The Ashes, the World Cup, and all sorts of reviews

January

1 Shahid Afridi and Waqar Younis are asked to appear before the ICC's Anti-Corruption Tribunal hearing in the case of the three Pakistan players accused of spot-fixing.

4 Ten teams are confirmed for IPL 4 after the BCCI decides to suspend its legal battles with the Rajasthan Royal and Kings XI Punjab franchises.

5 England batsman Paul Collingwood announces that he will retire from Test cricket after the Sydney Test against Australia.

6 Gary Kirsten's final Test as India coach, at Newlands, is drawn after Gautam Gambhir bats with an injured arm to score half-centuries in either innings and Jacques Kallis makes two hundreds. Harbhajan Singh takes seven in the second innings but the final-day target of 340 is too steep for India. The series is drawn 1-1.

7 England crush Australia by an innings and 83 runs at the SCG to take Ashes 3-1. It's their first Test series win in the country since 1986-87.

15 Rajasthan lift the Ranji Trophy for the first time, after securing a first-innings advantage in the final against Baroda.

17 Habib Bank Limited secure the Quaid-e-Azam Trophy after beating Pakistan International Airlines by five wickets in the division one final.

18 Pakistan draw the second Test against New Zealand in Wellington but secure the series 1-0.

Pakistan batsman Mohammad Yousuf is dropped from the World Cup squad.

19 Cricket South Africa president Dr Mtutuzeli Nyoka is asked to quit after a motion of no-confidence against him.

21 Muttiah Muralitharan says he will retire from all international cricket after the 2011 World Cup.

22 Pakistan's oldest Test cricketer, Aslam Khokhar, dies in Lahore aged 91 after a prolonged illness.

23 India coach Gary Kirsten says he will not renew his contract with India after the 2011 World Cup.

South Africa survive a blitzy century by Yusuf Pathan in Centurion to take the one-day series 3-2.

Trinidad and Tobago surge to the Caribbean T20 title for the second time in three years after beating Hampshire by 36 runs in the final.

26 Matthew Bell, the New Zealand batsman, announces his retirement from all forms of cricket.

The ICC seeks an explanation from the PCB about Mohammad Amir playing a club game after he was provisionally suspended from all levels of cricket following the spot-fixing allegations.

27 Eden Gardens in Kolkata loses its India-England fixture for the World Cup because the ICC's inspection team says it won't be ready in time to host the fixture.

Allen Stanford, the American billionaire, is deemed unfit to stand trial on charges fraud to the tune of $7 billion, and needs treatment for a drug addiction.

28 Back-to-back Ashes series are confirmed, with the teams playing ten consecutive Tests across two series home and away in 2013-14.

29 Nathan Bracken, the Australian left-arm seamer, announces his retirement from all forms of cricket due to a knee injury.

30 Australia take an unassailable 4-1 lead in the one-day series against England after a 51-run win at the Gabba.

31 South African franchises the Warriors and the Lions confirm they have not received their prize money for the Champions League T20, totalling US$ 1.5 million.

February

4 Shahid Afridi is named Pakistan captain for the World Cup.

5 Salman Butt, Mohammad Asif and Mohammad Amir are banned for 10, 7 and 5 years respectively after an ICC tribunal found them guilty of spot-fixing. Amir says he will appeal.

It is announced that Hot Spot will not be part of the Decision Review System used during the 2011 ICC World Cup.

6 Sri Lanka beat West Indies by 26 runs in the third one-day international to take the series 2-0.

England batsman Eoin Morgan is ruled out of the World Cup due to a finger injury. Australia's Michael Hussey and Nathan Hauritz are also ruled out due to injuries. Later, injuries also rule out Pakistan fast bowler Sohail Tanvir, Dwayne Bravo of West Indies, and Australia's Doug Bollinger .

Cricket Australia announces it will commission independent reviews of the game's governance and team performance in the wake of the Ashes defeat.

10 Trevor Bailey, the former England allrounder, dies in a fire at his retirement home in Essex, aged 87.

Rajasthan Royals seek US$30 million in damages from the BCCI as compensation for their summary expulsion from the IPL in October 2010.

Mahela Jayawardene is appointed captain of Kochi Tuskers Kerala for IPL 2011.

18 The ICC says there will be no going back on the decision to reduce the 50-over World Cup from 14 to ten teams, despite protests from the Associates.

19 The 2011 World Cup gets underway in Mirpur, with Virender Sehwag blazing 175 against Bangladesh to get India off to a winning start.

21 The official ticketing website for the World Cup crashes, leaving fans high and dry. A few days later the ICC decides to set up a public ballot system for ticket sales for the semi-finals and final of the 2011 World Cup following the tickets website's crash.

22 An earthquake in Christchurch causes concern in the New Zealand camp, but the families of the players are safe back home.

23 Ricky Ponting is reprimanded for damaging a television set in the dressing room in frustration after he was run out against Zimbabwe.

25 Yasir Hameed is banned by the PCB from domestic cricket for his interview with an undercover reporter from News of the World in the immediate aftermath of the spot-fixing controversy.

27 The India-England World Cup match in Bangalore ends in a high-scoring tie.

28 England and Surrey wicketkeeper Steven Davies reveals he is gay, becoming the first playing professional cricketer to so.

Kemar Roach takes a hat-trick as West Indies thrash Netherlands by 215 runs.

March

1 The ICC defends the 2.5m rule relating to the ball-tracking technology used in the DRS.

Lasith Malinga destroys Kenya with a hat-trick, his second in World Cups.

2 Kevin O'Brien stuns England with the fastest World Cup hundred , helping Ireland chase down 328 after they were reeling at 111 for 5.

