Sagas, sendoffs, and South Africa's glory

1 John Wright announces his decision to step down as New Zealand's coach following differences with New Zealand's director of cricket, John Buchanan.

3 Pakistan seamer Mohammad Asif is released from Canterbury Prison after serving half of his term of one year for spot-fixing. In June, Salman Butt is released after serving seven months of his 30-month sentence.

10 Misbah-ul-Haq steps down as the captain of the Pakistan T20 side, and the responsibility is given to allrounder Mohammad Hafeez.

Former South Africa wicketkeeper and ICC's general manager Dave Richardson is picked to replace Haroon Lorgat as the ICC's new chief executive.

11 Craig McDermott steps down as Australia's bowling coach.

12 The BCCI announces a financial bonus for former Indian players for their services to Indian cricket, and the setting up of an anti-corruption unit.

Shane Jurgensen, Bangladesh's bowling coach, is named their interim head coach.

14 James Anderson is named England Cricketer of the Year.

17 Charlotte Edwards, captain of the England women's team, is the first woman to be given the opportunity to be a member of MCC's World Cricket committee.

21 A century from captain Andrew Strauss and a seven-wicket haul from seamer Stuart Broad help set up a five-wicket victory over West Indies for England at Lord's.

24 Royal Challengers Bangalore batsman Luke Pomersbach is detained by the Delhi police for an alleged assault on a woman and her fiancé. He is later released on bail, and makes an out-of-court settlement.

26 Batsman Umar Akmal and allrounder Shahid Afridi, among others, are given top contracts in Pakistan's 2012 contracts list.

27 Manvinder Bisla's belligerent 89 leads Kolkata Knight Riders to their first IPL title. They defeat Chennai Super Kings by five wickets in Chennai.

28 England win their seventh successive home series by defeating West Indies by nine wickets at Trent Bridge.

30 Richard Pybus, the former Pakistan coach, is named Bangladesh's head coach.

New Zealand Cricket and Jesse Ryder agree to avoid signing a a central contract for the batsman.

31 Kevin Pietersen retires from one-day cricket. In July he makes a u-turn on his decision.

Mervyn Westfield, the first England cricketer to be jailed for spot-fixing, and Mazhar Majeed, a player agent, lose their appeals against their convictions in London.

3 Shahid Afridi rescues Pakistan with a half-century and then bowls effectively to get Pakistan a victory against Sri Lanka in the second T20 in Hambantota, helping them square the two-match series. He is voted Man of the Match for the seventh time in T20 internationals - a record.

4 The BCB finalises a US$14 million sponsorship deal with Aamby Valley and Axiom Technologies, for four years - the biggest sponsorship deal in Bangladesh's history.

5 Chris Gayle's 15-month exile from international cricket ends when he's named in West Indies' ODI squad for the series against England.

It is announced that for the first time in a home season, South Africa will not play the traditional Boxing Day Test but a T20 instead.

6 ESPN ends its involvement in ESPN Star Sports. News Corporation is to buy out ESPN's 50% share.

Vernon Philander, the second-fastest bowler to 50 Test wickets, is declared South Africa's Cricketer of the Year.

7 Billy Doctrove, the West Indian umpire, announces his retirement from international cricket after serving for 14 years. England's Nigel Llong replaces him in ICC's Elite Panel.

Vodafone announces it will not be sponsoring the Australian squad, effective from ahead of the 2013-14 season, ending the company's 11-year association with Cricket Australia.

South Africa secure a new sponsor, financial services group Momentum, for the national ODI team and the domestic one-day competition.

8 The Federation of International Cricketers' Associations initiates legal proceedings against BCB and the franchises over cricketers not being paid for playing in the Bangladesh Premier League.

10 West Indies' Tino Best registers the top score for a No. 11 batsman, but falls five runs short of being the first one to score a century, in the drawn Test at Edgbaston.

12 Simon Katich, the Australian batsman, announces his retirement from first-class cricket.

The BCCI's technical committee proposes a new structure for the Ranji Trophy, doing away with the existing Elite and Plate divisions, and instead putting the 27 teams into three groups.

14 Texan financier Allen Stanford, of Stanford Twenty20 fame, is sentenced to 110 years in jail after being found guilty of defrauding investors of more than $7 billion.

