From shambolic to superstars

Whitewashed in India, badly beaten in England and then lo and behold - a transformation and the return of the urn. Australia won't forget 2013 for a long time

Brydon Coverdale January 4, 2014

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Steven Smith and Mitchell Johnson redeemed Australia in 2013 © Getty Images

For Australia, 2013 started with Mickey Arthur the coach, Shane Watson the vice-captain, Michael Clarke a selector, Michael Hussey a Test player, Matthew Wade the wicketkeeper, Ed Cowan an opener, Phillip Hughes the first drop, Ali de Winter the Test bowling coach, Stuart Law the batting mentor, and the Ashes in England's possession.

What a difference a year makes.

They begin 2014 with Darren Lehmann at the helm, Brad Haddin the wicketkeeper and vice-captain, Clarke no longer picking teams, Hussey retired, Chris Rogers a born-again Test player, Watson at No. 3, Craig McDermott back in charge of the bowlers and Michael di Venuto coaching the batsmen. And, most importantly, with the Ashes in their keeping.

There were on-field embarrassments and off-field humiliations. Their troughs seemed deeper than the Mariana Trench but they have finished the year on an Everest-like high. By the numbers, Australia played 14 Tests in 2013 for five wins, seven losses and two draws. But the numbers don't tell the full story. The severity of some defeats was scarcely believable, as was the propensity for things to go wrong behind the scenes.

In Hyderabad in March, Australia lost by an innings and 135, their tenth-heaviest loss in 136 years of Test history. At Lord's in July, they went down by 347 runs, their third-worst defeat in terms of runs alone. When Australia turned bad, they turned Walter White bad. And yet, at other times their losses were tight and stemmed only from losing key moments or sessions - notably at Trent Bridge and Chester-le-Street.

Australia were always going to struggle in India. Without an effective game plan against India's spinners and without faith in their own spinner, Nathan Lyon, who was dropped after the first Test, Australia could not handle the turning conditions. One of their few positives was that Steven Smith emerged as a classy Test batsman who could use his feet. That discovery would prove important later.

Off the field, the team management was unhappy with little things that weren't being done around the squad. That led to the "line-in-the-sand" moment, when four players, including vice-captain Watson, were suspended for one Test for not completing a task aimed at reflecting on how the team could improve. Arthur announced the decision and became irrevocably linked to it, though it was made by a committee of Arthur, Clarke and team manager Gavin Dovey.

It was an all-time low moment for Australia, not just for 2013. While there was something to be said for bringing the players into line and forcing them to think more about the team, it raised questions over why the little things had been allowed to slip so far that such a drastic measure had to be taken. Within four months Arthur had been sacked as coach and Lehmann was installed. Arthur had marked his line in the sand, Cricket Australia later set down theirs.

The Indian tour ended with a 4-0 thrashing, just as Australia had easily won 4-0 when they played at home against India the previous summer. It was an example of just how much work Australia must do to become competitive away from home. They were in foreign conditions in India but you'd have thought they were on another planet.

Their next engagement was the Champions Trophy in England, where Australia were defending champions but failed to win a match. More of a problem was what happened off field during the tournament, when David Warner took a swing at Joe Root in a Birmingham pub after England beat Australia. Warner was already on shaky ground after an abusive Twitter rant against two senior Australian cricket journalists earlier in the year and his punch at Root cost him his Test place.

It also cost Arthur his job. James Sutherland and Pat Howard quickly and decisively made the move less than three weeks before the first Ashes Test. Lehmann brought a sense of enjoyment to the group, though he was far from fun to be around after their loss at Lord's. Australia used 17 players during the five Tests in England, didn't settle on a batting order, dropped Ed Cowan and Phillip Hughes, failed to grab their chances and lost 3-0.

Ultimately, though, that campaign was a research mission, which was what Arthur and Clarke had always intended. The plan was to assess England's weaknesses, work towards a settled Australian outfit and push to regain the urn at home. As the Honda ad says, isn't it nice when things just work? And things not only worked at home for Australia, one thing especially fell fortuitously into place.

Mitchell Johnson played at the Gabba only because the likes of James Pattinson and Mitchell Starc were injured. His pace alarmed England and he was Man of the Match in Brisbane, Adelaide and Melbourne. It is pointless to play the "what-if" game, but impossible to imagine Australia 4-0 entering the Sydney Test were it not for Johnson.

The only sweep Australian fans thought they would see this summer was Warner's reverse, but a 5-0 result against England is now possible. Who'd have thought that after the Indian tour? Who'd have thought it when Arthur was sacked? When England won 3-0? Or when Australia started their home Ashes on day one at the Gabba by slipping to 6 for 132? But, as the old cricket cliché says, you don't judge a pitch until both teams have batted. Turns out you shouldn't judge a team until they have played at home and away, either.

In England, the pitches were dry and suited Graeme Swann's spin; in Australia, Swann's impact was deadened and their batsmen struggled to handle Australia's relentless pace. But, with a couple of exceptions, winning at home has not been Australia's big problem in recent years. Their challenge for 2014 is to show that they can transfer their form to foreign conditions, first against the world's No.1 team, South Africa, and then in the UAE against Pakistan.

They will likely take on those challenges with a team that could not have been predicted at the start of the year. Haddin and Rogers were both recalled in their mid-30s to add experience to a team that had lost Hussey and Ricky Ponting to retirement, and both made contributions to the Ashes triumph. Haddin's feat of rescuing Australia from first-innings holes in all five Tests was nothing short of extraordinary, but it also highlights a batting weakness that South Africa may exploit.

Remarkably, Australia used the same 11 players in all five Ashes Tests in Australia, the first time they had ever used an unchanged side throughout a five-Test series. There is a strong camaraderie among the group that did not appear evident in India and Lehmann's relaxed influence has played a role in that. The big questions are how this team will respond when they start struggling again and how long they can stay together. They end 2013 with the Ashes, but begin 2014 with further challenges ahead.

High point
The final day at the WACA was a celebration for the Australians, in every way. As England's last few wickets fell, the players signalled for the crowd to get involved, to cheer them home. The Ashes were to be regained seven years after Australia had last won them. Johnson and Ryan Harris were on the verge of tears as they shook hands with the England batsmen; Rogers and George Bailey were counting their blessings to be there, as was Warner, in a different way; Watson, Siddle, Smith and Haddin were forgetting all their failed Ashes campaigns of the past; Clarke was pleased to be an Ashes-winning captain. Lyon led the team in a rare public rendition of Underneath the Southern Cross on the WACA pitch a few hours later, and while a big night of celebrating followed, so did another victory in Melbourne a week and a bit later. The job was not yet done.

No one would have predicted that the urn would change hands by the end of the year © Getty Images

Low point
For Australia, the Indian tour was, in the words of Flo Rida, "low, low, low, low, low, low, low…" The worst came at the end of the second Test in Hyderabad and in the days that followed. The defeat by an innings and 135 runs was followed by the so-called homework task set by Arthur, which was followed by four players being stood down for a Test, which was followed by Watson flying home for the birth of his child and saying he would consider his cricketing future, which was followed by Pat Howard describing Watson as a team player "sometimes", which was followed by Watson returning to captain the team in Delhi due to Clarke's injury, which was followed by Clarke flying home while his team-mates lost inside three days. All in all, a rotten few weeks.

New kid on the block
Steven Smith made his debut three years ago but it wasn't until 2013 that he really established himself in the Test side. When he was picked for the tour of India he seemed the least likely member of the squad to play, but the homework suspensions gave him a chance and his 92 in Mohali was one of the bright points for Australia on an awful tour. He followed that with 89 in Manchester, an unbeaten 138 at The Oval and most importantly 111 in the first innings in Perth. That innings was the making of Smith as a Test batsman, scored as it was under pressure and with England a chance to fight back into the series. Smith's technique and temperament have improved, he uses his feet against spin and possess a sound cricketing brain. Expect him to remain at No. 5 for some time.

What 2014 holds
Australia play three Tests in South Africa in February-March and it is there that their attacking style will truly be tested. The top-order failures that occurred during the Ashes were papered over by Haddin's rescues; Dale Steyn, Vernon Philander and Co are unlikely to allow that to happen. A rare winter away from Test cricket follows, after the World Twenty20 in Bangladesh, before a Test series away against Pakistan and the home summer against India. Success away from home is the truest test of a team's ability, and that is how Australia will be judged in 2014.

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Sri Lanka fans have reasons to smile

If Sri Lanka's young cricketers can build on Friday's gains, perhaps in years to come fans will look upon this match not simply as Angelo Mathews' coming of age, but as the turn of an era

It hasn't been an easy few years for fans of Sri Lanka's cricket. Major finals losses have left four deep gashes on the nation's psyche. Mention the last World Cup or World T20 in Colombo or Kandy, and you begin to discover wounds that are still raw. Some have turned off completely - such is the fickleness of Sri Lanka fans who have largely maintained some perspective on cricket. Others have cooled their passions until the side rises again.

As they broke Pakistan's siege, ducked and weaved around opposition blows, then took the high ground for themselves in Abu Dhabi, the team can only hope the nation was watching today.

Some context might help better understand the magnitude of what Sri Lanka achieved on the fourth day. That this is their first Test since March, and the first against a top-eight nation since close to a year is well known. Mindblowingly, they have not had a first-class practice match in the Gulf either. It is a young captain's first major Test assignment after ten months in which he has drawn considerable ire, and whose leadership remained a point of debate. They are playing at a venue where Pakistan felled cricket's top team six weeks ago, and one in which they have not lost, small though that sample size is.

As mitigating factors, the docility of the surface must be put forward first. Live grass still binds it together, much to Saeed Ajmal's chagrin. He has played on unresponsive surfaces before, however, but never in his career has he completed 42 overs without a wicket. In blunting him so far, Sri Lanka have already secured a psychological edge that may prove vital to the series' eventual unfolding.

