Australia's big wins and near misses, Zimbabwe's year of plenty, West Indies' continuing spiral
In our second batch of team report cards for 2024: Australia, England, New Zealand, Bangladesh, West Indies, Zimbabwe and Afghanistan
03-Jan-2026 • 7 hrs ago
Look ma, no sweat: Australia raced through to a 3-0 win after the first three matches of the men's Ashes • PA Photos/Getty Images
Australia
Andrew McGlashan
For the men, 2025 was a year bookended by major Test prizes. They came away with two out of three: the Border-Gavaskar Trophy was regained with victory in Sydney to cap a compelling series; then they closed out the year by retaining the Ashes in just 11 days of playing time.
For the men, 2025 was a year bookended by major Test prizes. They came away with two out of three: the Border-Gavaskar Trophy was regained with victory in Sydney to cap a compelling series; then they closed out the year by retaining the Ashes in just 11 days of playing time.
Between those they stumbled at the final hurdle in the World Test Championship final, unable to retain the title they won in 2023, when South Africa produced a wonderful performance at Lord's. The other ICC prize available, the Champions Trophy, was also missed by a weakened squad in Pakistan, although Australia reached the semi-final, but as a T20I side, they showed they were building a formidable outfit.
Overall it was a year that showed the depth of Australia's Test bowling, especially during the Ashes, but plenty of questions remained about the batting ahead of a bumper 11-month period of Test cricket from August 2026 onwards.
Australia's women began the year in all-conquering style with a historic 16-0 Ashes whitewash of England in the multi-format series, sealed by a dominant Test win at the MCG that featured centuries from Annabel Sutherland and Beth Mooney, plus a ball-of-the-century contender from Alana King.
However, global silverware eluded them for the second time in two years. Having marched through the group stage of the ODI World Cup unbeaten (although not without challenges) they fell to an inspired India side in the semi-final and were unable to defend 338. It meant that for the first time since 2017 Australia held neither World Cup. A changing of the guard looms.
High point
If it had been said that Pat Cummins would play one Ashes Test, Nathan Lyon two and Josh Hazlewood none (and Steven Smith is to miss another) it wouldn't have been far-fetched to pick England as the winners. But Australia found a way. In Adelaide, with Cummins bowling magnificently in his one-off appearance in the series after five months without cricket, and Lyon to the fore before suffering injury, they took a 3-0 lead. With the bat it was a hometown show: there were centuries from Alex Carey and Travis Head that provided the bulk of the runs. It wasn't perfect, but it was good enough.
If it had been said that Pat Cummins would play one Ashes Test, Nathan Lyon two and Josh Hazlewood none (and Steven Smith is to miss another) it wouldn't have been far-fetched to pick England as the winners. But Australia found a way. In Adelaide, with Cummins bowling magnificently in his one-off appearance in the series after five months without cricket, and Lyon to the fore before suffering injury, they took a 3-0 lead. With the bat it was a hometown show: there were centuries from Alex Carey and Travis Head that provided the bulk of the runs. It wasn't perfect, but it was good enough.
Low point
For a long time the rule was that Australia's women don't lose World Cup matches. That has changed. Having banked six wins in the group stage of the ODI World Cup, with various standout performances, a messy night in the field against India allowed the hosts to canter home and raised questions about the next step. It was the last ODI World Cup for Alyssa Healy and Megan Schutt at least, and perhaps one or two others. A fascinating evolution for the team awaits
For a long time the rule was that Australia's women don't lose World Cup matches. That has changed. Having banked six wins in the group stage of the ODI World Cup, with various standout performances, a messy night in the field against India allowed the hosts to canter home and raised questions about the next step. It was the last ODI World Cup for Alyssa Healy and Megan Schutt at least, and perhaps one or two others. A fascinating evolution for the team awaits
England
by Andrew Miller
2025 was widely considered to be a "legacy-defining" year, for the men's team specifically, but - with the benefit of bitter hindsight - for the women's set-up too. For, as 2026 ticked around, rust and tarnish prevailed across formats and genders. It was, even by the enervating standards of England's national teams, a deeply underwhelming 12 months.