17 Former West Indies fast bowler Wes Hall is knighted for his services to "sport and the community".

18 Sri Lanka win the ODI series against Pakistan 3-1, after a thrilling two-wicket win in Colombo.

Tom Maynard, the Surrey and England Lions batsman, is found dead near Wimbledon Park Tube station.

19 Ozias Bvute steps down as the managing director of Zimbabwe Cricket.

20 Daniel Vettori declares himself available for the upcoming World Twenty20 in Sri Lanka, coming out of T20 retirement.

India's captain, MS Dhoni, is ranked by Forbes magazine as the highest-paid Indian athlete for the year, with earnings of $26.5 million in the 12-month period starting June 2011.

21 Former India left-arm spinner Sunil Joshi announces his retirement from international and first-class cricket.

22 Ed Cowan and George Bailey miss out on national contracts as part of a major reduction of Australia's contracts list. Cricket Australia also signs a five-year performance-based payment deal with its players.

Danish Kaneria, the Pakistan legspinner, is banned for life by the ECB for his alleged involvement in a spot-fixing case in county cricket.

Bangladesh hand South Africa a three-wicket defeat in the unofficial T20 tri-series in Zimbabwe. But the hosts win the tournament after Hamilton Masakadza and captain Brendan Taylor score half-centuries in the final against South Africa .

The final ODI between hosts England and West Indies at Headingley is washed out, giving England the series 2-0.

25 Sri Lanka complete a comprehensive 209-run victory over Pakistan in Galle. Centuries by Tillakaratne Dilshan and Kumar Sangakkara, and effective bowling from spinners Rangana Herath and Suraj Randiv cause Pakistan's downfall.

26 Tony Greig delivers the MCC Spirit of Cricket Cowdrey Lecture, asking the Indian board to "embrace the spirit of cricket and govern in the best interests of world cricket, not just for India and its business partners".

27 Ireland and Scotland receive a $500,000 funding bonus from the ICC.

28 Alan Isaac, the former New Zealand Cricket chairman, takes over as the president of the ICC.

30 Five Indian players are banned by the BCCI from the game for varying periods following a sting operation by a television channel, which revealed their involvement in match-fixing and negotiating for illegal payments in the IPL. Madhya Pradesh fast bowler TP Sudhindra becomes the third Indian to be given a life ban, after Mohammad Azharuddin and Ajay Sharma.

Former West Indies batsman Gus Logie is appointed coach of Canada.

1 The BCB decides to provide one-year contracts to 120 cricketers - 15 from each of eight designated regions.

West Indies win the T20 series against New Zealand in Florida handsomely. Chris Gayle scores 138 runs in the two games.

India and Pakistan share the Under-19 Asia Cup title after a tie in a thrilling final.

2 Former England offspinner Peter Such is named ECB's national lead spin bowling coach.

4 For the second match running, Kumar Sangakkara misses a double-century when he is dismissed for 192 in the second Test against Pakistan, at the Sinhalese Sports Club (he was 199 not out in the first Test). The match is drawn, Sri Lanka eventually take the three-Test series 1-0, and Sangakkara moves to the top of the ICC's Test batting table.

5 SLC names 56 foreign players to take part in the inaugural Sri Lankan Premier League. No players from England or India feature on the list.

Mark Ramprakash announces his retirement from county cricket, bringing to an end a 25-year-long first-class career, after being told he wouldn't be selected for Surrey for the rest of the season.

8 Jesse Ryder declares himself available for New Zealand's domestic season, thus returning to the game after a period away to fight personal battles. Wellington offers him a contract for the upcoming domestic season.

9 South Africa wicketkeeper Mark Boucher requires a surgery after suffering an eye injury after being struck by a bail in a tour match against Somerset. A day later he announces his retirement from international cricket following loss of vision.

Zimbabwe wicketkeeper Tatenda Taibu, 29, retires from all cricket to work for the church.

10 Former Kenya captain Steve Tikolo is appointed the batting coach of Uganda.

England defeat Australia comprehensively in the final ODI to win the series 4-0.

11 England defeat India 3-2 in the women's ODI series.

12 Former Pakistan batsman Alimuddin, who faced the first delivery bowled by an international side in the country, dies aged 81.

13 Fast bowler Brett Lee retires from international cricket, but decides to continue playing in the Big Bash League and the IPL.

14 Ross Taylor makes a comeback from injury and scores a century, but it doesn't prevent West Indies from defeating New Zealand in the fourth ODI, in St Kitts. The 24-run victory gives West Indies the series 3-1. West Indies eventually win 4-1.

