepute, retirements and, best of all, three quality matches. Who will succeed Virat Kohli as Indian Test captain? How worried should NZ be about this South African side? And how good is Keegan Petersen?