The Australians celebrate their first test victory (Source: ESPN Cricinfo/Getty Images)
What was hyped as a dogged test match between two old enemies turned out to be the polar opposite; domination from Australia, and capitulation from England, on a terrific Gabba pitch.
Stuart Broad celebrates the dismissal of David Warner (source: ESPN Cricinfo/Getty Images)
The lead up to the first Ashes test included a lot of media hype from the Australians, trying to throw the English off guard. Dramatic backfiring ensued on a very sunny first day.
Well, it is that time of year again. The time where obsessed cricket fanatics (such as myself) sit down, ponder for hours, and then finally write some sort of scribble about the top players for the year.
This is a first for me, and I’ve decided to pick 13 players worldwide who will make up my inaugural World XIII. They are in no particular order.
When some of you read this, you might ask ‘where’s Brendon McCullum, or perhaps Hashim Amla?’ Yes, I did consider them, but in my mind didn’t make the cut for 2012. Their years were both excellent and helped lead their teams to some great victories, but in my mind they were beaten by others for consistency and other similar factors. Add to the fact that picking just thirteen players is extremely difficult.
It’s always difficult to pinpoint the greatest athlete in any sport: there are far too many. However, it is a lot easier to choose those which have had such a stellar career it is extremely hard to overlook them as great. In the last two decades, there has been a swathe of old and new generation cricketers. Here are just ten of them. Continue reading Cricket: The top ten cricketers in the last twenty years→