March 2006: The 2349th one-day international was a match that surpassed the ones before it. On perhaps the best batting surface ever prepared in South Africa, Australia became the first team to sail past 400. And lose. Ricky Ponting's 164, along with three other half-centuries, took Australia to the first-ever total over 400. Herschelle Gibbs' 111-ball 175 set South Africa on the path of achieving the improbable. It went down to the penultimate ball, with Mark Boucher hitting a four to seal the extraordinary win
May 2006 : The biggest impact player who left South African shores for England became one of the most popular of the decade. Kevin Pietersen quickly became England's best batsman, and a leading light in world cricket, consistently dominating attacks. A hallmark of Pietersen's batting is the complete confidence he has in his own ability, best emphasised by a remarkable reverse-sweep for six off Muttiah Muralitharan at Edgbaston - a shot that later developed into the switch-hit
July 2006: The highest partnership in Test (and first-class) cricket. Kumar Sangakkara and Mahela Jayawardene batted through 157 overs to add a world-record 624 runs for the third wicket. Jayawardene's 374 was the highest by a Sri Lankan - surpassing Sanath Jayasuriya's 340 - and the highest by a captain. Sri Lanka gained a first-innings lead of 587 and then Muttiah Muralitharan took 6 for 131 as South Africa were bowled out for 434 in the second innings to give Sri Lanka an innings-and-153-run win
August 2006: During the 56th over of England's innings on day four at The Oval, umpires Darrell Hair and Billy Doctrove deemed that the ball had been tampered with and would therefore have to be changed. After tea Pakistan remained in their dressing room in protest at the decision. The Test was declared forfeited in favour of England, after an extraordinary day of rumour, speculation, and high farce that brought the game to the brink of one of its biggest crises
January 2007: Australia sealed their first Ashes whitewash in 86 years with a ruthless four-day demolition job in Sydney. The scenes at the end were euphoric and poignant: Shane Warne, Glenn McGrath and Justin Langer led the lap of honour, as a mighty era of Australia cricket ended in the most fitting manner imaginable.
March 2007: On St Patrick's Day 2007, in the unlikely setting of Sabina Park, Ireland, a team of part-timers and county cricketers, knocked the fourth-ranked ODI team in the world, Pakistan, out of the World Cup. Ireland became the story of the tournament from this day, which Inzamam-ul-Haq called the worst of his cricketing career
March 2007: Hours after his side's elimination from the World Cup, Bob Woolmer, the Pakistan coach, died in a Kingston hospital after being found unconscious in his hotel. A post mortem conducted by a government pathologist led to the conclusion that Woolmer was strangled. Jamaican police decided they had a murder on their hands but later abandoned the investigations after it was determined Woolmer's death was due to natural causes
April 2007: A full house turned up at the Kensington Oval for Brian Lara's farewell to international cricket, and they were treated to one of the best matches of the World Cup: England completed a thrilling one-wicket win with one ball to spare. Lara only made 18 but left the field to another standing ovation and handshakes from his team-mates
April 2007: Australia put the seal on the most dominant campaign in World Cup history, securing their fourth title and their third in a row since 1999, thanks to Adam Gilchrist's scintillating 149 from 104 balls. Gilchrist might have had a quiet tournament until the final, but when it really mattered he delivered, and how - with a little help from a squash ball in his glove
April 2007: Gilchrist's innings, sadly, is not what the final of the 2007 World Cup will be remembered for. In a display of cack-handedness by the officials, the final overs of a broken contest were played out in near-darkness, penetrated only by the glow of the pavilion lights and the blinking of flash bulbs
May 2006 : The biggest impact player who left South African shores for England became one of the most popular of the decade. Kevin Pietersen quickly became England's best batsman, and a leading light in world cricket, consistently dominating attacks. A hallmark of Pietersen's batting is the complete confidence he has in his own ability, best emphasised by a remarkable reverse-sweep for six off Muttiah Muralitharan at Edgbaston - a shot that later developed into the switch-hit
July 2006: The highest partnership in Test (and first-class) cricket. Kumar Sangakkara and Mahela Jayawardene batted through 157 overs to add a world-record 624 runs for the third wicket. Jayawardene's 374 was the highest by a Sri Lankan - surpassing Sanath Jayasuriya's 340 - and the highest by a captain. Sri Lanka gained a first-innings lead of 587 and then Muttiah Muralitharan took 6 for 131 as South Africa were bowled out for 434 in the second innings to give Sri Lanka an innings-and-153-run win
August 2006: During the 56th over of England's innings on day four at The Oval, umpires Darrell Hair and Billy Doctrove deemed that the ball had been tampered with and would therefore have to be changed. After tea Pakistan remained in their dressing room in protest at the decision. The Test was declared forfeited in favour of England, after an extraordinary day of rumour, speculation, and high farce that brought the game to the brink of one of its biggest crises
January 2007: Australia sealed their first Ashes whitewash in 86 years with a ruthless four-day demolition job in Sydney. The scenes at the end were euphoric and poignant: Shane Warne, Glenn McGrath and Justin Langer led the lap of honour, as a mighty era of Australia cricket ended in the most fitting manner imaginable.
March 2007: On St Patrick's Day 2007, in the unlikely setting of Sabina Park, Ireland, a team of part-timers and county cricketers, knocked the fourth-ranked ODI team in the world, Pakistan, out of the World Cup. Ireland became the story of the tournament from this day, which Inzamam-ul-Haq called the worst of his cricketing career
March 2007: Hours after his side's elimination from the World Cup, Bob Woolmer, the Pakistan coach, died in a Kingston hospital after being found unconscious in his hotel. A post mortem conducted by a government pathologist led to the conclusion that Woolmer was strangled. Jamaican police decided they had a murder on their hands but later abandoned the investigations after it was determined Woolmer's death was due to natural causes
April 2007: A full house turned up at the Kensington Oval for Brian Lara's farewell to international cricket, and they were treated to one of the best matches of the World Cup: England completed a thrilling one-wicket win with one ball to spare. Lara only made 18 but left the field to another standing ovation and handshakes from his team-mates
April 2007: Australia put the seal on the most dominant campaign in World Cup history, securing their fourth title and their third in a row since 1999, thanks to Adam Gilchrist's scintillating 149 from 104 balls. Gilchrist might have had a quiet tournament until the final, but when it really mattered he delivered, and how - with a little help from a squash ball in his glove
April 2007: Gilchrist's innings, sadly, is not what the final of the 2007 World Cup will be remembered for. In a display of cack-handedness by the officials, the final overs of a broken contest were played out in near-darkness, penetrated only by the glow of the pavilion lights and the blinking of flash bulbs
