Aussies rule, India stumble, South Africa shine
In our second batch of report cards for 2023: India, Australia, South Africa, West Indies, Ireland, and more
02-Jan-2024
India's run in the World Cup captured the imagination of the whole country • Alex Davidson/ICC/Getty Images
India
by Sidharth Monga
On the surface, 2023 was no different to 2022 for the men's team. They took part in two ICC events and failed to win either, and it took under 210 overs for the dream of winning a maiden Test series in South Africa to come crashing down. Elsewhere they lost a home Test to Australia on a surface tailored for Indian spinners, and lost a bilateral ODI series at home, also to Australia. Still, the ten-match winning streak in the World Cup was comprehensive and spectacular, and despite the heartbreak in the final, it built memories for the team. They also won the Asia Cup just before the World Cup.
On the surface, 2023 was no different to 2022 for the men's team. They took part in two ICC events and failed to win either, and it took under 210 overs for the dream of winning a maiden Test series in South Africa to come crashing down. Elsewhere they lost a home Test to Australia on a surface tailored for Indian spinners, and lost a bilateral ODI series at home, also to Australia. Still, the ten-match winning streak in the World Cup was comprehensive and spectacular, and despite the heartbreak in the final, it built memories for the team. They also won the Asia Cup just before the World Cup.
On the administrative front, the BCCI was found wanting again. It neither had a succession plan for the team management nor sounded the incumbents out until well after the World Cup about taking the team to South Africa. Fun times await as more players will need replacing in the coming months.
The women's team won Test matches against strong England and Australia teams. These were fancied opponents, and India were playing their first Tests since 2021. In the T20 World Cup, they finished second in their group and then came within a shot of beating the eventual champions, Australia, in the semi-finals. While disappointing, it wasn't a below-par result.
The Asian Games gold was par for the course for both the men and women.
High point
The women's side made history with their first Test win over Australia, but perhaps for the manner in which it caught the imagination of the nation, the men's team's run at the World Cup was a high point. It was not just that they won ten matches on the trot, but they obliterated some pretty strong opposition along the way. Mohammed Shami broke all kinds of World Cup records, Rohit Sharma set the stage alight with his starts, and Virat Kohli's march to 50 ODI hundreds became a national celebration to rival Diwali.
The women's side made history with their first Test win over Australia, but perhaps for the manner in which it caught the imagination of the nation, the men's team's run at the World Cup was a high point. It was not just that they won ten matches on the trot, but they obliterated some pretty strong opposition along the way. Mohammed Shami broke all kinds of World Cup records, Rohit Sharma set the stage alight with his starts, and Virat Kohli's march to 50 ODI hundreds became a national celebration to rival Diwali.
Low point
It has been a while now that the India men's side have been going to South Africa thinking it is their best chance to win a first series there. Probably because they have won at least one Test on four of their last five trips, holding the series lead on two occasions. On their last trip, they could smell history, setting the hosts in excess of 200 in the last innings of the second and third Tests. This time, they will have hoped to get over the bar, but it didn't even take three full days for them to lose the first Test by an innings and 34 runs, thus losing any hope of winning the series, reduced to two matches this time.
It has been a while now that the India men's side have been going to South Africa thinking it is their best chance to win a first series there. Probably because they have won at least one Test on four of their last five trips, holding the series lead on two occasions. On their last trip, they could smell history, setting the hosts in excess of 200 in the last innings of the second and third Tests. This time, they will have hoped to get over the bar, but it didn't even take three full days for them to lose the first Test by an innings and 34 runs, thus losing any hope of winning the series, reduced to two matches this time.
Results
Australia
by Alex Malcolm
It was a staggering year of success for Australia's men's and women's teams. They won all three global trophies that were available and retained the men's and women's Ashes away from home - both teams had the chance to win both series but couldn't close them out.
It was a staggering year of success for Australia's men's and women's teams. They won all three global trophies that were available and retained the men's and women's Ashes away from home - both teams had the chance to win both series but couldn't close them out.