2025 was widely considered to be a "legacy-defining" year, for the men's team specifically, but - with the benefit of bitter hindsight - for the women's set-up too. For, as 2026 ticked around, rust and tarnish prevailed across formats and genders. It was, even by the enervating standards of England's national teams, a deeply underwhelming 12 months.
The year ended as it had started, in Australia, and in crushing Ashes humiliation. In January the women were subjected to a 16-0 points thrashing across formats; by December, the men had succumbed to much the same: a series defeat in a mere 11 days of hair-tearing ineptitude across the first three Tests. Their subsequent two-day victory in a bizarre Boxing Day Test merely confirmed the wastefulness of their performances while the series was still live.
It remains to be seen whether the men's Ashes loss triggers the same upheaval as the women's did. Neither Jon Lewis, the women's head coach, nor Heather Knight, their long-serving World Cup-winning captain, survived the bloodletting that followed that January debacle, and such was the frailty of their subsequent ODI World Cup campaign in India, even their new supremo Charlotte Edwards may be hard-pressed to reboot their standards in time for this summer's T20 World Cup on home soil.
For the men, the spotlight will fall squarely on their own head coach, Brendon McCullum. His methods have always placed more importance on process than outcome - with initial success, no doubt. However, in 2025, his teams won just 16 and lost 21 of their 40 matches across formats, a worse ratio than all Full-Member nations bar West Indies, Zimbabwe and Ireland.
The men's year began with an attempt at a philosophical union. In extending McCullum's brief to all three formats, the theory had been that he would bring a bit of Bazball's joie de vivre to a downtrodden white-ball set-up, in particular to their "miserable" captain, Jos Buttler.
Instead, Buttler fell on his sword after a gruesome group-stage exit at the Champions Trophy in February, and though Harry Brook had his moments as a captain and batter, particularly in T20Is, McCullum's combined brief ultimately caused more contagion than cohesion. Ben Duckett, Jamie Smith and Gus Atkinson were among a core of multi-format players whose form had nosedived by the time they'd reached what ought to have been their year's ultimate goal.
All other failures could have been forgiven had England reclaimed the Ashes, with the freewheeling, free-thinking, laissez-faire attitude that they had spent the previous three-and-a-half years honing. Instead, their methods were laid bare by an Australia team that seized every pivotal moment going, and England will enter 2026 without a single series win against their two main rivals, India and Australia, for eight years and counting.
Admittedly, they did come mighty close against the former, in what was acclaimed at the time as a series for the ages, and (ironically, in light of the fast-forwarded catastrophe that followed) a glorious triumph for the old-school virtues of five-day Test cricket.
All 25 days were required in England's summer campaign against India, and by the end, there was nothing to choose between the teams. England's six-run loss at The Oval was the apogee, featuring old-school heroism from an incapacitated Chris Woakes, and a glorious 195-run stand between Harry Brook and Joe Root that seemed - for as long as it lasted - to have proven the method in their mindset-led madness. But then it all crumbled, seven wickets for 66 as Mohammed Siraj turned a 3-1 loss into a 2-2 redemption tale. Once the dust on England's dispiriting year had settled, it was hard to accept that any true progress had been made.
High point
It ended up being only the second-closest contest of the summer, but England's 22-run win at Lord's was sensational nonetheless. From the triumphant return of Jofra Archer, via Ben Stokes' indefatigability, through a pair of super centuries for Joe Root and KL Rahul, and on through to the broken-fingered heroism of Shoaib Bashir (remember him?) on a breathless final day, it showcased the true guts-and-glory nature of Test cricket - a format that was made to look like the most important engagement that any of these players would ever be involved in.
