A fall from lofty heights, and Taibu's exodus

Earth calling England: After the swallows of the Ashes summer, it was back to Earth with a rude bump for Michael Vaughan's side. After defeat at Multan and escape at Faisalabad, there was abject humiliation at Lahore. Mohammad Yousuf and Kamran Akmal grabbed the headlines with the bat, but it was Shoaib Akhtar and Danish Kaneria who denied England even the scant consolation of an honourable draw with a magnificent salvo after lunch on the final day. Ironically, the slower ball was Shoaib's greatest weapon as the world-champions-in-waiting lost 8 for 43 in just 11.3 overs. Bring on the Ashes, anyone?

The real deal: And while the pretender's inadequacies were exposed, Australia marched on, following up a 3-0 destruction of West Indies in the Test series with a ruthless 147-run demolition of New Zealand in the first of the Chappell-Hadlee series matches. Brett Lee, once just profligate pace, gave more glimpses of Uncle Scrooge in Christmas season, taking 3 for 5 in six overs of blistering fast bowling. The New Zealand media accused Australia of arrogance after Glenn McGrath was rested, but his replacement, Stuart Clark, took 3 for 19. Touché.

Sourav Ganguly and Greg Chappell talk cricket © Cricinfo

Serious net-working: In his salad days, no one ever accused Sourav Ganguly of expending too much energy on net sessions or fitness work. But on his return to the Indian side ahead of the rain-deluged Chennai Test, his every move at the nets was scrutinised by a posse of journalists and photographers. But batting, bowling and fielding were merely incidental, as the cameras zoomed in on Ganguly chatting to Greg Chappell. With the coterie who encouraged him to take on Chappell now facing a very cold winter, mending fences will be as much of a challenge as the well-directed short ball.

Tears in heaven: After the sublime double-century at Adelaide, a one-day match against the Prime Minister's XI at the Manuka Oval in Canberra was to be Brian Lara's Australian swansong. Evidently, the gods were overcome by emotion, and Lara was left unbeaten on 13 when the tears came down. For West Indies, the rain was an appropriate ended for a tour in which they were swamped by a revitalised Australian side, and some distinctly ordinary umpiring.

With Tatenda Taibu's departure, Zimbabwe have lost their only world-class player © Cricinfo

Chinese whispers: Does anyone know what's happening in Zimbabwe? Tatenda Taibu spoke to the BBC of Zimbabwe Cricket top brass - Peter Chingoka and Ozias Bvute - falling victim to a Mugabe cull, only for Bvute to surface the following day and declare: "I was asleep at 4am and left my house at 8am this morning to go to work. I have not been raided and I don't believe anyone has raided Mr Chingoka's house either". As for the diminutive Taibu, rumours suggest that he will head to Bangladesh to play league cricket in Dhaka, leaving Zimbabwe with precisely zero world-class players.

Flannelled fools: A match between two village teams in Bangladesh had its share of controversial umpiring decisions, but instead of a good old-fashioned whinge, the protagonists took it one step further. One man succumbed to stab injuries, and more than 200 were hospitalised as police and paramilitaries had to fire to disperse unruly mobs. Perhaps Rudyard Kipling was on to something after all when he spoke of "muddied oafs and flannelled fools".

Seeing double: Before a Ranji Trophy match against Tripura, disputes within the Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association resulted in rival factions naming two separate teams. One, headed by Anurag Thakur and owing allegiance to Jagmohan Dalmiya, entered the stadium, locked all entry points, and were also accused of sabotaging the pitch. The official in charge of the match had little option but to call off the farce.

Quote-hanger: "I have never been a big fan of technology just for the simple fact that the technology that has been used and trialed (by the International Cricket Council) over last few years hasn't been accurate enough anyway to give you conclusive evidence on dismissal." - Ricky Ponting, after the Test series against West Indies.

Epilogue: "I've been pretty impressed with the way it [technology] has worked during the one-day series and certainly in this Test match." - Ponting after the Super Series, a little over a month ago.