Pakistan's pace attack also lacks the edge it had against South Africa. Mohammed Irfan is with the team, but is out through injury. None of the three playing seam bowlers have more than 15 Tests' experience. Still, they have bowled earnest lines, and testing lengths, all at sharp pace. On another day, against less resolute batting, Rahat Ali might have had a five-for. Junaid Khan might have completed his first ten-wicket haul.

So how heartening for Sri Lanka then, that with their two batting juggernauts already dismissed last evening, they lost only one wicket in the day? The young Sri Lanka players had been implored by their public to step up, fall in, show some courage. But in a year crammed with ODIs, so much talk of talent and future-proofing rang hollow while Kumar Sangakkara and Tillakaratne Dilshan bore the team's burden, misfiring middle-order and all.

Dinesh Chandimal and Angelo Mathews had played impressive support innings before, but masters of their own destiny now, they were nobody's sidekicks. The morning session had been treacherous on each of the first three days, and Pakistan bowled like they knew it. Junaid lived short-of-a-length, angling in, wobbling it away. Rahat bowled more stump-to-stump, full, teasing, accurate. Bilawal Bhatti manned the heavy weapons - bouncers at the ribs and the throat; a yorker now and then, just to check how closely the batsmen were watching.

"We had the fact that wickets had fallen early on in our minds," Chandimal said. "So we batted as tightly as we could in that first session, and we knew that if we survived there, we could pull the game back. Angelo and I handled the situation well."

After Sri Lanka had stared them down for an hour, the quicks received a second new ball, 18.3 overs into the day. They let loose again, three slips, short-leg, man out for the hook, the works. Chandimal proved once more he is a born Test batsman, floating through the barrage unscathed to hit a fifth fifty - he has only failed to reach that milestone in two of nine Tests. Mathews took a bruising, but thanks to a little luck, his outside edge did not - at least not enough of one to cost his team. Captain and vice-captain battled and batted, occasionally hitting high notes in harmony, but often strumming steadily, one leading, the other holding rhythm, then the reverse.

It was such music to the Sri Lanka fans in the stadium that they added their voices to the melody in return. As the evening approached and the match pivoted for the visitors, a crowd of Sri Lankans had acquired the nerve to mimic the chant they had heard with vigour from Pakistan supporters on the first two days. Joyful calls of Sri Lanka jeetega (Sri Lanka will win) amused some and annoyed others.

"We talked about a lot of things in the middle. Sometimes it was hard for me to play certain bowlers, sometimes it was tough for Angelo," Chandimal said. "So we talked about who should be scoring more runs at this time, and who should be more positive against which bowler. That's how we built our partnership."

Chandimal hooked on impulse and fell 11 short of what would have been his best Test hundred yet, but Mathews' steel did not run out. He had faced the first ball of the day on 0, and defended the last on 116. In between, he had faced 47 overs on his own. It is a match that could prove his making in Tests, because to sear 91 on the first day in bold riposte, then slow-cook a ton on the fourth, is a staggering feat that has unveiled unsuspected depth and dynamism to his game.

If Sri Lanka's young cricketers can build on Friday's gains, perhaps in years to come fans will look upon this match not simply as Mathews' coming of age, but as the turn of an era. The seeds of change were sown in Sydney a year ago, when three young batsmen defied the hosts. Sri Lanka had withered after Murali, and spent a year tending shoots. Soon, fans can hope, whatever happens on the last day here, it will be time for a harvest.

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England in disarray after top order collapses

England 5 for 61 (Stokes 23*, Ballance 17*) trail Australia 326 by 265 runs
Live scorecard and ball-by-ball details

The list of disastrous sessions for England throughout this series is growing longer by the day. At 5 for 23, it looked like the first session on day two in Sydney might be the worst of the bunch.

Ben Stokes and Gary Ballance restored some vague level of steadiness in the lead-up to the break but the fact that they were the only two men to reach double figures said it all. England had been Johnsoned, Harrised and Siddled.

As Ballance, fresh from a nerve-rattling bouncer to the helmet from Johnson, walked off at the break on 17 alongside Stokes on 23, it was still far from certain that England would score the 66 more runs they needed to avoid the follow on.

The pitch had offered some seam movement but it was not extravagant; Australia's bowlers had just exploited it far better than England's attack. Bowl full, let it swing and if it doesn't it might seam, draw the batsman forward. It was textbook stuff.

From the moment Alastair Cook padded up from the second ball of the morning and was lbw to Ryan Harris, England were in disarray. The ball angled across Cook and straightened, but at no point did Cook appear interested in using his bat, and Aleem Dar's finger was up almost before Harris had even turned around to ask the question.

England's 2 for 8 should have become 3 for 8 when Ian Bell edged his first ball to slip off Harris but was reprieved by Shane Watson, who spilled a chance he should comfortably have taken. It barely mattered, for Australia were creating so many opportunities that it was only a matter of time.

The nightwatchman James Anderson was worked over by Mitchell Johnson. Bouncers lobbed off the bat into gaps, another one jammed his right hand onto the handle of the bat, just what England didn't need when they were potentially already one bowler down, depending on Boyd Rankin's fitness in the second innings. When Anderson edged a regulation catch to second slip off Johnson he must have been glad to get out of there.

Three for 14 became 4 for 17 when Kevin Pietersen was drawn forward by the impeccable length of Harris. On 3, Pietersen drove hard and edged Harris to slip, where Watson held on this time. His drop of Bell wasn't costly in any way either, for on 2 from 32 balls Bell edged behind off a lovely delivery from Peter Siddle that moved away just enough. England were 5 for 23 and their all-time lowest Test total of 45 looked in some danger.

That's not to mention the other close calls. Bell had already survived an lbw review when Harris thought he had his man, only to see the replay show the ball sliding down leg. Later, Stokes edged behind off Siddle but Haddin was unsure if he had taken the ball cleanly low to the ground and asked the umpires for confirmation. The third official, Tony Hill, decided the ball had bounced just short of Haddin, although the footage was far from conclusive.

Stokes and Ballance started to play some nice shots as their partnership progressed, cover drives and cuts, and their stand had reached 38 at lunch with the total on 5 for 61. But the bouncer that rattled Ballance's helmet was a reminder of what might come after the break.

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Solid New Zealand finish on 285

50 overs New Zealand 285 for 6 (Guptill 81) v West Indies
Live scorecard and ball-by-ball details

Worries over the weather spoiling the first ever ODI in Nelson were eased when the sell-out crowd was greeted by blue skies and bright sunshine on Saturday morning. The news wasn't as good for West Indies, as an already injury-hit squad was depleted further thanks to a broken finger to the experienced Ravi Rampaul. That meant the visitors are without at least six first-choice players and were down to 12 available players.

New Zealand finished on 285, two more than what they plundered in Queenstown, though this time they had the full 50 overs and produced a more conventionally paced innings. It was a combined effort from New Zealand's batsmen, with each of the top four making 47 or more, though only Martin Guptill went on to a half-century, top scoring with 81.

It's been a difficult tour so far for West Indies, and their mood didn't improve as they put down two sitters off Jesse Ryder early in the innings, Jason Holder the unlucky bowler on both occasions. First, Denesh Ramdin somehow missed the most straightforward of chances for a wicketkeeper - it was off a quick bowler, an outside edge off that came straight at Ramdin at a good height, but he closed the gloves too early. A couple of overs later, the captain Dwayne Bravo - on his day, one of the most electric fielders in the world - let through a simple chance above shoulder height at slip.

Even with those basic fielding mistakes, West Indies did a reasonable job early on. Holder gave nothing away, conceding only nine off his five-over spell, including two maidens to a struggling Guptill, who plodded to 2 off 29 deliveries as he searched for form.

At the other end, Tino Best was mostly wayward, and received some punishment from Ryder, who played a range of flamboyant strokes in a chance-filled 47 at nearly a run-a-ball. Finally, Ryder's luck ran out as the two men who had reprieved him earlier combined to dismiss him - Bravo bowling outside off for a nick to be safely collected by Ramdin.

Guptill started to grow in confidence after spending time in the middle, and the release finally came when he pummelled Bravo over long-off for a six in the 17th over. He had been 8 off 40 before that shot. With the spinners coming on, Gutpill and new batsman Kane Williamson worked the bowling to score above five an over without taking much risk. Williamson used his feet adeptly, regularly moving across the stumps to manoeuvre the ball around.

By the time Williamson was dismissed in the 32nd over, top-edging a pull to the keeper, New Zealand had moved to 144 for 2, setting the stage for the lengthy list of power-hitters to follow. Ross Taylor didn't produce many big hits but still motored along. Guptill took to Best at the start of the batting Powerplay, with a chip over long-on for six being a standout stroke, before he perished in the 42nd over.

With plenty of wickets still in hand, New Zealand's batsmen had the freedom to go for it towards the close and their swinging yielded 92 in the final 10 overs, finished off by a monster hit over long-on by man-of-the-moment Corey Anderson.

It should prove enough against a West Indies batting that inspires little confidence, and is bereft of most of their match-winners.

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No. 1 on the field, not quite off it

South Africa had a satisfactory year, but the financial shortfall of an abbreviated India series and a light schedule for 2014 could spell trouble

Firdose Moonda January 3, 2014

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South Africa's challenge in 2014 will be to find a worthy replacement for Jacques Kallis in the Test side © Getty Images

As in life, the best part often comes right at the end. That was South Africa's year in 2013 - an inverted pyramid that began with more fixtures than it ended with, but the most important ones came last.

The Test team spent all 12 months at No. 1 to extend their run to 19 months. They won three of the four series they played, beating New Zealand, Pakistan and India at home. The drawn rubber in the UAE against Pakistan meant South Africa's unbeaten series streak on the road lengthened to eight years. They were last defeated in a series away from home in Sri Lanka in July-August 2006 and are not due to play away until July 2014.

