As we approach 2020, The Cricketer looks back on some of the moments than have shaped the cricketing world over the course of the last 10 years
In 2015, Rajasthan Royals and Chennai Super Kings were handed two-year bans from the Indian Premier League. It meant that both franchises missed the 2016 and 2017 editions of a tournament that the each side had previously won.
They had been found guilty following a probe into illegal betting and match-fixing, with Royals co-owner Raj Kundra and Chennai owner Gurunath Meiyappan both handed life bans from the sport.
“Disrepute has been brought to cricket, the BCCI and the IPL to such an extent that there are doubts abound in the public whether the game is clean or not,” said Rajendra Lodha, a former chief justice, who headed the panel that decided the teams’ fate.
They were replaced by Rising Pune Supergiant and Gujarat Lions for the two-year period, with several players from the two banned franchises – including India icon MS Dhoni – representing them in the absence of Super Kings and Royals.
England would ultimately lose their grip on the Ashes in 2019 courtesy of a two-all draw, but not before they had been handed a lifeline in one of Test cricket’s most remarkable conclusions. England began their fourth innings at Headingley knowing that failure to chase down a target of 359 would see the urn retained by Tim Paine’s side.
At 15 for 2, any other outcome appeared unlikely. At 240 for 4, there was hope, but any lingering optimism had been extinguished just six overs later, with England stuttering along to 261 for 7. Jos Buttler had been run out in what appeared to be the slow disappearance of the home team’s final hope. At 286 for 9, it was done. At least, logic determined as much; but cometh Ben Stokes and Jack Leach – a partnership for the ages, an unbroken 76-run stand that would rewrite all the history books, a combined effort that defied any kind of sane reason.
Stokes, in a summer defined his superhuman figure, ended unbeaten on 135. Leach, an unlikely batting saviour, made Test cricket’s most famous single. Stokes, who faced 50 balls for his first two runs as he looked simply to survive, reverse-swept Nathan Lyon for six, hitting seven more maximums en route to a quite extraordinary conclusion.
A breathtaking game of cricket: unsurpassed, unsurpassable. Thirty-eight years on from the Headingley heroics of Bob Willis and Sir Ian Botham, Leeds had a new hero.
Ben Stokes' match-winning innings at Headingley was a remarkable effort
“The England women's team always prepare to excellent standards, and have been professional cricketers in all but name for a while now,” announced Paul Downton as he revealed the implementation of central contracts in the women’s game for the first time in 2014.
It was a moment that hauled the squad – then captained by Charlotte Edwards – into a new era of professionalisation. As the end of the decade approaches, the ECB has committed to adding 40 new domestic contracts to the existing England deals, while Australian cricket has well surpassed these figures already.
As women’s cricket continues to grow around the world – notably, with the success of the Kia Super League, the standalone Women’s Big Bash and the gradual move towards an IPL-style competition, the number and weight of such contracts will only continue to grow.
On the day that Alastair Cook left the Test arena for the final time, James Anderson made history of his own at The Oval. England’s greatest bowler knocked over the middle stump of India tailender Mohammed Shami to claim his 564th wicket in the format, becoming Test cricket’s most successful fast bowler of all time.
In doing so, he passed the tally accrued by Glenn McGrath, the Australian seamer who had held the record for the most wickets taken by a fast bowler in a Test career. West Indian legend Courtney Walsh is the only other seamer to have reached the 500 mark, while just three spinners – Muttiah Muralitharan, Shane Warne and Anil Kumble – lie ahead.
'Dre Russ' has become one of the greatest T20 cricketers of all time. A three-dimensional option with the capacity to launch balls out of the ground, field with athleticism and bowl at 90mph, he served a yearlong ban through 2017.
The Jamaican allrounder failed to submit his whereabouts on three occasions in 2015 – a misdemeanour equating to a failed drugs test under WADA guidelines. His ultimate sanction was handed down 11 months after he had initially been charged by the Jamaican anti-doping commission.
Had he failed a drugs test, he would have been suspended immediately, but the nature of his wrongdoing allowed him to continue playing in the time between the charge and the completion of the disciplinary procedure.
The case was a bombshell moment in many respects, given Russell’s immense value to T20 franchise sides worldwide. He has since returned to action, starring for Kolkata Knight Riders in the 2019 Indian Premier League; he scored 510 runs at an average of 56.66 and a remarkable strike-rate of 204.81.