Pat Cummins' side faced a brutal schedule and produced an astonishing set of results. They finished the home summer with the Sydney Test that was ruined by rain, then faced four Tests in India. They lost that series 2-1 but there were moments when India were under enormous pressure. Ultimately, though, Australia could not execute in those moments to claim the series. They won the subsequent ODI series in India 2-1, which was a portent of things to come.
They dominated the same opponents in the World Test Championship final in England and then took a 2-0 lead in the Ashes, where they had held their nerve in the key moments. But Nathan Lyon's injury combined with a galvanised England, partially courtesy of the controversial stumping of Jonny Bairstow at Lord's, saw Australia butcher their lead with missed opportunities at Headingley and The Oval, leading to a 2-2 series draw.
They won a low-profile T20I series in South Africa with a second-string side but again let a 2-0 lead slip in the subsequent ODI series. Another 2-1 defeat in an ODI series in India spelled concerns for the ODI World Cup, where they lost their opening two games.
But they won nine straight from there including a thrilling semi-final against South Africa and then upset the favourites, India, in the final in Ahmedabad.
Travis Head capped a remarkable year, making centuries in both the WTC and World Cup finals, to guide Australia to victory twice. Glenn Maxwell also provided the two individual highlights of the World Cup, with the fastest World Cup century followed by the first ODI double-century by an Australian in a scarcely believable chase against Afghanistan. They finished the year with a polished Test series win over Pakistan, with Cummins taking ten wickets in the second Test to cement his legacy as one of Australia's greatest captains in terms of achievements, just two years into the job.
The women side started the year where they left off in 2022, winning yet another World Cup, this time going undefeated to claim the T20 title in South Africa, their third T20 World Cup title in a row. But the retirement of Meg Lanning as captain brought about a change of fortunes. Australia won the women's Test against England to start the Ashes but lost the two white-ball series. They lost a T20I to West Indies for the first time in 14 matches, giving up a record chase thanks to a Hayley Matthews masterclass. They then lost a Test to India for the first ever time, in December, spun out in Mumbai under new permanent captain Alyssa Healy, who had also led the side in England in an interim role.
High point
The men's World Cup win was an astonishing achievement for many reasons. They were doubted from the moment they arrived in India, having played poorly in South Africa. They played the first five games without preferred opener Head and only took one specialist spinner to India in order to carry Head in the 15-man squad. They dropped long-time wicketkeeper Alex Carey and allrounder Cameron Green after losing the first game of the tournament and lost their second by a huge margin to South Africa.
The men's World Cup win was an astonishing achievement for many reasons. They were doubted from the moment they arrived in India, having played poorly in South Africa. They played the first five games without preferred opener Head and only took one specialist spinner to India in order to carry Head in the 15-man squad. They dropped long-time wicketkeeper Alex Carey and allrounder Cameron Green after losing the first game of the tournament and lost their second by a huge margin to South Africa.
But from there David Warner, Mitch Marsh, Adam Zampa and Maxwell produced repeated heroics, while many others made important cameos at different times, before Cummins led a tactical masterclass to win the final.
Low point
Both the men's and women's sides failed to close out their respective away Ashes series, having been in positions of ascendancy. The men blew a 2-0 series lead with uncharacteristic mistakes at Headingley and The Oval, some self-inflicted, some forced by England's vastly improved execution across the series. Australia were fortunate not to lose at Old Trafford too. The women won the Ashes Test against England to take a significant points lead into the T20I and ODI series but were thoroughly outplayed in all departments to lose both those series 2-1. Australia's women lost only five white-ball matches for the year and four of them came against England in the women's Ashes.
Both the men's and women's sides failed to close out their respective away Ashes series, having been in positions of ascendancy. The men blew a 2-0 series lead with uncharacteristic mistakes at Headingley and The Oval, some self-inflicted, some forced by England's vastly improved execution across the series. Australia were fortunate not to lose at Old Trafford too. The women won the Ashes Test against England to take a significant points lead into the T20I and ODI series but were thoroughly outplayed in all departments to lose both those series 2-1. Australia's women lost only five white-ball matches for the year and four of them came against England in the women's Ashes.
Results
South Africa
by Firdose Moonda
South African cricket surged back to relevance thanks to strong performances at ICC tournaments and despite the men's team only playing four Tests in 2023, with a change of captain in between. They did not lose any, and won three, which saw them finish third on the 2021-2023 WTC cycle and start the 2023-2025 one positively.