It ended up being only the second-closest contest of the summer, but England's 22-run win at Lord's was sensational nonetheless. From the triumphant return of Jofra Archer, via Ben Stokes' indefatigability, through a pair of super centuries for Joe Root and KL Rahul, and on through to the broken-fingered heroism of Shoaib Bashir (remember him?) on a breathless final day, it showcased the true guts-and-glory nature of Test cricket - a format that was made to look like the most important engagement that any of these players would ever be involved in.
Low point
You could take your pick from any of England's three dismal defeats in the first three Ashes Tests, although for a real-time abandonment of all pre-series optimism, it would be hard to top that grotesque post-lunch collapse on the second day in Perth. But for those who see beyond the narrow confines of the Ashes, their woeful three-match drop-kicking from the Champions Trophy was, in its own way, even more awful. The glories of 2019 have rarely felt more of a pipe-dream.
You could take your pick from any of England's three dismal defeats in the first three Ashes Tests, although for a real-time abandonment of all pre-series optimism, it would be hard to top that grotesque post-lunch collapse on the second day in Perth. But for those who see beyond the narrow confines of the Ashes, their woeful three-match drop-kicking from the Champions Trophy was, in its own way, even more awful. The glories of 2019 have rarely felt more of a pipe-dream.
Results
New Zealand
by Deivarayan Muthu
The year 2025 was one of transition for New Zealand - both on and off the field. Sophie Devine retired from ODIs after a forgettable World Cup, which was marred by Colombo's wet weather. The Black Caps got used to Kane Williamson playing more games for teams other than theirs and, by the end of the year, he left many, including New Zealand commentators, wondering if he had already played his last Test at home. In a rare press conference at Bay Oval, his home ground, Williamson confirmed that his international future is uncertain.
The year 2025 was one of transition for New Zealand - both on and off the field. Sophie Devine retired from ODIs after a forgettable World Cup, which was marred by Colombo's wet weather. The Black Caps got used to Kane Williamson playing more games for teams other than theirs and, by the end of the year, he left many, including New Zealand commentators, wondering if he had already played his last Test at home. In a rare press conference at Bay Oval, his home ground, Williamson confirmed that his international future is uncertain.
Gary Stead ended his seven-year tenure as New Zealand coach mid-year, with Rob Walter taking over from him. Under Stead and Mitchell Santner, New Zealand made the Champions Trophy final in Dubai, where they were undone by India's spin quartet.
In December, Scott Weenink stepped down as NZC chief executive following apparent friction around the future of New Zealand's T20 competition. The proposed NZ20 league - whose operating model, like the CPL, will have licence from the home board but managed independently - seems to have divided opinions.
Despite the changes at the top, it was business as usual for the men's team, especially at home. They won all four ODI series they played at home, including a 3-0 sweep of England. The results were mixed in T20Is: New Zealand sealed series wins against Sri Lanka, Pakistan and West Indies, in addition to winning a tri-series in Zimbabwe, but ended up losing to England and Australia. They closed out the year by launching their WTC campaign with a 2-0 series win at home against West Indies after Justin Greaves and Kemar Roach had pulled off an epic draw in the first game in Christchurch.
In a season where New Zealand's bowlers kept dropping like flies, Jacob Duffy displayed the traits of a spearhead. He capped the year with 81 wickets across formats, topping Sir Richard Hadlee's New Zealand record for most wickets in a calendar year.
High point
The run to the Champions Trophy final. New Zealand once again proved that they are among the best tournament sides across conditions. Santner dovetailed beautifully with Michael Bracewell, with help from the quickish spin of Rachin Ravindra and Glenn Phillips. Ravindra played a more significant hand with the bat, scoring a chart-topping 263 runs in four innings at an average of 65.75 and strike rate of 106.4, across Pakistan and Dubai. Matt Henry came away as the leading wicket-taker in the tournament despite missing the final against India with injury.
