England started 2009 by losing both their captain and their coach yet ended it having triumphed in an Ashes series which proved cricket still had nothing to rival Test matches for sheer drama. Ricky Ponting's men were ahead on almost every individual statistic yet it was England who won 2-1 after clinging onto a draw in the Cardiff opener where the Australia captain made a majestic 150.
The series was a triumph for England captain Andrew Strauss, parachuted into a leadership role after a falling out between former captain Kevin Pietersen and coach Peter Moores cost both men their jobs. Injury meant Pietersen played little part in a series where Andrew Flintoff bowed out from the five-day game, because of fitness problems, in style.
Superb fast bowling from the all-rounder saw England beat Australia in a Lord's Test for the first time in 75 years. Ever the show-stopper, Flintoff ran out dangerman Ponting in the series finale at the Oval as England secured the Ashes with the aid of a debut century from Jonathan Trott.
But Trott, like Pietersen, learnt cricket in his native South Africa and it wasn't just Australians who asked why he was playing for England. Pakistan, a no-go zone after the Lahore attacks on the Sri Lanka team on March 3, won the World Twenty20 in England thanks to some brilliant displays, notably from Shahid Afridi.
A lively tournament, in marked contrast to the ponderous 2007 World Cup, saw the Netherlands beat England in a huge upset. New Zealand's Daniel Vettori appeared to be carrying his country's fortunes on his suspect shoulder be it as captain, leading spinner, match-saving batsman and selector. South Africa, as much through a lack of matches as anything, were unable to build on their Test progress and a major one-day trophy again remained elusive.
West Indies, plagued by player-board rows, started to emerge from their administrative chaos with a home series win over England. India ended the year as the world's number one-ranked Test team, a position matching their standing as cricket's financial powerhouse.
2009 will also be remembered as the year when the umpire's decision ceased to be final, a television referral system allowing teams to challenge verdicts. But there were questions over whether the available technology was up to the task and if some television umpires were overuling too often, rather than merely eliminating the obvious 'howlers' the system was designed to detect.
Traditionalists insisted the solution to the problem of better umpiring was better umpiring while modernisers said it was pointless pretending television did not exist. International Cricket Council president David Morgan said of the popular Shepherd: "The example he set as someone who took the art of umpiring very seriously while also enjoying what he did immensely will leave a lasting legacy for the game."
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