South African cricket surged back to relevance thanks to strong performances at ICC tournaments and despite the men's team only playing four Tests in 2023, with a change of captain in between. They did not lose any, and won three, which saw them finish third on the 2021-2023 WTC cycle and start the 2023-2025 one positively.
But the real success came in white-ball formats where the newly minted SA20 resurrected the game in a champagne summer. The tournament was paused for a must-win World Cup Super League series against England - which South Africa smashed out the park - and then resumed to even greater interest. All six venues were well-attended and the event turned a profit in its first year, four years ahead of schedule.
In the Women's T20 World Cup, South Africa's dream run to the final drowned out all their pre- and post-tournament controversies (and there were many, including the non-selection of Dane van Niekerk and player unhappiness with Hilton Moreeng, the longstanding coach), while the men rode the wave of success in their series against West Indies and Netherlands.
An unusually long five-month break for the men ended with a white-ball series against Australia in which South Africa lost five consecutive games. But just as it seemed the situation had slipped beyond their control, they surged back to win the ODI rubber 3-2 and headed to the World Cup on a high. At the tournament, South Africa were beasts batting first but brittle in the chase and outdid themselves by qualifying for and competing well in the semi-final defeat to Australia. Beating India by an innings in the Boxing Day Test ensured the year ended and a new WTC cycle started sweetly.
While the men began the year with a new coaching staff, the women ended it continuing with the old one. Though their T20 record has been shaky, with drawn series with New Zealand and Bangladesh, they had ODI series wins over Pakistan, New Zealand and Bangladesh and finished in second place on the women's championship.
High point
After 31 attempts across both men's and women's ODI and T20 World Cups, South Africa finally qualified for a final. That they did it at home only made it more satisfying and though the T20 women's side was defeated by Australia, they won everything besides the trophy, restoring public confidence in the competitiveness of the national teams.
After 31 attempts across both men's and women's ODI and T20 World Cups, South Africa finally qualified for a final. That they did it at home only made it more satisfying and though the T20 women's side was defeated by Australia, they won everything besides the trophy, restoring public confidence in the competitiveness of the national teams.
The men did not reach the same heights but their journey to the 50-over World Cup semi-final was worth celebrating, because it came against the odds. After spending almost the entire Super League outside the automatic qualification zone, they booked their spots to the World Cup at the last available opportunity and then exceeded expectations. They now hold the record for the highest World Cup total, which is nowhere near as satisfying as winning the trophy, but there's always a next time, which, in this case, is at home in 2027.
Low point
Temba Bavuma has become an easy target and a scapegoat for all that goes wrong with South African cricket and this was a challenging year for him. His match-winning century in the Super League game against England in January was long forgotten by the time he got to the World Cup, where he was the least successful of South Africa's top six, and the only one not to score a century. But it was Cricket South Africa's (non)-handling of Bavuma's injury concerns, both at the World Cup and during the Boxing Day Test against India, that created a fracas which should have been avoided. Requests for updates on Bavuma's condition were repeatedly ignored, which only fuelled speculation that he was more unfit than it seemed, and his own admission to playing the semi-final despite not being 100% was met with anger when he was dismissed for a four-ball duck. With waning form and confusing messaging, Bavuma has alienated fans and will need to work hard to win back their support.
Temba Bavuma has become an easy target and a scapegoat for all that goes wrong with South African cricket and this was a challenging year for him. His match-winning century in the Super League game against England in January was long forgotten by the time he got to the World Cup, where he was the least successful of South Africa's top six, and the only one not to score a century. But it was Cricket South Africa's (non)-handling of Bavuma's injury concerns, both at the World Cup and during the Boxing Day Test against India, that created a fracas which should have been avoided. Requests for updates on Bavuma's condition were repeatedly ignored, which only fuelled speculation that he was more unfit than it seemed, and his own admission to playing the semi-final despite not being 100% was met with anger when he was dismissed for a four-ball duck. With waning form and confusing messaging, Bavuma has alienated fans and will need to work hard to win back their support.