Their successes were underpinned by consistency in selection in the longest format, however, that will change with the retirement of Jacques Kallis. Although not as worshipped or as flamboyant as other greats who retired recently, his absence will do to South Africa what the exits of Sachin Tendulkar or Ricky Ponting did to India and Australia.

Plugging the gap will be South Africa's biggest Test challenge in the next year. As will fielding a black African in the Test XI, which has now gone three years without a representative from the country's biggest demographic group. Pressure is growing for that to change.

In limited-overs cricket, South Africa can look back on a topsy-turvy 2013 with satisfaction, because their concerns, cruelly exposed at the Champions Trophy, where they crashed out in the semis, were eventually smoothened out. Of the 29 ODIs they played, they won 14 and lost 13, with important victories coming as the year ended. After series losses to New Zealand and Pakistan at home and crushing defeats in Sri Lanka, there were worries over the make-up of the 50-over squad, particularly its batting line-up.

The opening pair has been firmed up, the middle order has settled down and there are options lower down. The bowling unit has also been through changes with the long-term return of Dale Steyn the most important addition.

Steyn has also committed himself to the T20 squad, which has taken shape ahead of the World Twenty20 early next year. Faf du Plessis led them to series wins in Sri Lanka and Dubai and a drawn rubber at home. Combinations have been found and preparations are considered almost complete as the search for a major trophy continues.

Beyond the boundary, Cricket South Africa faced boardroom issues that centred on the appointment of Haroon Lorgat as CEO. The eventual cost of choosing the man Chris Nenzani, CSA president, called the best candidate for the job was a severely shortened series against India. That brought with it financial losses of up to R200 million (US$20 million). The impact that shortfall will have on South African cricket in the long-term may start to show from next year and it is likely that development will be the first area to suffer.

For a country that has established itself among the best in the sport worldwide and continues to produce results that justify that label, maintaining strong structures is important. Whether CSA can do that as its reserves diminish may be the most pressing talking point in the future.

High point
Beating India in Durban was a four-in-one bonus for South Africa. It gave them a series win, sent off Kallis in fine style, ensured they won at a ground that had denied them the previous four times they played on it, and erased doubts about their ability to overcome pressure. The Johannesburg Test was a nerve-shattering thriller that showed off Test cricket at its most tense, but the Kingsmead one was an illustration of South Africa's ability to overcome. They faced hurdles in the form of conditions, weather and opposition, and dealt with their own emotions about Kallis' retirement, but overcame it all to end the year with success.

Low point
A shortened India tour was always expected to be an anti-climax and it proved exactly that. The reasons the tour was curtailed are shrouded in mystery. Did South Africa announce the fixtures unilaterally, or was the BCCI just throwing a tantrum? It's clear there is a skewed power structure in world cricket and administrative tussles can directly and dangerously affect the game. That, rather than South Africa's implosion at the Champions Trophy is what should worry fans ahead of another year.

Quinton de Kock worked on his technical problems to end the year on a record-making note © Getty Images

New kid on the block
Three centuries in consecutive matches put Quinton de Kock in elite company. Only four other batsmen have achieved that feat, including AB de Villiers and Herschelle Gibbs. It sealed de Kock's spot in the one-day side ahead of Graeme Smith. After a lean run that was exacerbated by technical problems on slow pitches and against spinners in Sri Lanka, de Kock worked so hard on his game that his franchise coach, Geoffrey Toyana, said he feared de Kock would make him sleep in the nets to give him throwdowns at every available opportunity. Combined with careful mentoring, which included his batting partner telling him to "take it easy" at the end of every over, de Kock blossomed. He paced his innings well, scored freely and hit the ball cleanly. His wicketkeeping skills have also sharpened, and the promise of a successful 2014 beckons.

Farewell to
Paul Harris and Ahmed Amla were among the long-serving players who called it a day in 2013, but the year will be remembered for being Kallis' last as a Test cricketer. He announced his retirement unexpectedly on Christmas Day and left the format six days later on a high. Kallis became the only player with 100-plus Tests to score a century in his final match. He finished with 13,289 runs, 292 wickets and 200 catches - and a reputation as South Africa's best cricketer.

What 2014 holds
Too little cricket. South Africa's schedule for the next 12 months is nothing short of sorry. January is completely bare, which allows the national players to turn out in the domestic T20 competition, but peak summer time should see more than that. Australia's tour of three Tests and three T20s precedes the World Twenty20 before a lengthy break. The FTP has a tour of Zimbabwe pencilled in for July, but with the financial problems in that country's cricket, it's likely that may be postponed. There's only West Indies to look forward to in the home summer.

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Three home games in Ranji quarters

There has been plenty of talk of playing the Ranji Trophy knockouts at neutral venues but that came to an end on Thursday with the BCCI confirming that three of the quarterfinalists will get home games.

While announcing the draw for knockout stage, the BCCI declared that the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai, Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bangalore, Eden Gardens in Kolkata and Moti Bagh ground in Vadodara will host the Ranji Trophy quarterfinals, to be played from January 8 to 12. The first three venues will host a game involving the corresponding home team.

The decision went against the demand voiced during the captains' and coaches' conclave at the end of the last domestic season. Offspinner Harbhajan Singh had also supported the idea of playing knockout games at neutral venues following Punjab's tame draw against Jharkhand in Jamshedpur during last year's quarter-final played on a placid pitch.

The technical committee, headed by former India captain Anil Kumble, had discussed the concept in detail on March 22.

On Thursday, Ratnakar Shetty, BCCI general manager - game development, told ESPNcricinfo that the decision to play knockouts at neutral venues was never made. "This was one of the issues that was discussed threadbare. And at the end of it, it was decided that the chairman of technical committee will be consulted with while finalising a list of potential venues for hosting the knockout games," Shetty said. "So it was always going to be a case of pre-decided or BCCI-decided venues, and not neutral venues."

Elaborating on the rationale behind playing matches at pre-decided venues, Shetty said the concept was to play all important games on "sporting pitches monitored by BCCI curators". As a result, curators of ten grounds - Mumbai, Bangalore, Kolkata, Vadodara, Mohali, Indore, Hyderabad, Lahli, Jaipur and Mysore - had been asked to start preparing a wicket "almost three weeks ago".

Since the finalisation of the the venues, Daljit Singh, head of BCCI's grounds and pitches committee, has been in Kolkata overseeing the track's preparation. The veteran curator is scheduled to fly to Mumbai from Kolkata while PR Viswanathan, the South Zone representative in the committee, has been stationed in Bangalore. Similarly, Dhiraj Parsana will be in Vadodara till the quarterfinal gets underway.

One of the quarterfinals will be played at a neutral venue, with Punjab and Jammu & Kashmir facing off at the Moti Bagh ground in Vadodara. "Since three of the four quarterfinals have home venues, we didn't have to do too much of manoeuvring," Shetty said. "If Punjab make it to the semis, they will also have an opportunity to play at home."

The quarterfinal line-up pits Bengal and Railways against each other though they were both in group B in the league phase. Shetty explained that the clash of two teams in the same group was inevitable due to the format of the draw. "Last year's semi-finalists are always given seeding, with the top two set to play the two teams from Group C. Since only two teams from last year's top four had qualified for the knockouts, the rest of the positions were decided due to draw of lots."

Knockout schedule:

Quarterfinals (January 8 to 12)
1. Mumbai v Maharashtra - Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai (to be telecast live)
2. Bengal v Railways - Eden Gardens, Kolkata
3. Karnataka v Uttar Pradesh - M Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bangalore
4. Punjab v Jammu & Kashmir - Motibaug, Baroda

Semifinals (January 18 to 22)
Winner of 1 v Winner of 2 - Holkar Stadium, Indore Winner of 3 v Winner of 4 - PCA Stadium, Mohali (to be telecast live)

Final (January 29 to February 2)
Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium, Uppal, Hyderabad (to be telecast live)

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England take four before lunch

Lunch Australia 4 for 94 (Smith 8*) v England
Live scorecard and ball-by-ball details

Alastair Cook finally had a victory of sorts when he won his first toss of the series and by lunch his fast bowlers had backed his decision to send Australia in, collecting four wickets on a grassy pitch.

Not for the first time in the series Australia went to lunch on day one under pressure and the loss of Shane Watson from the final ball before the break was particularly costly after he struck seven boundaries during a confident innings of 43.

Watson had played some crisp drives and pulls during his 59-ball innings but his willingness to go for his shots meant England always had a chance of creating an opportunity. A few shots narrowly missed going to hand for England's fielders but eventually it was a standard forward push from Watson that brought his demise when he was trapped dead in front by James Anderson, remarkably, the first lbw against an Australia batsman in the series.

That left Steven Smith at the crease on 8, about to be joined by George Bailey, who needs an innings of note not only for his team in this match but to give himself the chance of being part of Australia's upcoming tour of South Africa. As has been the case throughout the series, Australia may yet need to rely on Brad Haddin for a first-innings recovery project.

The cloudy weather and green surface encouraged Cook to trust his fast bowlers when he called correctly at the toss. Anderson bowled too short in his new-ball spell to make full use of the conditions but Stuart Broad pitched the ball up and, despite leaking three boundaries to Warner in his second over, was rewarded when he straightened one that took Warner's off stump as he tried to punch down the ground on 16.

Ben Stokes was the most successful of the bowlers, having Chris Rogers bowled for 11 when he bottom-edged a pull back on to his stumps and Michael Clarke caught at second slip for 10 with a lovely delivery that straightened off the seam.

Stokes and Broad both gave the ball a chance to move and drew the Australians into playing, and the debutant Boyd Rankin provided some awkward moments with his extra bounce during a spell of 0 for 11 from four overs.

Rankin was one of three debutants picked by England, the first time since 2006 that they had played that many in a Test and the first time since the 1993 Trent Bridge Test that they had blooded so many debutants in an Ashes Test. On that occasion it was Graham Thorpe, Mark Lathwell, Mark Ilott and Martin McCague; here it was Rankin, legspinning allrounder Scott Borthwick and batsman Gary Ballance. Joe Root, Monty Panesar and Tim Bresnan were dropped.