The run to the Champions Trophy final. New Zealand once again proved that they are among the best tournament sides across conditions. Santner dovetailed beautifully with Michael Bracewell, with help from the quickish spin of Rachin Ravindra and Glenn Phillips. Ravindra played a more significant hand with the bat, scoring a chart-topping 263 runs in four innings at an average of 65.75 and strike rate of 106.4, across Pakistan and Dubai. Matt Henry came away as the leading wicket-taker in the tournament despite missing the final against India with injury.
Low point
New Zealand were tipped to make the Women's ODI World Cup semi-finals in India and Sri Lanka, but a shaky start to the tournament and the Colombo rain scuppered their plans and pre-tournament predictions. The early exit hastened the end for Devine in ODIs and left her on the verge of tears.
New Zealand were tipped to make the Women's ODI World Cup semi-finals in India and Sri Lanka, but a shaky start to the tournament and the Colombo rain scuppered their plans and pre-tournament predictions. The early exit hastened the end for Devine in ODIs and left her on the verge of tears.
Results
Bangladesh
by Mohammad Isam
Bangladesh salvaged 2025 with a turnaround in T20Is even as they struggled in Tests and ODIs through the year. They played only a single WTC series in the year, in which they were beaten 1-0 by Sri Lanka comfortably. They also lost a Test at home against Zimbabwe for the first time in seven years.
Bangladesh salvaged 2025 with a turnaround in T20Is even as they struggled in Tests and ODIs through the year. They played only a single WTC series in the year, in which they were beaten 1-0 by Sri Lanka comfortably. They also lost a Test at home against Zimbabwe for the first time in seven years.
Bangladesh cricket was in a desperate place when they lost T20I series against UAE and Pakistan back to back in May. But they forced a turnaround in the format, winning four bilateral T20I series in a row against Sri Lanka, Pakistan, Netherlands and Afghanistan. They rounded off the year with another series win, against Ireland, but their white-ball cricket wasn't without concerns.
Bangladesh had a terrible year in ODIs, beating only West Indies in a home series, and that was on questionable pitches. They were woeful in the Champions Trophy, and followed it up with bilateral series defeats against Sri Lanka and Afghanistan.
The women's team had a forgettable year as well. They qualified for the 50-over World Cup, but didn't play any international cricket for the six months leading up to that tournament. They beat Pakistan to open the World Cup, but then lost the next five games in a row. They lost all three T20Is they played in the year too.
High point
Bangladesh came back from 0-1 down against Sri Lanka to win the T20I series in July, which helped them recover some form in 2025. Newly minted T20I captain Litton Das helped develop a core group of cricketers who ought to be capable of taking a serious stab at the T20 World Cup next year.
Bangladesh came back from 0-1 down against Sri Lanka to win the T20I series in July, which helped them recover some form in 2025. Newly minted T20I captain Litton Das helped develop a core group of cricketers who ought to be capable of taking a serious stab at the T20 World Cup next year.
Low point
There were several of these, but perhaps their ODI series defeat against Afghanistan rammed home the point that Bangladesh were out of ideas in their favourite format.
There were several of these, but perhaps their ODI series defeat against Afghanistan rammed home the point that Bangladesh were out of ideas in their favourite format.
Results
West Indies
Shashank Kishore
A year that began with a dream win on a raging Multan turner against Pakistan quickly unravelled into a run of insipid results across a punishing new World Test Championship cycle. Up against Australia (blanked 3-0 at home), India (2-0 away) and New Zealand (2-0 away), West Indies found themselves outmatched and outmuscled all through.
A year that began with a dream win on a raging Multan turner against Pakistan quickly unravelled into a run of insipid results across a punishing new World Test Championship cycle. Up against Australia (blanked 3-0 at home), India (2-0 away) and New Zealand (2-0 away), West Indies found themselves outmatched and outmuscled all through.