Results
West Indies
by Shashank Kishore
If not qualifying into the main rounds of the T20 World Cup in 2022 was a body blow for West Indies, their inability to secure a spot at the 50-over World Cup in India in 2023 was the nadir. It was the first ODI men's World Cup without the two-time champions.
If not qualifying into the main rounds of the T20 World Cup in 2022 was a body blow for West Indies, their inability to secure a spot at the 50-over World Cup in India in 2023 was the nadir. It was the first ODI men's World Cup without the two-time champions.
On reflection, they might look back at the Super Over loss to Netherlands in the Qualifier in Harare as the one that got away. But there were enough other warning signs in the same tournament, from their scrappy win against USA to their loss against Scotland.
They were, surprisingly, slightly better in Tests, even if the results may say otherwise. They were in with more than a shout of upsetting South Africa in Centurion before they collapsed. Before that, they recorded a series win in Zimbabwe, but were given a reality check by India at home in July at the start of the new World Test Championship cycle.
Not all was gloom. In T20Is, West Indies set sail for the home World Cup in 2024 by beating India, and then a jaded England in both white-ball formats. Andre Russell wants to be ready for the World Cup looking like a UFC fighter, he has said.
The women's team had problems of their own. They didn't make the semi-finals of the T20 World Cup. And, following in the vein of Deandra Dottin's shock international retirement in 2022, coach Courtney Walsh was sacked. At the start of the year, they lost all four T20Is in a triangular in South Africa, and at the tail end, they lost both their white-ball series in Australia comprehensively.
High point
Hayley Matthews' record-breaking 64-ball 132 that helped West Indies scale their biggest ever chase in women's T20Is. Matthews also led the way with the ball to pick up three wickets in a game she won't forget in a hurry.
Hayley Matthews' record-breaking 64-ball 132 that helped West Indies scale their biggest ever chase in women's T20Is. Matthews also led the way with the ball to pick up three wickets in a game she won't forget in a hurry.
Low point
The failure to qualify for the men's World Cup. Several questions were raised yet again over players being allowed to choose the IPL over national duty in the lead-up to the World Cup Qualifiers in Zimbabwe in June. Six of the 15 who travelled to that tournament - Kyle Mayers, Jason Holder, Rovman Powell, Alzarri Joseph, Romario Shepherd and Akeal Hosein - were not involved in the build-up. As it turned out, a camp and day-night games against UAE in the desert were hardly the right preparation for games in dewy southern African winter mornings in June.
The failure to qualify for the men's World Cup. Several questions were raised yet again over players being allowed to choose the IPL over national duty in the lead-up to the World Cup Qualifiers in Zimbabwe in June. Six of the 15 who travelled to that tournament - Kyle Mayers, Jason Holder, Rovman Powell, Alzarri Joseph, Romario Shepherd and Akeal Hosein - were not involved in the build-up. As it turned out, a camp and day-night games against UAE in the desert were hardly the right preparation for games in dewy southern African winter mornings in June.
Results
Ireland
by Andrew Miller
First the good news. Ireland will be represented at the T20 World Cup in the Caribbean and the USA this year, after avoiding any mishaps against the likes of Italy and Denmark in the Europe Region Qualifiers in Edinburgh in July. The bad news, however, remained front and centre of their endeavours in a dispiriting 2023.
First the good news. Ireland will be represented at the T20 World Cup in the Caribbean and the USA this year, after avoiding any mishaps against the likes of Italy and Denmark in the Europe Region Qualifiers in Edinburgh in July. The bad news, however, remained front and centre of their endeavours in a dispiriting 2023.
Sadly for Ireland (and their finances), they bombed out of the qualifying campaign that really mattered - the 50-over version in Zimbabwe in June and early July, where they failed even to make it to the Super Sixes after a catastrophic trio of defeats against Oman, Scotland and Sri Lanka.
So they missed the jamboree in India just gone, at which Afghanistan and the Netherlands flew the flag for the little guys with impressive vigour. And now it turns out they'll be absent from the 2025 Champions Trophy too, thanks to the ICC's surprise decision to use the World Cup's final standings to determine that tournament's qualification.