It also brought to 18 the number of players England had used throughout this series, not only a record for England in an away Test series but an equal high for all teams in away Test campaigns. The only other squad ever to use 18 players in a Test series away from home was West Indies in South Africa in 1998-99; incidentally, they lost that series 5-0.

The situation could hardly have been more different for Australia, who for the first time named the same XI in every Test of a five-match series. Ryan Harris and Watson were both passed fit to play after emerging from the Melbourne victory with niggles.

Australia 1 Chris Rogers, 2 David Warner, 3 Shane Watson, 4 Michael Clarke (capt), 5 Steven Smith, 6 George Bailey, 7 Brad Haddin (wk), 8 Mitchell Johnson, 9 Ryan Harris, 10 Peter Siddle, 11 Nathan Lyon.

England 1 Alastair Cook (capt), 2 Michael Carberry, 3 Ian Bell, 4 Kevin Pietersen, 5 Gary Ballance, 6 Ben Stokes, 7 Jonny Bairstow (wk), 8 Scott Borthwick, 9 Stuart Broad, 10 James Anderson, 11 Boyd Rankin.

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A fine year for home teams and left-arm pace

Home teams lost only two Tests in 2013, while fast bowlers had their best year in Tests since 2000

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Trent Boult took 46 Test wickets in 2013 and was largely instrumental in left-arm fast bowlers taking 200-plus wickets in a calendar year for the first time © Associated Press

All Test stats exclude numbers from the Pakistan-Sri Lanka Test, which started in Abu Dhabi on December 31.

The overall numbers

In terms of Test match results, the numbers in 2013 were very similar to the previous year: in 2012, 32 out of 42 Tests produced decisive results; last year, the corresponding numbers were 33 out of 43. Exactly the same number of centuries were scored in the last two years, but the difference was in the average runs per wicket: from 34 in 2012, it came down to 31.92, which is the least it's been in any year since 2000. (Click here for the year-by-year overall Test stats.)

The largest margin of victory was an innings and 193 runs, by South Africa against New Zealand in Port Elizabeth in January, when South Africa scored 525 for 8, and then bundled New Zealand out for 121 and 211. Overall in 2013, there were plenty of one-sided Test results: out of 33 decisive games, 17 were decided by an innings, ten wickets, or by more than 200 runs.

In ODIs, this was a year of extremes, with very high totals being interspersed with low ones. There were eight scores in excess of 350 in 2013, compared to just two such scores in 2012. Yet, the overall runs per wicket was only marginally more this year: 5.11, compared with 5.05 the previous year. Five of those eight scores came in a two-week period, when Australia toured India for an ODI series.

What also stood out in those ODI stats were the number of centuries that were scored in 2013: 77, which is the highest ever in a calendar year. The previous-best was 75 in 2007, but that was spread over 191 matches; in 2013, only 136 ODIs were played.

Year-wise Test stats since 2006

Year	Tests	Results/ draws	Result%	Average	Run rate	100s/ 50s
2013	43	33/ 10	76.74	31.92	3.14	89/ 193
2012	42	32/ 10	76.19	34.00	3.12	89/ 177
2011	39	27/ 12	69.23	32.47	3.14	72/ 200
2010	43	32/ 11	74.42	36.48	3.34	98/ 214
2009	41	26/ 15	63.41	37.84	3.37	97/ 217
2008	47	36/ 11	76.60	34.12	3.23	96/ 221
2007	31	22/ 9	70.97	35.28	3.35	65/ 142
2006	46	34/ 12	73.91	34.60	3.34	95/ 208

Year-wise ODI stats since 2006

Year	Matches	Average	Run rate	100s/ 50s
2013	136	30.65	5.11	77/ 279
2012	90	31.09	5.05	43/ 205
2011	146	29.97	5.04	63/ 337
2010	142	30.11	4.98	65/ 303
2009	150	30.92	5.12	68/ 325
2008	126	29.00	4.93	51/ 259
2007	191	30.39	5.04	75/ 428
2006	160	28.97	4.82	60/ 331

Horror run for away teams

The year started with New Zealand getting thrashed by South Africa in two Tests and Sri Lanka losing in Australia, and continued with Pakistan getting blanked 3-0 in South Africa and Australia going down 4-0 in India. New Zealand then lost both Tests in England, while West Indies were similarly beaten in India. Australia were beaten 3-0 in England, but then took sweet revenge immediately, winning four in a row in Australia. (Click here for a series-wise list of Test results in 2013.)

The result was that touring teams had a year to forget in 2013: they won only two out of 41 Tests, and lost 29. (This excludes matches in neutral venues.) The two wins by away teams were both in Zimbabwe - Bangladesh won a Test in April, while Pakistan won one in September. Apart from that, home teams were completely dominant, achieving unprecedented winning results.

In the entire history of Test cricket, the home-away results have never been so lopsided in a year in which at least 15 Tests have been played. In 1967, away teams had a 0-9 win-loss stat, but only 12 Tests were played that year. With a 15-Test cut-off, the next-lowest ratio for away teams was in 1990, when they won two and lost 14, a ratio of 0.14. The next-lowest jumps up to 0.25.

There's no trend at work here either, for away teams did reasonably well in Tests in the years leading up to 2013: they had a win-loss record of 12-17 in 2012, 13-13 in 2011, and 14-16 in 2010. (Click here for the full year-wise list.)

Worst win-loss ratios for away teams in a calendar year*

Year	Tests	Won	Lost	Ratio
2013	41	2	29	0.06
1990	26	2	14	0.14
1965	26	2	8	0.25
1962	18	3	11	0.27
1981	23	3	11	0.27
2007	31	5	17	0.29
1996	28	5	14	0.35
1985	26	4	11	0.36
1991	21	3	8	0.37
1978	27	5	13	0.38

* Excludes Tests at neutral venues

South Africa were the best Test team for the second year in a row, winning seven Tests and losing just one, and thus further consolidating their No. 1 ranking. In 2012 they had a 5-0 win-loss, and four of those wins had been achieved overseas. In 2013, they won six at home and one in Dubai, against Pakistan. India won six and lost just one, but all their wins were all at home. England had a mixed year, unbeatable at home but poor on the tour to Australia. Pakistan were the only team to beat South Africa in a Test in 2013, but they ended up with the poorest win-loss ratio of all teams.

In ODIs India were the top team, winning 22 and losing 10, for the best win-loss record among all sides. They won home series against Australia, England and West Indies, and blanked Zimbabwe 5-0, but their most important triumph came in the Champions Trophy in England, when they won five out of five matches.

The best batsmen of 2013

In 2012 five batsmen went past 1000 runs in Tests, and only three achieved it in ODIs, but in 2013 as many as nine batsmen scored 1000-plus in ODIs, while only Michael Clarke and Ian Bell achieved it in Tests.

Clarke did go past 1000, but he wasn't half as dominant as he had been in 2012, when he scored 1595 runs in 18 innings at 106.33; this year he managed 1093 in 26 innings at 47.52.

The ODI list for 1000-plus was dominated by batsmen from the subcontinent: there were two from Pakistan (Misbah-ul-Haq and Mohammad Hafeez) and Sri Lanka (Kumar Sangakkara and Tillakaratne Dilshan), and three Indians - Virat Kohli, Shikhar Dhawan and Rohit Sharma. The only ones from outside the subcontinent were AB de Villiers and George Bailey.

One batsman whose ODI form did dip in 2013 was Hashim Amla: he scored 838 runs from 22 innings at an average of 38.09, the first time he has averaged less than 40 in a calendar year in ODIs.

A good year for pace

The four highest wicket-takers in Tests in 2013 were all fast bowlers, and only one of them took his wickets at an average of more than 30. Stuart Broad, the leading wicket-taker with 62, averaged 25.80, Dale Steyn's 51 wickets came at 17.66 each, while Trent Boult took 46 at 25.08. Further down the list, Vernon Philander and Ryan Harris both took 38 wickets at averages of less than 22, while Mitchell Johnson was the star of the last two months of the year, finishing 2013 with 34 wickets from six Tests at 17.52.

All these top performances ensured that fast bowlers had their best year in Tests, average-wise, since 2000, when they'd averaged 27.52. In 2013, they took 851 wickets at a combined average of 30.30, striking at less than 60 balls per wicket. There were five fast bowlers who took ten in a match - Broad, James Anderson, Steyn, Boult and Tim Southee, who was also a key component of a strong New Zealand pace attack. In 2012, fast bowlers had averaged 34.29 runs per wicket, which means they improved by about 12% in 2013.

Best year-wise averages for fast bowlers since 2000

Year	Matches	Wickets	Average	Strike rate	5WI/ 10WM
2000	46	899	27.52	62.0	31/ 4
2013	43	851	30.30	59.8	37/ 5
2011	39	798	31.12	58.9	31/ 2
2002	54	1075	32.40	60.7	24/ 0
2008	47	958	32.59	60.7	28/ 3
2005	49	1014	32.92	58.6	39/ 6
2001	55	1019	33.40	65.4	31/ 2
2007	31	634	33.47	60.6	18/ 2

The combination of Boult, Neil Wagner, Johnson, Mitchell Starc, Junaid Khan, Rahat Ali and Corey Anderson ensured that left-arm pace, in particular, had an excellent year. They averaged less than 30, their best in a year since 2005, when they'd averaged 26.64. In terms of wickets taken this was their best year ever, and the first time their combined tally went past 200 wickets.

Average-wise, they did better than other types of bowlers in 2013, but left-arm spin suffered a dip in 2013, after experiencing a huge high in 2012, when they'd taken 192 wickets at 29.16. In 2013, they managed 151 wickets at 38.14. Rangana Herath, Pragyan Ojha and Abdur Rehman didn't play enough Tests to make a major impact, while Monty Panesar - one of the stars of 2012 - took only eight wickets from five Tests at 75.87. Right-arm spinners did better, with Graeme Swann, Nathan Lyon, R Ashwin and Saeed Ajmal all among the wickets.