The retirement of modern T20 great Nicholas Pooran reopened the leadership void in the format in which West Indies are strongest, while Test captain Roston Chase, too, struggled to sustain the consistency that had made him a credible candidate in the first place.
The women's side endured heartbreak too. For the first time in 25 years, West Indies failed to qualify for the World Cup, edged out by Bangladesh on net run rate by a margin of just 0.01. A defeat to Scotland ultimately proved decisive.
High point
It came late in the year, against all odds in seaming Christchurch conditions, when Justin Greaves batted West Indies out of defeat with a monumental 202 not out off 388 balls. An innings that began with his trademark flair transformed into a steely, self-denying knock, where he absorbed countless blows, faced more deliveries in one innings alone than he had in his Test career previously, and subdued his instincts with a resolve rarely seen in recent times. Comeback man Kemar Roach made 58 not out - his highest first-class score - while facing 233 deliveries himself, to save a Test they seemed destined to lose.
It came late in the year, against all odds in seaming Christchurch conditions, when Justin Greaves batted West Indies out of defeat with a monumental 202 not out off 388 balls. An innings that began with his trademark flair transformed into a steely, self-denying knock, where he absorbed countless blows, faced more deliveries in one innings alone than he had in his Test career previously, and subdued his instincts with a resolve rarely seen in recent times. Comeback man Kemar Roach made 58 not out - his highest first-class score - while facing 233 deliveries himself, to save a Test they seemed destined to lose.
Low point
There were several nadirs. Missing qualification for the Women's World Cup will continue to sting, but the 27 all out against Australia in Jamaica, narrowly falling short of New Zealand's 70-year-old record of the lowest innings score ever, may have been the most damning. It made Cricket West Indies convene former greats for a structural review. Even in West Indies' preferred T20 format, a depleted side suffered a stunning 2-1 defeat to Nepal in the UAE, handing Nepal their first-ever series win over a Full Member.
There were several nadirs. Missing qualification for the Women's World Cup will continue to sting, but the 27 all out against Australia in Jamaica, narrowly falling short of New Zealand's 70-year-old record of the lowest innings score ever, may have been the most damning. It made Cricket West Indies convene former greats for a structural review. Even in West Indies' preferred T20 format, a depleted side suffered a stunning 2-1 defeat to Nepal in the UAE, handing Nepal their first-ever series win over a Full Member.
Results
Zimbabwe
by Firdose Moonda
A year of plenty for Zimbabwe, at least when it comes to volume of cricket, resulted in limited success and plenty of learning.
A year of plenty for Zimbabwe, at least when it comes to volume of cricket, resulted in limited success and plenty of learning.
Though not in the World Test Championship, Zimbabwe played only one Test fewer than Australia in 2025, as they sought to make a case for inclusion in the elite club and expose their players to the highest level of competition. They won two, to record their first victories in the format in four years, but of their eight losses, five were by margins of an innings and some, which suggested the gap to the other teams remains significant in this format.
It may be closing in other formats, where Zimbabwe, after being the only Full Member to miss out on the 2024 T20 World Cup, booked their place in the 2026 event.
Importantly, their year was stable in back-room terms, with the same head coach, Justin Sammons, and support staff building a solid base. While their experienced core remains firmly in place, young talent is coming. Top-order batter Brian Bennett scored his maiden Test, ODI and T20I hundreds in 2025. Meanwhile left-arm seamer Richard Ngarava became the first Zimbabwean to 100 T20I wickets.
T20I captain Sikandar Raza rose to No. 1 in the ICC's T20 allrounder rankings, Test captain Craig Ervine was their second highest run-scorer in that format, and 39-year-old Brendan Taylor completed a triumphant return after serving a three-and-half-year ban for breaching the ICC's code of conduct.
But for Sean Williams, their best Test batter in 2025 and over the last five years, the tale was tragic. Zimbabwe Cricket confirmed the termination of his national contract when he entered a drug rehabilitation programme.
