No trophy, no T20 league, many Kolpaks for South Africa

In 2017, South Africa failed in yet another global tournament, made a fiasco of launching an IPL-style competition, and lost several players to county cricket. By Firdose Moonda

A see-saw year for Zimbabwe

In 2017, Zimbabwe beat Sri Lanka away and were obliterated by South Africa. By Liam Brickhill

Headingley and after

West Indies hit a thrilling high in 2017, and then slumped at the tail end of the year. By Garth Wattley

England's cracks are showing

There are structural flaws in the English game and those will have an effect, no matter how many reasons for celebration off the field. By Andrew Miller

Look ma, it's the Ashes

Australia had a fair few things to be unhappy about last year, but winning against England made up for all of them. By Brydon Coverdale

Sri Lanka's great fall

Even their victory over Pakistan in the UAE, a feat no other team has managed in seven years, couldn't make their 2017 less than awful. By Andrew Fidel Fernando

New Zealand: meh in the middle

Their men's and women's sides failed to come close to being great in 2017. By Andrew Alderson

Afghanistan's best year ever

They have had an incredible run in international cricket since 2010, but with multiple series wins, and Test status, 2017 has been truly special. By Peter Della Penna

The biggest, boldest year in women's cricket

An exciting and well-covered World Cup took the game to the next level. By Raf Nicholson

India's sweet '17

It was yet another annus mirabilis for them (fine print notwithstanding). By Sidharth Monga

Pakistan turn it upside down

In recent years, they were good at Tests, not so much at ODIs. No longer, it would seem. By Danyal Rasool

Bangladesh scale the heights, plumb the depths

They soared to wins over Australia and Sri Lanka before it all came crashing down in South Africa. By Mohammad Isam

It looks steep at the pinnacle for Ireland

They gained Test status in 2017, but are they ready for it? By Tim Wigmore