In ODIs, Ajmal was clearly the outstanding bowler of the year, taking 62 wickets at an economy rate of 4.13.

How different types of bowlers fared in Tests in 2013

Bowler type	Wickets	Average	Strike rate	Econ rate	5WI/ 10WM
Right-arm pace	648	30.59	60.47	3.03	37/ 5
Right-arm spin	347	32.27	61.92	3.12	20/ 5
Left-arm pace	203	29.37	57.94	3.04	10/ 1
Left-arm spin	151	38.14	80.40	2.84	7/ 2

More numbers from 2013

9 - The number of 50-plus stands for the 10th wicket in Tests in 2013, the most ever in a calendar year.

10 - Number of ducks by Saeed Ajmal in international cricket in 2013, the second-highest ever by a batsman in a calendar year.

15 - Number of fifties hit by Misbah-ul-Haq in ODIs in 2013 - the most any batsman has scored in a calendar year without hitting a hundred.

47.30 - Combined average of India's top-three batsmen in 2013, their second-highest ever when India has played a minimum of ten ODIs in a year.

84 - Number of sixes England's bowlers conceded in Tests in 2013, the highest a team has ever conceded in Tests in a calendar year. The next-highest is India's 78 in 2006. England's previous-highest was 53.

1315 - Runs Graeme Swann conceded against Australia in Tests in 2013, the highest by any bowler against an opposition in a calendar year. The previous record was Geoff Lawson's 1227 versus West Indies in 1984.

With inputs from Shiva Jayaraman.

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AB, Ajmal and Co

The Test, ODI and T20I XIs of 2013, as picked by ESPNcricinfo's staff

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AB de Villiers shone bright in both Tests and ODIs in 2013 © Getty Images

TEST

David Warner
909 runs at 39.52
It was a year of two halves for Warner, either side of a cantankerous phase in May-June when he vented against a couple of journalists on Twitter and punched Joe Root at a Birmingham bar. He had a forgettable tour to India - despite two fifties - but he finished 2013 in style with 124, 83 not out, 60 and 112, which helped Australia regain the Ashes in 14 days.

Hashim Amla
633 runs at 57.54
He's not a traditional opener but Amla walked in inside the first ten overs in five innings this year. And with two hundreds and four fifties in eight matches in 2013, he continued to power South Africa's quest to remain the No. 1 Test side. He began with 66 and 110 in the 2-0 whipping of New Zealand and notched up three half-centuries against Pakistan at home. His most memorable knock was a century on the first day of the series in Abu Dhabi, where he showed immense patience and technique to help his side stay afloat.

Cheteshwar Pujara
829 runs at 75.36
With a double-hundred, two hundreds and three fifties, Pujara was undoubtedly India's star batsman through the year. His 204 in Hyderabad set up a massive win against Australia and he continued to torture them with twin fifties in the final Test in Delhi. An innings of 113 against West Indies in Mumbai followed, but he saved the best for last: a masterful second-innings 153 in Johannesburg, on a tricky pitch, against the world's best side.

Michael Clarke
1093 runs at 47.52
The leading run scorer in 2012 also led the charts in 2013. Unlike in 2012, though, Clarke didn't post monster scores but his four hundreds and three fifties were instrumental in reviving Australia. He was one of the few notable performers on their horrid tour to India, and he came away from the Ashes in England with a century and a fifty. However, his most inspired efforts were hundreds in Brisbane and Adelaide, innings that helped take Australia to Ashes glory after a four-year gap.

Ian Bell
1005 runs at 41.87
Bell had a relatively quiet start to the year, with just one half-century in the first half, but he exploded during the home Ashes with three hundreds and two fifties. On three occasions, with England in trouble, he pulled off match-defining hundreds that stood out for their strokeplay and assured defence. Through the year he also showed that he was one of the best short-leg fielders in the world.

AB de Villiers
933 runs at 77.75; 45 catches, one stumping
Since Adam Gilchrist retired in 2008 few wicketkeeper-batsmen have made the kind of impact that de Villiers did in 2013, when he finished as the top-ranked Test batsman. His four hundreds and five fifties showcased his versatility - he could snatch the advantage, consolidate a solid foundation, and also knuckle down and play out time. His 46 dismissals behind the stumps made him the most valuable Test cricketer of the year.

Stuart Broad
62 wickets at 25.80, 326 runs at 16.30
If we look beyond Broad's decision on July 12 - to not walk when he edged a delivery from Ashton Agar to first slip (via the wicketkeeper's gloves) - we will find a set of stellar performances in varying conditions: 6 for 51 in a draw in Wellington, a lethal 7 for 44 against New Zealand at Lord's, an Ashes-winning 11-wicket haul in Chester-le-Street, and a hard-working 6 for 81 in a loss in Brisbane. We will also see a lower-order batsman offering gritty resistance at important times through the year.

Mitchell Johnson
34 wickets at 17.52
He played only six Tests in the year but turned in spells so blistering that he drew comparisons with past masters like Jeff Thomson, Malcolm Marshall and Waqar Younis. With nine wickets in Brisbane, eight in Adelaide (including a scorching 7 for 40 that demolished England), six in Perth, and eight in Melbourne, he stamped his will on the Ashes, and, six years since his Test debut, showed us why Dennis Lillee called him a "once-in-a-generation bowler".

Dale Steyn
51 wickets at 17.66
Not many Pakistan batsmen will forget the devastating 8.1-6-8-6 that Steyn served up in Johannesburg, bowling them out for 49. He added five wickets in the second and picked up his second successive Man-of-the-Match award (after he had blown away New Zealand a few weeks earlier). He was hostile in unhelpful conditions too, taking eight wickets in two Tests in the UAE, and ended the year with a series-winning nine-wicket haul against India in Durban.

Saeed Ajmal
37 wickets at 24.72
He made his Test debut in 2009 but Ajmal had played only eight Tests outside Asia before 2013. In five Tests in southern Africa, he mesmerised batsmen across different conditions: his masterclass in Cape Town fetched him ten wickets in the match (in which Pakistan nearly pulled off a win) and his 11 wickets in Harare led them to a big win. As always he was a terror in the UAE and nabbed 12 wickets in the drawn two-match series against South Africa.

Ryan Harris
38 wickets at 21.94
A terrific bowler when fit, Harris shouldered a large part of the burden on Australia's tough trip to England. He often bowled more than 20 overs per innings and provided breakthroughs when games appeared to be slipping away. In the return series, he was a vital foil for Johnson and turned in some memorable spells in Adelaide and Perth.

Virat Kohli got to 5000 ODI runs in his 114th innings, the same as Viv Richards © BCCI

ODI

Shikhar Dhawan
1162 runs at 50.52
India's success in the one-day format was largely because of the solidity at the top of the order and Dhawan, with a strike rate of 97.89, often played the lead role. His 363 runs in the Champions Trophy - including two hundreds - won him the Player-of-the-Series award, and he ransacked 95, 100 and 60 in the home series against Australia.

Rohit Sharma
1196 runs at 52.00
Another fire starter at the top of the order, Rohit blossomed into one of the mainstays in India's line-up. His eight fifties set up many a tall score but he will always remember 2013 as the year he cracked 16 sixes - the most in an ODI innings - in his stupendous series-winning 209 against Australia in Bangalore.

Kumar Sangakkara
1201 runs at 63.21; 26 catches, six stumpings
He was the highest run scorer in 2012 and came close again with a string of influential performances. His 372 runs in the series against South Africa at home - including a monster 169 - led Sri Lanka to a 4-1 win. The other high point was his dazzling 134 at The Oval against England in the Champions Trophy.

Virat Kohli
1268 runs at 52.83
Melding Tendulkar's composure and Sehwag's derring-do, Kohli reinvented the art of batting in the middle overs of ODIs. His four hundreds and seven fifties showcase his consistency, but stats can't reveal the ruthlessness with which he chased down massive targets, or the control he showed while pacing an innings. The piece de resistance was the 52-ball hundred - the fastest by an Indian - against Australia in Jaipur when they hunted down 359 in a mind-blowing 43.3 overs.

George Bailey
1098 runs at 64.58
Few Australian batsmen have had as meteoric a rise in ODIs as Bailey - who has racked up more than 1500 runs in his first 35 games. His 1098 runs in 2013 came at a eye-popping average and he has been head and shoulders ahead of the rest of the batting line-up over the last couple of years. The ODI series in India was the watershed: he amassed 478 runs at 95.60.

AB de Villiers
1163 at 50.56, 25 catches
De Villiers finished the year in style, topping the ICC's Test and ODI rankings after the home series against India, where he tallied 189 ODI runs from three innings. For much of the year he feasted on the Pakistan attack - both home and away - carting them for two hundreds and four fifties over 14 matches. He also kept wicket for half of South Africa's ODIs in the year and took 17 catches behind the stumps.

MS Dhoni
753 runs at 62.75; 21 catches, 13 stumpings
Arguably the most valuable one-day player in the world, Dhoni repeatedly hoodwinked opponents with his skilful batting and wily captaincy. There were plenty of memorable wins through the year - a Champions Trophy triumph that made him the first captain to win all ICC trophies; a tri-nation series victory in the West Indies, where he smacked 16 off the last three balls with No. 11 for company; and a series win against Australia at home that included a scintillating 139 in a losing cause. He also had 34 dismissals behind the stumps.

Ravindra Jadeja
462 runs at 35.53, 52 wickets at 25.40
The man they call Sir came of age as a left-arm spinner in 2013, and his 52 ODI wickets played a big part in India's rise to the top. Two performances stood out: his 5 for 36 against West Indies in the Champions Trophy and his 4 for 23 against Sri Lanka in the tri-series final in Port-of-Spain. He also had the small matter of 462 runs at 35.53, which made him one of the leading allrounders in the format.