It means that, by the time the 2027 World Cup comes around, it will have been at least 12 years since Ireland's last appearance on the stage at which they made their reputation way back in 2007. And given the compromises that they are already enduring in their day-to-day operations, that continued absence may herald a rather bleak scramble for subsistence.
Nothing epitomises Ireland's dilemma quite like the fortunes of their Test team in 2023. On the plus side, they did actually play four matches - one more than they had previously contested in their entire existence, having gone without a single Test since 2019.
On the downside, the first three were arranged as explicit preparation for their big day out, a return to Lord's for a four-day Test against England in early June, in which England's ensuing Bazballing proved to be dreadful preparation for Ireland's World Cup qualification campaign barely a fortnight later.
They could have avoided their fate in Zimbabwe had they managed to secure a top-ten finish in the World Cup Super League, but their last-ditch bid to leapfrog South Africa fell in a heap. Needing a 3-0 win over Bangladesh to have any hope, and fearing the Irish weather in early May, Cricket Ireland outsourced their crucial three-match series against Bangladesh to Chelmsford (which also had the benefit of saving them any overheads for their costly temporary facilities in Malahide). It duly rained in the first match anyway, and that was the end of that.
High point
At least the year finished on an upbeat note, with Ireland's first ODI series victory in Zimbabwe - a 2-0 win marshalled by new captain Paul Stirling, and sealed in the third match by an unbeaten 82 from his predecessor Andy Balbirnie. But the single greatest relief undoubtedly came in the avoidance of further upset in Edinburgh at the T20 Qualifiers, not least in their opening game, where Italy's Gareth Berg ran them uncomfortably close in a final-over seven-run win.
At least the year finished on an upbeat note, with Ireland's first ODI series victory in Zimbabwe - a 2-0 win marshalled by new captain Paul Stirling, and sealed in the third match by an unbeaten 82 from his predecessor Andy Balbirnie. But the single greatest relief undoubtedly came in the avoidance of further upset in Edinburgh at the T20 Qualifiers, not least in their opening game, where Italy's Gareth Berg ran them uncomfortably close in a final-over seven-run win.
Low point
Ireland's five-wicket loss to Oman in Bulawayo. A target of 282 ought to have been plenty, after George Dockrell's career-best 91 not out, but Kashyap Prajapati set the agenda with a forceful 72, and in the end it wasn't remotely close. Ireland's bid for World Cup qualification had been knocked off course at the first time of asking, and in a brutal itinerary, they had been eliminated within the week, following further losses to Scotland and Sri Lanka.
Ireland's five-wicket loss to Oman in Bulawayo. A target of 282 ought to have been plenty, after George Dockrell's career-best 91 not out, but Kashyap Prajapati set the agenda with a forceful 72, and in the end it wasn't remotely close. Ireland's bid for World Cup qualification had been knocked off course at the first time of asking, and in a brutal itinerary, they had been eliminated within the week, following further losses to Scotland and Sri Lanka.
Results
Nepal, UAE, Namibia, USA, Scotland, Papua New Guinea
by Ashish Pant
Some unprecedented highs, and a few lows - the year 2023 was one where the Associate nations showed their might, at times ruffling a few Full Member feathers.
Some unprecedented highs, and a few lows - the year 2023 was one where the Associate nations showed their might, at times ruffling a few Full Member feathers.
Nepal had a truly breakthrough year, showing the tenacity and will to compete and conquer as they conjured one miracle after another to rise from the bottom half of the World Cup Super League 2 points table and qualify for the ODI World Cup qualifier. They then made it to the Asia Cup for the first time before lining up records to knock down at the Asian Games. They rounded off a stellar year by booking their spot in the 2024 men's T20 World Cup line-up.
It was a mixed bag of a year for UAE. They toppled two Full Member nations in T20Is - Afghanistan and New Zealand - and secured a place in the World Cup Qualifiers. But they also failed to make it to the main round of the Asia Cup and the 2024 T20 World Cup, with Nepal pipping them both times. Their high point of the year was the T20I win against New Zealand at home, the first time in 39 matches that New Zealand had lost a match against a non-Test-playing nation across formats.
