New Zealand vs England
2019-11-28
Neil Wagner's relentless bouncer strategy against Joe Root during New Zealand's 2019 Test series — bowling exclusively short deliveries at Root's body from around the wicket — exposed how even the world's best Test batsman could be rattled by intelligently sustained short-pitched bowling.
West Indies vs Australia
2019-07-03
Jason Holder's innovative around-the-wicket plan against Steve Smith — bowling into the rough outside leg stump — provided one of the 2019 series' most sophisticated bowling strategies against cricket's most technically gifted batsman, forcing Smith into specific defensive decisions he found unfamiliar.
England vs New Zealand
2019-07-14
The 2019 World Cup Final featured a freak overthrow off Ben Stokes' bat that went for six runs, sparking endless debate and proving that cricket's greatest moments are often its most absurd.
England vs New Zealand
14 July 2019
England won the 2019 World Cup Final on a boundary count tiebreaker after both the match and Super Over were tied, amid controversy over a crucial overthrow that awarded England six runs instead of five.
ICC vs Player Welfare
2019-08-01
The concussion substitute rule — allowing a like-for-like replacement for a player diagnosed with concussion — was formalised in international cricket in 2019 and immediately triggered controversy when it was used in the same Ashes Test where Steve Smith was struck by Jofra Archer.
ICC vs Comprehensibility
2019-08-01
The World Test Championship's points-percentage system — introduced to account for different numbers of series played — became so complex that even cricket journalists struggled to explain qualification scenarios, and was simplified after the first cycle following widespread criticism.
England vs Australia
2019-08-25
England needed 73 off the last 17 overs with one wicket remaining. Ben Stokes scored 135 not out, hitting the winning four off Pat Cummins to give England a 1-wicket victory — the most remarkable Ashes run chase since Botham's Leeds 1981.