Cricket is the second most followed sport in the world, born in England in its modern form, it is mostly practiced in the Commonwealth countries: Bangladesh, India, Sri Lanka, Pakistan, Wales, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, Zimbabwe and in the English-speaking Caribbean.

Cricket is the most common sport in India without any doubt. In India. Cricket, for Indian people, is not just a sport, but it can be considered on a par with religion: it is part of the unique cultural heritage of India, that makes that country really fascinating.

Ranking a cricket player is not really easy and you must consider many different aspects. Of course the die-hard fans of cricket already have their favourite cricketer in their personal ranking, based on the team they support and their favourite skill. Some prefer strength rather than speed, others stamina, others rank the ability of scoring.

For cricket fans, it isn’t all about getting your fix by watching the latest Tests or one-day games on TV. Of course, we all love watching the biggest clashes in the sport, and there’s nothing better than spending a few hours watching some of the best players on the planet do their thing.

The upcoming India vs England series in February promises to be an absolute humdinger with many of the greatest cricketers on earth facing off against each other.

This Border Gavaskar trophy will certainly go down as one of the greatest ever series rivalling the likes of Ashes 1981, Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2001 and West Indies tour of Australia 1960-61.

When Matt Renshaw had to answer an unexpected call of nature during the 2017 Border Gavaskar test at Pune and paid heed to it by retiring hurt, the former Australian skipper Allan Border wasn’t impressed. He remarked “I hope he is lying on the table in there half dead. Otherwise as captain I would not be happy” to Fox Sports. This wasn’t the first time Border had urged for his countrymen to give their all on the cricket field, having fired up Dean Jones during the tied Madras test in 1986 with the ‘Weak Victorian’ comment. The idea was for the individual to stand up and fight for the country and the team.

‘Upset’ in sports terminology is a reference to an underdog doing the unimaginable by either holding a superior side for a draw/tie or defeating them. There is something about the ‘Rocky Balboa’ experience that excites our imagination. Perhaps, the fact that the less touted also have their moment to shine is what makes them connect with the viewers. It could mean anything from an inexperienced side stunning the world champions (Ashraful taking the fight to Australia and winning in Cardiff 2005) to a non-test playing Kenya entering the semi-finals of the 2003 World Cup in South Africa after having beaten the likes of Sri Lanka and Zimbabwe.

After India had been shot out for 36 in the first Test at Adelaide, there were two kinds of reactions which dominated the social media and cricket columns: One was of shock and horror at this unexpected turn of events after a balanced start to the Test with India in a lead going into day 3, while the other was to fight the fire which could have engulfed the team in case an inquisition was carried out.

As 2020 disappears into history leaving few fond memories behind it Martin takes his usual look at recent and forthcoming cricket titles