Namibia went close to six and a half months without playing any international cricket but had contrasting results on either side of that break. They failed to qualify for the World Cup qualifiers in the first half, but in the second they beat Zimbabwe 3-2 in T20Is and then sealed a spot in the next T20 World Cup with an unblemished run at the Africa region qualifiers.
Among the Associate teams mentioned here, USA played the fewest international matches in 2023 - 11 ODIs and no T20Is. And, barring the high of making it to the World Cup qualifiers for the first time since the tournament was played as the ICC Trophy in Ireland in 2005, they had an underwhelming year. They failed to secure a single win at the qualifiers, finishing bottom of the table in the ten-team tournament, and since their ninth-place playoff against UAE on July 6, USA haven't played a single international game.
Despite losing two of their best players, Calum MacLeod and Kyle Coetzer, within a few months of each other through retirements, Scotland topped the World Cup League 2 table and made a splash at the qualifiers as well, starting with a most improbable win against Ireland before they beat West Indies and knocked out Zimbabwe. They came close to making it to the main event only to lose out to Netherlands. They won each of the six T20Is they played , but their international fixtures ended in July. Off the field, though, troubles continued to mount for the Scotland cricket board in the wake of a racism scandal from 2022.
PNG played 13 ODIs and managed just three wins, finishing bottom of the World Cup League 2 table. They also failed to score a win at the World Cup qualifier playoffs. But in T20Is, PNG went undefeated the entire year, winning ten out of ten games. They also secured a place at the T20 World Cup in 2024 by topping the East Asia-Pacific Regional Qualifier table.
High point
The story of how Nepal racked up 11 wins in 12 matches to rise from the bottom of the World Cup League Stage 2 table and into the World Cup qualifiers.
The story of how Nepal racked up 11 wins in 12 matches to rise from the bottom of the World Cup League Stage 2 table and into the World Cup qualifiers.
Low point
The lack of game time for the Associates. Scotland haven't played any international cricket since August; Namibia had none between April and mid-October; and USA played zero T20Is in 2023, even though they are co-hosting the T20 World Cup in another six months.
The lack of game time for the Associates. Scotland haven't played any international cricket since August; Namibia had none between April and mid-October; and USA played zero T20Is in 2023, even though they are co-hosting the T20 World Cup in another six months.
Afghanistan
by Danyal Rasool
It was a bit of a mixed year for the Afghanistan side, but their highs were dazzlingly bright. Unsurprisingly, it was in T20 that they excelled, the only one of the three formats where they won more games than they lost.
It was a bit of a mixed year for the Afghanistan side, but their highs were dazzlingly bright. Unsurprisingly, it was in T20 that they excelled, the only one of the three formats where they won more games than they lost.
That included a series win over Pakistan in March, whom they beat again later in the year, at the Asian Games, where they also beat Sri Lanka.
Come the 50-over World Cup, they beat those two sides again, defeated England handsomely, and went agonisingly close to beating eventual champions Australia.
Aside from the World Cup, though, Afghanistan continued to look for consistency in ODI results. They won an away series in Bangladesh and ran Sri Lanka close before losing 2-1, but were whitewashed 3-0 by Pakistan in a series in the lead-up to the World Cup, and failed to qualify for the second round of the Asia Cup after getting their net-run-rate calculations wrong. The only Test they played all year was perhaps their weakest performance - they lost by 546 runs, the third biggest margin in Test history and the largest in 89 years.
High point
After frequent heartbreak against Pakistan, Afghanistan finally got over the line in 2023, winning the first two T20Is of their series in the UAE to secure a win that set their year up. Crossing that psychological barrier would go on to prove useful as they got past the line against the same opponents twice more, including at the ODI World Cup.
After frequent heartbreak against Pakistan, Afghanistan finally got over the line in 2023, winning the first two T20Is of their series in the UAE to secure a win that set their year up. Crossing that psychological barrier would go on to prove useful as they got past the line against the same opponents twice more, including at the ODI World Cup.
Low point
Afghanistan continue to be the only ICC Full Member without a professional women's cricket side, something that is increasingly difficult to look past.
Afghanistan continue to be the only ICC Full Member without a professional women's cricket side, something that is increasingly difficult to look past.
Results