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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