Saeed Ajmal
62 wickets at 20.45
The leading wicket-taker in 2013, Ajmal began the year with 3 for 20 against India in Kolkata, a match where Pakistan wrapped up the three-match series. He finished with starring roles in two more series wins - a historic triumph in South Africa and a victory against Sri Lanka in UAE. In between he put together controlled performances against West Indies and Zimbabwe, and it came as no surprise that he finished the year atop the ICC ODI bowlers' rankings.

Mitchell McClenaghan
40 wickets at 19.02
McClenaghan's 4 for 20 on debut, the best by a New Zealander in his first match, kickstarted his side's revival during their fairytale series win in South Africa. He continued his good form through the England series at home, and in the Champions Trophy, where he troubled batsmen with sudden bursts of pace and sharp bounce. He picked up four or more wickets five times during the year - the best by ODI bowlers in 2013.

Junaid Khan
52 wickets at 21.46
Entrusted with the final over against South Africa in Port Elizabeth, Junaid fired in yorker after yorker to defend nine runs and hand Pakistan their first-ever ODI series win over South Africa. He also had an impressive time in the West Indies, and gave Sri Lanka a hard time during their five-match series in UAE with the most wickets (13) at 16.07.

Mohammad Hafeez lost his spot in the Test side but continued to be stellar in the shorter formats © AFP

T20

Aaron Finch
262 runs at 43.66, SR 194.07
Finch's world-record 156 stunned England at the Ageas Bowl as he led Australia to their first victory in any format over a dismal Ashes tour. A month and a half later he exploded again, this time against India in Rajkot, but his 52-ball 89 was in vain, as Australia lost by six wickets.

Alex Hales
247 runs at 49.40, SR 153.41
Two big innings for Hales this year: a series-winning 80 not out against New Zealand in Wellington and a series-levelling 94 against Australia in Chester-le-Street - a knock that took him to the top of the T20 rankings in September.

Mohammad Hafeez
323 runs at 35.88, SR 132.92; 12 wickets at 21.50
He may have had a horrid year in Test cricket - where he lost his spot in the side - but Hafeez has been stellar in T20s. In March, during the series-winning match in Centurion, he became the first Pakistan batsman to 1000 T20 runs and flattened South Africa with his quickfire 86. He slammed two more fifties in the year and chipped in with wickets at crucial stages of games.

Faf du Plessis
234 runs at 39.00, SR 108.83
A 65-ball 85 in Hambantota was in vain, as Sri Lanka posted a consolation win, but du Plessis played a vital role in South Africa's 2-0 series win against Pakistan in Dubai. An unbeaten 37 in the first match was followed by a controlled (and again unbeaten) 58 in the second, his fourth half-century in the format.

JP Duminy
190 runs at 63.33, SR 125.82; 4 wickets at 8.75
Duminy's 51 and three wickets in Colombo enabled South Africa to recover from a perilous 21 for 3. He struck a controlled 30 in the second game, which played a big part in South Africa winning the series. An unbeaten 47 against Pakistan in Cape Town rounded off a consistent year.

Jos Buttler
130 runs at 32.50, SR 175.67; 6 catches
Providing valuable lower-order firepower, Buttler turned into a vital cog in England's T20 wheel. His innovate, often electric, strokeplay has propped up the lower order and England's think tank seem to believe Buttler can eventually don the gloves in all three formats.

Thisara Perera
125 runs at 125.00, SR 178.57; 8 wickets at 22.00
A handy batsman, cunning bowler and electric fielder, Perera was switched on through the year. He starred in the two matches in Australia - his 15-ball 35 helped wrap up the series 2-0 in Melbourne - and contributed with wickets at critical stages during the series against South Africa (at home) and Pakistan (in Dubai).

Shahid Afridi
199 runs at 39.80, SR 143.16; 10 wickets at 27.20
A key component of Pakistan's T20 side, Afridi chipped in with bat and ball through the year. Two performances stood out: a 20-ball 39 in the first T20 against Sri Lanka in Dubai and three wickets in the win over South Africa in Cape Town.

Sachithra Senanayake
10 wickets at 12.20
A tall offspinner who played a handful of limited-overs matches in 2012, Senanayake's career took off in 2013. First came the $625,000 offer from Kokata Knight Riders, then a comeback into the national side. Fruitful spells followed. He grabbed six wickets in the three-match series against South Africa, going at a shade over five an over, and played a big part in Sri Lanka drawing the series against Pakistan in Dubai.

Jade Dernbach
13 wickets at 15.00
He lost his place in England's ODI side but Dernbach continued to grow in stature in the shortest format. He had four three-wicket hauls during the year, the most recent being the 3 for 23 against Australia in Chester-le-Street.

Sunil Narine
8 wickets at 13.50
He played only five T20 internationals in 2013 but Narine was always a threat, nabbing wickets and restricting batsmen with his unconventional deliveries. He finished with an economy rate of 5.40 - the third-best among bowlers with at least 20 overs in the year. His 2 for 19 played a crucial role in West Indies' win over Australia in Brisbane, their first in any format for 16 years.

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Matthews working hard to justify captaincy

Without a mandate to rule, Angelo Matthews is having to work extremely hard to prove his worth as captain. He played an important innings to save his side from disaster on day one in Abu Dhabi

Sri Lanka's leadership is in a strange state. This XI features the country's best-ever tactical captain and a cricketer who is perhaps the most respected current player in the world. While either Mahela Jayawardene or Kumar Sangakkara could helm virtually any other Test side, a 26-year-old holds the reins for Sri Lanka.

In Abu Dhabi, Angelo Mathews's produced the sort of lone hand the two senior men have customarily provided. The batting had slid as it so often does in overseas Tests, and full of gall but tempered by good sense, Mathews diverted Sri Lanka's course toward respectability.

It was a reminder of what made him such a star three years ago, because in the ten months since he has been captain, it has been easy to forget his virtues as a cricketer. Sri Lanka have had decent results under Mathews but have rarely strayed from formula, and had been light on the verve that was at the core of their identity under Jayawardene.

Mathews has also seemed increasingly insouciant. The same composure in adversity that saw him anointed as a future leader has also dented his reputation as a captain. His poise, uncluttered mind, and dispassionate stare serve him well when he's running down a tall score, but when he fails it seems as if he's not trying, too aloof, doesn't care. Sometimes you want your captain to smash his bat on his pads when he gets out. Sometimes you want him to yell at the fielder who let a ball slip through.

And so, as Mathews rarely lets emotion bubble over, the discourse on him takes a turn towards moralism. His skill, temperament and cricketing sense are sideshows to the major questions: is he committed enough? Does he deserve the honour of his office? After all, his path to the helm has not been hard-won. He is from a top Colombo school; he was marked out for leadership almost as soon as he secured a place in the side, and he inherited the reins almost by default two years later.

It doesn't help Mathews that some alumni of 1996 publicly propagate the notion that the new breed of Sri Lankan cricketer lacks the passion that defined the world champions. Both former players and fans must perhaps realise that the same forces that propelled the amateurs may no longer be relevant to Sri Lanka, 18 years on.

It also doesn't help that Mathews has not improved substantially since his first 12 months in the team. There are few new shots in his repertoire, the inertia in his innings persists and while an average of around 40 is acceptable for a No. 6, he has not cracked the art of Test match concentration. Eleven times he has crossed 50, but only once has he forged ahead to triple figures. Even that century had been approached at a crawl, in service of personal catharsis and arguably at the expense of the team's cause.

	As Jayawardene and Sangakkara look towards retirement, Mathews has ahead of him the hardest task of any Sri Lanka captain since Arjuna Ranatunga

But as top order debris burned around him in Abu Dhabi, Mathews fought fire with aggression. Against a sharp attack running strong, tasting blood, it was hardly an advisable manoeuvre, because every time he pulled or drove, he risked an embarrassing exit. But as inaction either side of lunch had marked Sri Lanka's road to collapse, perhaps Mathews reasoned that the opposite was the way out. His success hit home the major truth about Sri Lanka's first innings: there was little in the pitch or from the opposition that demanded such feeble returns; the batsmen had surrendered all on their own.

The tail arrived towards the end of the second session and Mathews then struck the perfect note between courage and caution. Pakistan stopped attacking Mathews when he hit a spate of imperious square boundaries, but though the infield opened up for him, he declined the easy runs to keep the man at the other end safe. Any proper batsman should have done the same, but in a 60-run ninth-wicket stand with Shaminda Eranga, Mathews seemed a more responsible leader than he perhaps ever has. There was no doubting how much he cared.

It is the sort of innings that will undoubtedly be required of him regularly in the years to come. In this match six Sri Lanka cricketers have played fewer than 15 Tests. Only the supremely gifted can avoid brittleness at the start of their careers, and there is no batsman in the Sri Lanka side that possesses the talent of a Cheteshwar Pujara.

As Jayawardene and Sangakkara look towards retirement, Mathews has ahead of him the hardest task of any Sri Lanka captain since Arjuna Ranatunga. Beyond the batting, Sri Lanka's pace attack is doughty at best and more often toothless. Rangana Herath might stay two more years but no spinner has yet earned the right to call himself a successor. A time approaches where Mathews, still in his twenties, will probably be the most experienced cricketer in the team.

Mathews has so far avoided raising the ire of his bosses, but in the future, he would do well to avoid decisions that put his side at a marked disadvantage. A bleak first day in Abu Dhabi might have been avoided if Sri Lanka had insisted on at least one practice game in the Gulf - a startling oversight, given they had not played Tests since March.

Mathews perished charging an Ajmal doosra, nine short of a second hundred. It is strangely fitting that he did not reach the milestone, because in this, his best innings, every moment had been about his team.