16 The first bilateral series between India and Pakistan in five years, comprising three ODIs and two T20s, is scheduled to be played in December-January in India.

18 Yuvraj Singh, returning from time out fighting cancer, and uncapped Mandeep Singh are among the players selected in India's 30-man squad for the World Twenty20. Kevin Pietersen is left out of England's squad despite his availability for selection.

20 Mike Hesson, the former coach of Kenya and domestic side Otago, is named the coach of New Zealand.

Spinner Rahul Sharma and allrounder Wayne Parnell test positive for recreational drugs after they are detained by police following a raid on a party in Mumbai.

22 New Zealand and Northern Districts wicketkeeper Peter McGlashan retires from all cricket.

23 South Africa begin their campaign to gain the No. 1 Test spot by defeating England by an innings and 12 runs at The Oval. They only lose two wickets in the game, and Hashim Amla scores the first Test triple-century by a South African.

24 Geoff Allardice is named the ICC's new general manager, cricket.

29 A strong first-innings total from West Indies and impressive bowling from Sunil Narine and Kemar Roach set up a commanding win in the first Test against New Zealand in Antigua.

30 The Willowton Group extend their sponsorship of the South African Test side to four years.

31 Ravi Rampaul and Daniel Vettori are ruled out of the second West Indies-New Zealand Test due to groin injuries.

A century from Virat Kohli sets up a comfortable victory for India in the fourth ODI against Sri Lanka, giving them the series; India eventually win 4-1.

Haroon Lorgat, the former ICC chief executive, takes up the role of a special advisor with SLC.

3 Tasmania assistant coach Ali de Winter is named bowling coach of Australia.

5 West Indies achieve a five-wicket win in the second Test against New Zealand in Kingston. It is the side's first Test series win against countries other than Zimbabwe and Bangladesh in three years.

7 Jeetan Patel is called up to replace the injured Daniel Vettori on New Zealand's upcoming tour of India.

8 Former Pakistan batsman Javed Miandad is employed by the PCB to supervise their domestic and international cricket operations.

Ireland quick bowler Boyd Rankin announces he will retire from international cricket at the end of the year as he bids to play Test cricket with England.

11 CSA's restructuring process, which began with the Nicholson committee report following the bonus scandal involving Gerald Majola, is finalised.

After sparking talk of dressing-room rifts, Kevin Pietersen releases a video apologising for his behaviour and reiterating his commitment to playing for England in all formats of the game. He is, however, not selected for England's third Test against South Africa, for having sent derogatory text messages to South African players about Andrew Strauss during the second Test. He is later also left out of the England side for the World Twenty20.

Lalit Modi, the former IPL commissioner, and ECB chief Giles Clarke enter an out-of-court settlement on a libel case following an email by Clarke in 2010 to the BCCI claiming a rival T20 league was being planned in England.

17 SLC is provided $2.5 million by the ICC to help with the hosting of the World Twenty20.

18 VVS Laxman retires from international cricket, after having served India for 16 years. He finishes with 8781 Test runs at 45.97. S Badrinath replaces him for India's Tests against New Zealand.

20 Australia's fielding mentor Steve Rixon is given the responsibility of serving as the head coach in the ODIs against Pakistan in the UAE.

South Africa win the third Test by 51 runs, clinching the No. 1 Test ranking. Hashim Amla, with 482 runs, and Dale Steyn, with 15 wickets, are the standout performers in the series.

24 Former fast bowler Mohammad Akram is named Pakistan's bowling coach.

26 India win the Under-19 World Cup, defeating Australia by six wickets.

Cheteshwar Pujara's maiden Test century and R Ashwin's 12 wickets set up an innings win for India in the first Test against New Zealand, in Hyderabad.

28 Damien Wright announces his decision to step down as the New Zealand bowling coach.

DLF Ltd ends its association with the IPL as its title sponsor. The rights are sold to Pepsi in November for $71 million - almost twice as much as the original deal fetched.

29 Andrew Strauss retires from professional cricket after his side's 2-0 loss to South Africa, ending a ten-year international career.

Thilak Naidu, the Karnataka wicketkeeper, retires from all cricket, three years after playing his final first-class match.

30 Michael Clarke is named captain of ICC's Test team of the year. The side features Dale Steyn for the fifth year running.

31 Uva Next claim the title in the inaugural SLPL, following their 19-run victory in a rain-shortened final in Colombo.