South Africa

An era ends

They knocked over a fortress but also said goodbye to two colossus players

Australia

Triumph, tragedy and growth

They experienced extremes on and off the field, but the biggest takeaway was their strength in dealing with Phillip Hughes' death

West Indies

Trouble behind closed doors

The fallout of the withdrawal from the India tour, captaincy changes, and lack of clarity on the future of senior players made it a bleak year

India

Lambs abroad

A young Test side showed some steel and engineered a famous win but missed several opportunities to establish dominance. By Sidharth Monga

Sri Lanka

Wonder year

Scarcely believable Test wins, a world title, and a captain who turned into an assured leader - Sri Lanka's 2014 was seriously good. By Andrew Fidel Fernando

New Zealand

Back in black

Away Test wins, ODI series wins, and an inspiring captain: NZ have reasons to feel bullish. By Andrew Alderson

Associates

The case of the shrinking horizons

Even as the ICC claimed to envision a more global game, the decisions it took in 2014 further stifled the Associates. By Tim Wigmore

Women's cricket

Playing like pros

With cricket boards awarding annual contracts, women's cricket is becoming increasingly lucrative. On the field, it was a year of notable upsets. By Raf Nicholson

Pakistan

Awesome in whites, awful in colour

Pakistan's year oscillated between superb and dreadful, with their ODI form poor ahead of the World Cup. By Osman Samiuddin

Bangladesh

Late highs fail to mask wretched year

Save for the rout of Zimbabwe, it was a year of suspensions and demoralising defeats for Bangladesh. By Mohammad Isam

Zimbabwe

Walking up the down escalator

Player strikes, demoralising defeats, and piles of debt for the board marked another grim year for Zimbabwe. By Liam Brickhill

England

Hangovers and headaches

Embarrassing defeats, a beleaguered captain, a bitter former star, alienating administrators - England's year was gloomy. By George Dobell