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Zakir ton powers Dolphins to title

Karachi Dolphins 319 for 6 (Zakir 170) beat Peshawar Panthers 289 (Adil Amin 60, Shahzaib 2-46) by 30 runs
Scorecard

A second successive hundred from Asif Zakir, who scored an unbeaten 170, set up Karachi Dolphins' 30-run win over Peshawar Panthers in the One Day Cup final in Karachi.

Put in to bat, the Dolphins top order struck partnerships, with the most substantial one being the 110-run stand between Saad Ali and Zakir. The latter struck 20 fours and two sixes in his 135-ball knock, which was also his sixth ton in List A cricket, as the Panthers bowlers struggled to restrict the opposition.

Chasing 320, the Panthers top-order nearly emulated the performance of the opposition batsmen. The openers Iftikhar Ahmed and Israrullah put on 91 and kept pace with the asking rate. The Dolphins bowlers, although expensive, managed to strike regularly to stem partnerships between the Panthers batsmen, ensuring that the opening stand was the only fifty-plus partnership in the Panthers innings. The Panthers missed a big innings as both Israrullah and Adil Amin were out for 53 and 60 respectively. Although they struggled to contain wickets, the Panthers batsmen managed to keep up with the required rate, but the end came in the 44th over, with the batting side just 30 runs adrift.

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Where's the human touch?

There was something about England's cricket team, even when winning, that did not entirely connect with the public mood

David Hopps January 1, 2014

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By the end of the year Alastair Cook had turned into an increasingly hollow-eyed captain © Getty Images

This was the year that the English public fell out of love with its cricket team. It was not the case for everybody and there was reason to presume, as always, that it was only a temporary estrangement. But there was no doubt as 2013 came to an end that the powerful bond forged during England's tempestuous 2005 Ashes victory was broken. It's been emotional, said the English cricket public. But, at least for now, let's cool it.

As England completed the year 4-0 down in Australia, the Ashes relinquished, and facing the threat of a whitewash if they lost the final Test in Sydney, consternation had long given way to condemnation. England had endured beatings in Australia before but most had been against sides touched by greatness. This Australian side had its heroes, how could it not, but it was a long way from greatness. It made England's feeble display all the harder to bear.

But the source of public disaffection ran deeper than simply whether England were winning or not. Even their 3-0 defeat of Australia in the English summer - a Test series played out to packed houses - had been met with grudging praise. There was something about England's cricket team, even when winning, even as many of its most celebrated players reached maturity, that did not entirely connect with the public mood and, as the New Year came, and the talk was of new beginnings, an examination of that disaffection was necessary.

For Paul Downton, a former England wicketkeeper and the new MD of England cricket, it will be quite an introduction to the job. Andy Flower went into meetings with him as the year turned indicating that he wished to play a central role in a new era - a new era that in his view demanded the retention of Alastair Cook as captain, a man hugely respected for his batsmanship and general good eggedness rather than his tactical acumen, and no dismantling of his gargantuan backroom staff. Essentially, the message was that they should be entrusted with the rebuilding of a new side.

" Had England's planning now become so stifling that players felt disempowered, even demotivated?

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But England's commitment to micro-management - and nobody believed in it more than Flower - was itself under scrutiny as the year turned sour. Cook, an increasingly hollow-eyed captain, had some justification in suggesting that the same careful planning and large support structure which had been hailed as a prime reason for a Test series win in India a year earlier was now being held up as the problem as a tour of Australia went belly up, but the comment of an England player in early summer that he sometimes felt as if he was being marked when he went to the toilet kept springing to mind.

Had England's planning now become so stifling that players felt disempowered, even demotivated? Had England, with its data-driven tactics, psychological counselling on tap, and a commitment to nutrition so detailed that it resulted in the publication of a much-ridiculed cookbook, built a support structure so all-consuming that it was now having a negative effect? And, if the thrill had gone, and fatigue taken hold, had the public begun to spot it even before the players themselves?

That debate was thrown into focus in 2013 by the presence of an Australia coach, Darren Lehmann, drawn from the old school. Lehmann used data - he would be a fool not to, and Australia clearly had good plans, but he liked to give the impression that the knowledge gleaned would be disseminated over a couple of beers. Australia's cricket - even when they were losing the big moments in the English summer - was approached with verve and aggression. They had the human touch, in their vices as well as virtues. It was hard to see that freshness in England. England, whatever their protestations, lacked joy.

That two England players failed to reach the end of the Ashes series in Australia encapsulated the year. Jonathan Trott, it emerged, had been controlling a stress-related condition for much of his England career. When he left the tour abruptly after England's defeat in the first Test in Brisbane, a perfectionist no longer able to cope, it was another reminder of the pressures of top-level sport when expectations are so high and an excuse culture is not be tolerated. Mitchell Johnson's ferocious pace was the catalyst, but it was misguided to represent it as the cause, and those who equated Trott's departure with a lack of courage could hardly have been more inane. As Flower said, Trott had been England's rock at No. 3 and they suffered in his absence.

Graeme Swann's premature international retirement after three Tests was an expression of individual freedom at best, self-indulgent at worst. That such a popular player, in the timing of his departure, revealed a disconnect between this England team and its public was dispiriting. Swann deserved to be hailed as one of the most popular England players of his generation, an offspinner second only to Jim Laker in most eyes, and someone who was rightly cherished for playing and discussing the game with such evident delight.

Former players queued up to defend Swann's right to retire from international cricket when he wished. Others regarded him too fondly to criticise him. But polls suggested that a substantial majority were deeply dismayed by his failure to see the tour through, even if his debilitating elbow condition meant that he might finish it dropped and carrying the drinks. Revealingly, he would not have retired if the series had not already been lost. Those sitting through the night to follow England on TV, or fumbling for their radios or mobile phones at 6am to discover more bad news, wanted a display of solidarity, however meaningless, and that they did not receive it until the bitter end strengthened their conviction that something was awry.

Graeme Swann's premature retirement: an expression of individual freedom at best, self-indulgent at worst © Getty Images

England's decline was also seen, less controversially, in the form of Matt Prior. He began the year by saving the Auckland Test in March, won the England Player of the Year award, and was made Test vice-captain. By the end of the year, he was dropped, his international career in the balance. Of the coming men, whose progress was suddenly more urgent, Joe Root brought hope - even if his place at No. 3 in Australia proved to be overly ambitious - as did Ben Stokes, whose powerfully-struck hundred in Perth left England dreaming of a quality allrounder in the making and a return to a five-strong attack.

For a decade and more, England's improvement had essentially been supervised by two Zimbabwean coaches, Duncan Fletcher and Andy Flower. Even the interregnum - the unsuccessful appointment of an English coach, Peter Moores, with a strong work ethic - did not change the overall mood. The much-needed commitment to instil greater professionalism into English cricket, and use the ECB's millions to fund it, was hugely successful.

The planning was still evident. England's defeat of Australia in an unusually dry home summer had been plotted on dry, slow, attritional surfaces, which played to England's strengths - the reverse swing of James Anderson, the offspin of Swann, the technical excellence of Ian Bell, and their general contentment playing a methodical, patient game - but it did not make for exciting cricket.

Five wins, five draws (three in a stalemate in New Zealand) and four defeats told of a middling Test side. In 50-over cricket, under the guidance of Ashley Giles, who was promoted to limited-overs coach to give Flower more time with his family, they reached the final of the Champions Trophy in a chilly early summer in England, but any talk of progress was stilled by a heavy defeat in a bilateral series against Australia and by the end of the year they had lost as many matches, ten, as they had won. In T20, the story was much the same and, until England's best players gained more exposure in IPL, it was unlikely to change.

England played more than was healthy, they had too many international grounds to finance, and their own relaunched T20 tournament would have to continue to make do without England players. By the end of the year, their rise to No. 1 in all three forms of the game was a memory. Talk of legacies had long been abandoned. Attention had turned to how England would negotiate their way through a difficult period.

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Alex Doolan added to Sydney Test squad

Tasmania batsman Alex Doolan could make his Test debut in Sydney after being added to Australia's squad. Injury concerns surrounding the No.3 Shane Watson and fast bowler Ryan Harris may lead to a significant shake-up of the side, with allrounder James Faulkner also in contention and fast bowler Nathan Coulter-Nile a chance to debut having been named in a 14-man squad for the Test.

Doug Bollinger, who was with the group in Perth and Melbourne as a standby player along with Coulter-Nile, has been released from the squad. Depending on the fitness of Watson, who hurt his groin on Boxing Day and appeared unable to run at full pace in the field at times, and Harris, who has ongoing issues with his knee and various other parts of his body, as many as three changes could be made to the side for Sydney.

The coach Darren Lehmann indicated after the Melbourne win that Watson's place in the side would need to be considered if he was unable to bowl, which could encourage the selectors to choose Faulkner ahead of him to provide a fifth bowling option. That scenario would likely require Doolan to come in to replace Watson at No.3, while George Bailey could also make way for Brad Haddin to move up to No.6 with Faulkner at No.7. Coulter-Nile for Harris could be a straight swap.

"With some players still being assessed by our medical team after four demanding Tests, we have decided to add Alex to ensure we have sufficient cover in our batting line-up should it be required," the national selector John Inverarity said.

"Alex is a talented player who came under strong consideration for selection ahead of the Ashes series after a string of solid performances in four day cricket for Tasmania at the start of this season, but also after an excellent finish to last season and we feel those performances warrant his inclusion in the squad of 14 for Sydney."

Doolan, 28, emerged as a Test contender last summer with 715 Sheffield Shield runs at 42.05, as well as an unbeaten 161 for Australia A against the touring South Africans at the SCG. This season, Doolan has made 391 Shield runs at 39.10, his only century having come against New South Wales at Blacktown Oval in November, when his 132 set up a successful chase.

An elegant No.3, Doolan honed his craft last summer by learning from Ricky Ponting in the Tasmania setup, especially during a pair of century partnerships. Bailey, the Tasmania captain who is under pressure to hold his Test place, said last season that during one of those century stands Doolan and Ponting "were just on another level" to the other batsmen in the match.