Shakib Al Hasan had become revered as among the world's best players before he was banned for breaching the ICC's anti-corruption code
On April 19, 2018, the ECB announced its new 100-ball competition. The plan had been mooted for the two years previous; the concept had initially been envisaged as a T20 tournament, but that soon changed.
The subsequent time has been filled with controversy; there has been little goodwill and a raft of criticism for the newly-designed fourth format, which will be inaugurated in the 2020 domestic season.
Eight new teams have been created; London Spirit, Oval Invincibles, Northern Superchargers, Manchester Originals, Welsh Fire, Southern Brave and Birmingham Phoenix all have men’s and women’s teams. The first draft in English cricketing history was held in October 2019, with several star names from around the world signing up for the first edition.
Arguably one of the cricketers of the decade, Shakib Al Hasan’s two-year ban from the game shocked the cricketing world. He had enjoyed a superb 2019 World Cup and was many people’s player of the tournament. The sanction, the second year of which is suspended, came after the allrounder accepted three charges levelled against him by the ICC’s anti-corruption unit.
The charges relate to three separate incidents of failing to disclose "full details of any approaches or invitations he received to engage in corrupt conduct".
Two of the charges relate to Bangladesh's tri-series with Sri Lanka and Zimbabwe in January 2018, while the third is in relation to an Indian Premier League clash between Sunrisers Hyderabad and Kings XI Punjab.
Bangladesh Cricket Board chief executive Nazmul Hassan added: “While the BCB is shocked and extremely disappointed that an experienced player like Shakib had failed to report corrupt approach on three occasions, at the same time we are pleased that he has cooperated fully with the ICC ACU and has pledged his commitment to its education programme.
“We hope he will come back as a better and wiser cricketer and serve Bangladesh for many more years when his sanction will be over. During the suspension the BCB will continue to support his efforts at returning to cricket.”
Bangladesh’s cricket team cut short their tour of New Zealand after narrowly escaping the worst mass shooting in the country’s history.
A gunman killed 50 people, wounding more than 20 others, as people prayed at two mosques in Christchurch. New Zealand’s prime minister, Jacinda Ardern, described the incident as “a terrorist attack”.
Players and staff from the Bangladesh camp had been heading towards the Al Noor mosque to attend Friday prayers, where 41 people were killed.
The cricketers fled on foot to Hagley Oval, where the third Test had been due to be played. It was cancelled, with the tourists leaving New Zealand to return home.
Bangladesh prime minister, Sheikh Hasina, added that the atrocity would change the nation’s approach to foreign tours. “In the future, whenever we send our cricket team abroad, we will do that after examining and reviewing the security matters of the host countries,” she said.
The arrival of central contracts in the women's game has allowed England to progress
Ah, Text-gate. In the annals of English cricket, this was not a great time. England, struggling on the field against a South Africa side perennially with its number, were only a year on from being named the world’s No.1 side after whitewashing India.
Yet, they were about to become a team in flux; Captain Andrew Strauss retired from the sport after the final Test against Graeme Smith’s side, but only after it emerged that Kevin Pietersen had sent “provocative texts” about Strauss to his friends in the South African team. He was dropped from the side as a result, only returning after a period of reintegration and regaining of trust.
Strauss insisted that the episode had not influenced his decision to move on; rather, he had struggled with the bat in the months leading up to the announcement. However, it was a sour time that overshadowed what should have been a celebratory occasion for an immensely popular and successful figure. England lost the final Test, losing their top ranking in the process.
Initial discussions around the possibility of a World Test Championship first began in 2009, with former New Zealand captain Martin Crowe one of the men behind the proposal.
Ten years on, the idea became a reality, with the first Test of the 2019 Ashes at Edgbaston signaling the start of a competition whose development has been a protracted process. The original plan to hold the tournament in 2013 was cancelled; it had been suggested that it would replace the Champions Trophy of that year.
This, however, failed to materialise. In 2012, it was confirmed that the 2013 Champions Trophy would be the last, with the Test Championship beginning in 2017. Two years later, that too was cancelled, with the Champions Trophy reinstated.
Now, though, it is underway – its format and points structure are complex. But it is viewed as a crucial addition to the game, giving tangible meaning to each series.
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