Here, take these year-end awards and be done with it
Men behaving badly, men behaving too nicely to be true. And Harmanpreet. In our prize-giving look back at the year that was

The Briefing has not been able to confirm rumours that Pat Cummins leads by example in the matter of clean energy by using the reflection off his smile to light his home • William West/AFP/Getty Images
So okay, they didn't win the Test Championship final at The Oval. And yes, they didn't quite seal the deal with the ODI World Cup in Ahmedabad, and have, in fact, won zero global tournaments since 2013.
In October, Pat Cummins won Athlete of the Year at the BBC's Green Sport Awards, partly, you suspect, for his throwing shade at a sponsor believed to be a serious greenhouse gas emitter. Come on, Pat. Are we really playing this game? How can you raise objections against polluters in a manner consistent with your values when you have not yet moved to the jungle to live as a loincloth-wearing hermit? Maybe focus on the cricket and try to win a trophy next year.
"All lives are equal."
There were serious candidates for this. Angelo Mathews roared down from what he felt was a moral Burj Khalifa when he accused Bangladesh of being the only team who would appeal for a "timed-out" dismissal. New Zealand, as usual, tried their usual thing of being better than everyone by not outwardly appearing like they're better than everyone.
Another tightly contested category, from Carey's risky bit of Ashes Bair-baiting to the completely-reasonable-and-100%-ICC-endorsed decision by the BCCI to change the pitch used for the World Cup semi-final. But way out in front in the cold-blooded stakes was Shakib, as Mathews (see above) tarried for fateful seconds over the clasp on his helmet strap. With a barely perceptible murmur and a nod of the head, Bangladesh's controversy-friendly captain pulled the pin on a mode of dismissal never before seen in international cricket - and all for the greater glory of finishing eighth on the table and bumping out Sri Lanka for a spot at the 2025 Champions Trophy.
The PCB set the bar high by firing coaches, and even briefly appointing the defrocked Salman Butt as a selector. But there's no dethroning the new big dogs of cricket incompetence.
The ICC had its Spirit of Cricket Award for years. We want to go on record saying this is just as meaningless.