Australia squad Chris Rogers, David Warner, Shane Watson, Michael Clarke (capt), Steven Smith, George Bailey, Alex Doolan, Brad Haddin (wk), James Faulkner, Mitchell Johnson, Ryan Harris, Peter Siddle, Nathan Lyon, Nathan Coulter-Nile.

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Flower set for England talks

England team director Andy Flower will meet with the incoming managing director of England cricket, Paul Downton, in Sydney over the New Year to plot a way forward for the team after their disastrous tour of Australia, which reached a new nadir in Melbourne as they threw away a position of strength with two days of awful cricket to lose by eight wickets.

However, Flower reiterated that he has the hunger to continue in his role beyond the final Test of this series. Flower is no longer directly involved in the one-day and Twenty20 set-ups having handed that role to Ashley Giles last year - although remains in overall control of all senior England men's sides - so if he was to stay on as team director his next hands-on duties would come in June when England face Sri Lanka before the visit of India for a five-Test series.

"Certainly I examine my role in the tour. I ask myself tough questions, but my focus at the moment is the Sydney Test match" he said in Melbourne. "Paul Downton the new managing director has arrived in Australia and I'll be meeting with him in Sydney.

"We'll talk about the leadership of the national team with regards to the coaching position. I'm very motivated to contribute to English cricket and that's what I'm going to do."

Flower also had no doubt over whether Alastair Cook was still the right captain: "Yes, he is. Alastair Cook has captained six Test series for England, and this is the first series loss he's had. But this is a very challenging time for any leader. For Alastair and me, it's certainly in that bracket. Out of challenging times, sometimes we can grow significantly.

England's third-day implosion at the MCG, where they went from none for 65 in their second innings - a lead of 116 - to 179 all out left Australia needing 231 for victory and when the visitors dropped early catches on the fourth morning the result was sealed. Only two England batsmen passed fifty in the Test - Cook and Kevin Pietersen - in a continuation of the almost complete loss of batting form that has struck the touring squad.

"The guys are fighting. Not fighting well enough," Flower said "Our batting over the four Tests has generally let us down. We are all responsible for this result, the management staff as well as the players.

"We don't want people to accept losses too easily. But equally sometimes you have to accept the fact you've been outplayed. I don't believe we should be totally distraught about where we are. Now we're faced with one chance in Sydney to redeem ourselves to a small extent."

Flower added that he expected changes to the side for the New Year Test at the SCG and appeared to stop short of guaranteeing Jonny Baristow his place after the wicketkeeper endured a tough second innings in Melbourne where he missed two chances after his batting was exposed by the pace of Mitchell Johnson

"He's a young man who's played 13 Test matches," Flower said. "He's still learning as a wicketkeeper/batsman and I hope when he gets another chance he'll do oustandingly well. I would imagine there will be one or two changes for the Sydney Test."

Among the changes mooted are Test debuts for Scott Borthwick, the Durham legspinning allrounder who was added to the squad after Graeme Swann retirement, and Yorkshire batsman Gary Ballance.

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Big fish in a small pond

Ireland are undoubtedly masters among the minnows but they continued to be disappointed at not getting chances against the big boys

Ger Siggins December 30, 2013

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Ireland's domination of the Associate level is complete. Now they yearn for Test status © ICC/Saleem Sanghati

It may just have been Irish cricket's greatest year ever. Qualification was secured for the 2014 World Twenty20 (men and women) and the 2015 Cricket World Cup, and the senior men finished the year by completing the clean sweep of global Associate trophies in all three formats. But it rankles with the players that they failed to drive home victories in three games when they had Full Members on the rack, for it is against those opponents that they now measure themselves.

Their domination of Associate level is complete; despite an impressive emergence, Afghanistan are still no match - Ireland's margins of victory in their three most recent games against them in descending order of format is 122 runs, 59 runs and 68 runs.

Since the Caribbean breakthrough in 2007, Ireland have lost just 11 out of 107 games against fellow Associates. In the Intercontinental Cup they have lost just once in 20 games, and their record in limited-overs cricket is overwhelming. In 50-overs cricket they have won 43 out of 50, plus one tie, and their T20 record is 32-4, with just one defeat in 24 games since 2010.

Cricket Ireland has complained of the lack of opportunity to test their team against the best sides, and 2013 was again a disappointment on that score. Just three ODIs were granted, all in Dublin, but on each occasion the Irish were on top for long periods.

In May, Pakistan came for a two-game series, and escaped with a 1-0 win. In the first, the visitors racked up 266 for 5 but Paul Stirling scored a brilliant century - his second in succession against Pakistan - and Kevin O'Brien a typically barnstorming 84 off 47 balls, including a four off the last ball from Ajmal to secure a tie. Ireland switched pitches for the second game two days later, banking on a greener track to negate the Pakistan spinners. The €7,000 bill for moving the scaffolding and grandstands looked money well spent until the last ten overs.

Ed Joyce made three figures in an ODI for Ireland for the first time (joining Eoin Morgan as the only pair to do so for two countries) but the total of 229 looked inadequate until Trent Johnston and Tim Murtagh reduced Pakistan to 17 for 4. But both Misbah-ul-Haq and Shoaib Malik were dropped before they had scored, costing the initiative - and 67 runs - and Kamran Akmal came in and blitzed 84 to secure a two-wicket win with eight balls to spare.

" Frustrated with the ICC's resistance over providing a road map to Test status, Cricket Ireland has written its own plan and commenced an ambitious three-team, three-format inter-provincial series

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The third ODI, against England, saw the opening of the new pop-up stadium in Malahide, when an unseasonably hot, sunny day brought the biggest crowd ever seen at an Irish game to the Dublin venue. It was a match that enthralled the watchers, and a live TV audience. It also impressed ICC Global Development manager Tim Anderson: "10,000 people in Dublin on a Tuesday afternoon suggests this is becoming a very serious cricket market," he said. "There is a growing culture of cricket in this country." As Cricket Ireland's Warren Deutrom points out, "Words like 'market' and 'culture' are very important in the ICC lexicon."

It was a game that was riddled with issues of identity that perplexed the casual observer and infuriated the partisan. Both captains were Irish, and both made centuries - William Porterfield's ended by his old Strabane Grammar school-mate Boyd Rankin. In fact both Rankin (4 for 46) and Morgan (124 not out) made their career bests in ODIs, as England exacted revenge for the defeat in Bangalore in the 2011 World Cup. Ireland made 269 for 7 and an opening burst by London-Irish Tim Murtagh (3 for 33) reduced England to 48 for 4. But Morgan found a partner in Ravi Bopara (101 not out) and their unbroken 226 stand was decisive.

Ireland's only other defeat in the 24-game programme came when an Australia A side came to Stormont, chiefly to give its Ashes bowling attack a run-out while the ODI series was in progress in England. Stirling was the only county player available, and made a fine hundred, while seamer Max Sorensen (5 for 50) and third-choice wicketkeeper Stuart Poynter (63) took their chances.

Frustrated with the ICC's resistance over providing a road map to Test status, Cricket Ireland has written its own plan and commenced an ambitious three-team, three-format inter-provincial series between Leinster Lightning, Northern Knights and North-West Warriors. The Leinster side, based in Dublin, was the strongest, but was pipped to the 50-overs title by the Knights.

Despite this innovation, English counties remain the most attractive route for ambitious youngsters, and Poynter ended the summer with a 2014 contract for Durham, while allrounder Andrew Balbirnie extended his deal at Middlesex and Jack Tector caught the eye of Glamorgan.

An Ireland supporter spoke for many during their ODI against England in Malahide © Getty Images

Qualification for the 2015 World Cup was secured in Amstelveen in July, and a 100% record at the T20 qualifiers ensured Ireland were placed in the less-challenging group at the first round in the World Twenty20 in Bangladesh. The season finished with a titanic five-day battle with Afghanistan just outside the ICC offices in Dubai, where epic individual tussles punctuated long periods of attrition as the sides struggled to assert supremacy. Eventually Ireland pulled away, the bludgeon of the second new ball breaking the Afghans' will in what was a Test match in all but name.

That game saw the retirement of Trent Johnston, and although his No. 23 shirt will be impossible to fill, coach Phil Simmons has not been idle in succession planning. A series of young seamers has been blooded, and three sent to Brisbane for the winter to work with Craig McDermott. An A tour to Sri Lanka in January, and the senior side joining the West Indies domestic Super50 will further aid the process.

High point
In a year of on-field high points, the opening of Malahide will probably be seen as the most important event. In coming years, permanent structures will be added, but the visit of England proved there was a 10,000-plus audience for the game on a Tuesday in September.

Low point
It may seem greedy but the failure to mark the opening of Malahide with a win over England was disappointing. That it took career bests by ex-Malahide player Morgan and fellow Irishman Rankin added to the pain for home fans.

New kid on the block
It has been a difficult couple of years battling against his own body for Craig Young. The Bready seamer has been at Sussex for four seasons but stress fractures to hip and back have meant he has yet to break into the first XI. Hearteningly, there were promising signs towards the end of the summer when he also made his international debut against Scotland, taking 4 for 53 and 2 for 57.

"Craig bowls decent pace - 82-83mph - and swings the ball naturally," says his county captain Ed Joyce. "He's also extremely strong so can bowl long spells when fit. I've also rarely seen someone keener to make it as a cricketer, so he's very hungry for success. Often that's half the battle to being successful, so he has quite a bit in his favour. He certainly doesn't shirk the work and everyone at Sussex loves him for it."

What 2014 holds
Ireland takes part in the West Indies Super50 tournament in January/February before the ICC World Twenty20 first round in Bangladesh, where the draw pits them against Zimbabwe, Netherlands and UAE, none of whom hold many fears for Simmons' side. With Rankin and Johnston gone there will be much attention on the seamers, with Murtagh and Sorensen set to step up while the youngsters hone their skills.

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