4 Bangladesh crash to 58 all out against West Indies in Dhaka. The West Indies team bus is stoned after the game.

Former IPL commissioner Lalit Modi's passport is revoked by the Mumbai Regional Passport Office, five months after he was sacked from the league on charges of financial irregularities.

6 Kevin Pietersen is ruled out of the World Cup due to a hernia and has to undergo surgery.

7 The ICC announces a tweak in the DRS guidelines, allowing on-field umpires to reverse not-out decisions if the replays show part of the ball to be hitting middle stump, even if the batsman is hit more than 2.5m away.

Gautam Gambhir is named Kolkata Knight Riders' captain for the fourth season of the IPL. Later in the week Yuvraj Singh is named captain of Sahara Pune Warriors for the fourth season of the IPL.

11 Bangladesh beat England by two wickets in Chittagong in the World Cup.

12 Graham Manou, the South Australia wicketkeeper who played one Test on the 2009 Ashes tour, quits first-class cricket.

South Africa edge past India, thanks to Robin Peterson's six in the last over in Nagpur. Sachin Tendulkar scores his 99th international century in the match.

16 Peter Loader, the Surrey fast bowler who took 39 wickets in 13 Tests for England, dies aged 81.

Under-pressure umpire Asoka de Silva is removed from a couple of key World Cup games he was originally marked for due to his poor decision-making.

17 Pakistan fast bowler Shoaib Akhtar says he will retire from international cricket after the World Cup.

18 BCCI umpire Devendra Sharma is removed from duty following a TV sting operation showing him allegedly supplying information about the pitch and conditions before a game.

20 Steve Tikolo, Kenya's most capped player and captain, bows out of international cricket.

23 Fred Titmus, the former Middlesex and England allrounder, who made 1449 runs and took 153 wickets in 53 Tests, dies aged 78 following a long illness.

24 Michael Yardy, the England allrounder, pulls out of the World Cup citing depression.

*India progress to the World Cup semi-finals, knocking out Australia and ending their chance of extending their 12-year reign as one-day champions.

25 South Africa are sent out of the World Cup after they lose their quarter-final to New Zealand by 49 runs.

26 Upul Tharanga and Tillakaratne Dilshan hit centuries as Sri Lanka storm into the semi-finals, beating England by ten wickets.

28 Australian fast bowler Shaun Tait retires from ODIs.

29 Sri Lanka beat New Zealand by five wickets to progress to the World Cup final.

30 The marquee clash of the tournament goes India's way as they beat Pakistan in the semi-final in Mohali to set up the title clash with Sri Lanka.

April

2 India lift the World Cup for the first time in 28 years, beating Sri Lanka in the final in Mumbai. MS Dhoni leads from the front with an unbeaten 91, and hits a six to seal the title.

Cape Cobras take the SuperSport Series in South Africa with a seven-wicket win against Warriors.

4 The ICC confirms that the next two World Cups will be ten-team events. Ireland captain William Porterfield calls the decision "an absolute joke".

Martin Horton, who played two Tests for England in 1959 as an allrounder, dies after a long illness, at the age of 76.

5 Kumar Sangakkara steps down as captain of Sri Lanka's ODI and T20 teams but offers to continue as the Test captain on an interim basis for the forthcoming series against England and Australia. The same week, former Australia batsman Stuart Law takes over as interim coach of Sri Lanka for the tour of England, and the Sri Lankan selection committee, headed by chief selector Aravinda De Silva, hands in its resignation .

Trevor Chesterfield, the veteran cricket journalist and former first-class umpire, dies aged 75 in Sri Lanka.

7 Canterbury defeat Northern Districts by eight wickets to take New Zealand's Plunket Shield 2010-11 title.

9 Jamaica win their fourth-successive regional first-class title with a comfortable eight-wicket win over Combined Colleges & Campuses inside two days.

10 Former Sri Lanka captain Duleep Mendis is appointed head of Sri Lanka's new selection panel.

12 Bangladesh announce they will not extend national coach Jamie Siddons' contract.

Sri Lanka Cricket announces that it's in debt to the tune of $23 million after the World Cup.

13 Pubudu Dassanayake quits as Canada coach after three years in the job.

15 John Buchanan, the former Australia coach, is appointed New Zealand's director of cricket.

17 Gerry Alexander, the former West Indies captain, dies at the age of 82 in Jamaica.

18 Tillakaratne Dilshan is appointed Sri Lanka's captain for all three formats for the tour of England.

Former Yorkshire and England legspinner Eddie Leadbeater dies in Huddersfield at the age of 83.

Eldine Baptiste steps down as Kenya's coach two months before his contract expires.

20 The West Indies Cricket Board expresses its disappointment at Chris Gayle's decision to play in the IPL instead of making himself available for West Indies' home season. Gayle says he had no choice but to turn his back on West Indies after the way the WICB had treated him. He also slams the coach, Ottis Gibson.

21 Jimmy Kamande is sacked as Kenya's captain following the country's dismal performance at the World Cup.

22 Lasith Malinga gives up Test cricket because of his long-standing knee problems.

24 Colin Snedden, a former New Zealand cricketer and sports broadcaster, dies in his sleep at the age of 93.

27 Duncan Fletcher, the former England coach and Zimbabwe captain, is appointed India's coach.

Former Bangladesh captain Akram Khan is named the chief selector.

29 Peter Chingoka is re-elected chairman of Zimbabwe Cricket.

*07:18 GMT, Dec 30: The March 24 entry said India ended Australia's unbeaten run in World Cups since 1999. This has been corrected