Zimbabwe's women played their first series since being included on the FTP, and will play in the T20 World Cup qualifiers in Nepal in January.
High point: Playing in England for the first time in 22 years could have marked a return to relevance for Zimbabwe, but it ended in a hefty defeat, so this honour will go to Zimbabwe's successful T20 World Cup qualifying campaign. After failing in their three attempts (2019 ODI World Cup, 2023 ODI World Cup and 2024 T20 World Cup), Zimbabwe booked their place in 2026. Taylor scored his first T20I century, against Botswana, to put his side one win away from qualification, and they got there against Kenya.
Low point: Most of Zimbabwe's Test fixtures were chastening - none more so than the two-match Test series against South Africa. Stand-in South Africa captain Wiaan Mulder retired on 367 not out, ostensibly because he did not want to take the Test highest-score record off Brian Lara, but also to spare Zimbabwe's blushes. The innings-and-236-run loss was their heaviest - until the following month, when they lost by an innings and 359 runs to New Zealand.
Afghanistan
by Danyal Rasool
Afghanistan's cricketing rise was so meteoric that their current phase of consolidation sometimes feels like stagnation. In 2025 they maintained their standards, once more establishing themselves as an elite-white-ball force. They enjoyed winning records in ODIs and T20Is, while drawing their Test series with Zimbabwe 1-1.
Afghanistan's cricketing rise was so meteoric that their current phase of consolidation sometimes feels like stagnation. In 2025 they maintained their standards, once more establishing themselves as an elite-white-ball force. They enjoyed winning records in ODIs and T20Is, while drawing their Test series with Zimbabwe 1-1.
There was the odd inconsistency, as is characteristic of all but truly elite teams. An early Asia Cup exit and an innings defeat in Harare indicated work remains to be done, though a strong Champions Trophy showing and a crushing away T20I series whitewash of Zimbabwe re-established their place in the pecking order.
Most encouraging, perhaps, is the upward trajectory of rising stars in their team, who will eventually need to replace their ageing first-generation core. Twenty-three-year-old Ibrahim Zadran led the way on that front, playing arguably the innings of the year in a stunning upset of England in Lahore with 177 off 146 balls. Noor Ahmad continues to make his case as one of the best young wristspinners in world cricket.
High point
That night at the Gaddafi when Lahore felt like Kabul. Against England in the Champions Trophy, Ibrahim Zadran's big hundred in front of a crowd cheering every Afghan run and wicket saw them put up an intimidating 325. A counterattacking hundred from Joe Root appeared to chase it down but Afghanistan held their nerve in the dying overs, squeezing England out by eight runs in a thrilling contest that knocked them out of the tournament. It put Afghanistan on the cusp of qualification for the semi-final, only for bad weather to ultimately deny them.
That night at the Gaddafi when Lahore felt like Kabul. Against England in the Champions Trophy, Ibrahim Zadran's big hundred in front of a crowd cheering every Afghan run and wicket saw them put up an intimidating 325. A counterattacking hundred from Joe Root appeared to chase it down but Afghanistan held their nerve in the dying overs, squeezing England out by eight runs in a thrilling contest that knocked them out of the tournament. It put Afghanistan on the cusp of qualification for the semi-final, only for bad weather to ultimately deny them.
Low point
There were high hopes for Afghanistan at the Asia Cup after they reached the final of a tri-series just prior, beating Pakistan once in that tournament. They were only raised when they brushed Hong Kong aside in the Asia Cup openers, but they faded badly, slumping to disappointing defeats against Bangladesh and Sri Lanka, and were knocked out in the first round.
There were high hopes for Afghanistan at the Asia Cup after they reached the final of a tri-series just prior, beating Pakistan once in that tournament. They were only raised when they brushed Hong Kong aside in the Asia Cup openers, but they faded badly, slumping to disappointing defeats against Bangladesh and Sri Lanka, and were knocked out in the first round.
Results