The 10 moments that shaped Australian cricket

Jon Pierik takes a look at the 10 biggest moments of the Australian cricketing year (and not just the obvious ones).

1) When Cameron Bancroft pulled out that yellow piece of sandpaper:
While David Warner told Bancroft what to do, and Steve Smith was guilty of walking by and doing nothing to stop the hatched plan, the specific moment that sent Australian cricket plunging into chaos on that third afternoon of the third Test in Cape Town was when Bancroft – who still had time for a change of heart – attempted to scuff the ball (unsuccessfully) with sandpaper, and then drop it down the front of his pants when he realised the gig was all but up.

Desperate to change the momentum of a series slipping away, and with reverse swing not happening, Bancroft's move – the third but ultimately pivotal link in the chain of events – would spark upheaval the game has rarely, if ever, witnessed before.

2) The Bancroft and Steve Smith press conference in Cape Town:
Would the ramifications of the ball-tampering scandal have been as great had the two men not fronted a press conference after play that afternoon? Perhaps. Perhaps not.

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Had the team manager or Bob Every, the Cricket Australia director on tour, taken charge and read a statement, declaring that as Bancroft had been charged by match referee Andy Pycroft there was little the team could add at that point, then the immediate drama and fall-out may have been curtailed.

Instead, the public damnation, and that from Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull, was so great, the ramifications were far reaching.

A spooked Bancroft exacerbated the situation by initially claiming he had used a piece of tape – not sandpaper. Smith was advised that if he did front the media he should offer few details, claim he was constrained in what he could say because Bancroft had been charged, and perhaps offer a more extensive account at a later time.

But, as our reporter Chris Barrett wrote at the time, such was Smith's anguish at what had transpired during the lunch break, he had felt the need to unburden himself.

Bancroft also felt the need to unburden himself, declaring: "Unfortunately, I was in the wrong place at the wrong time. I want to be here [at the media conference] because I am accountable for my actions as well."

3) Smith and David Warner suspended and coach Darren Lehmann stands down:
Under ICC rules at the time, only Smith was suspended for ball tampering, and lost his entire match fee, while Bancroft was fined 75 per cent of his match fee and lost three demerit points. Warner escaped censure.

But all that was to change when CA chief James Sutherland and former anti-corruption chief Iain Roy dashed to Cape Town on the Sunday when the Australian public awoke to the overnight news.

Smith and Warner, as captain and vice-captain, were banned for a year; Bancroft for nine months.

Warner had been the team's chief ball shiner but, having realised the cameras had been following him, got Bancroft involved. What was Bancroft, keen to impress and fit in, to do?

Lehmann was cleared of having any prior knowledge of what had unfolded but his position became untenable, as questions arose about the team's overall boorish and aggressive behaviour in the name of winning.

4) Australian women's team capture the Twenty20 World Cup:
Amid the year-long fall-out of "sandpapergate" at cricket's Jolimont headquarters, there was some good news in November when Meg Lanning's side claimed the World Twenty20 in the Caribbean with an eight-wicket win over England in the final.

Alyssa Healy, the opening bat and wicket-keeper, had been central to the team's campaign with dynamic hitting at the top of the order, while all-rounder Ellyse Perry was typically consistent.

The title was Australia's fourth, after they were crowned champions in 2010, 2012 and 2014.

Off-spinner Ashleigh Gardner (3-22) and teenage leg-spinner Georgia Wareham had been instrumental in bowling out England for only 105 in the final.

5) James Sutherland hands in his notice, the states gang up on CA chairman David Peever to oust him:
Back to the bad news. In June, Sutherland announced he would be standing down after 17 years in the top role.

This was said to have nothing to do with what transpired in South Africa, but it was clear the findings of The Ethics Centre's review into the governing body's culture was going to require change – and casualties.

Sutherland had survived tumultuous times through his tenure – there had been an earlier clean-out as a result of the Argue review in 2011 – but this was on a different scale.

After a world-wide search, the man in the next office to Sutherland, Kevin Roberts, was named as the new chief.

With Sutherland and Ben Amarfio, CA's head of broadcasting who was seen to have been too aggressive in his determination to get the job done, among the clean-out, chairman David Peever did not read the play as well as someone of his stature should have done.

Peever ensured he was re-elected for another three years before the states, who determine who sits on the board, had read the damning Longstaff review.

He also insisted he was the right man to initiate cultural change, a year after he had led an unedifying pay war against the players.

Having read the Longstaff report, the chairmen of NSW and Victoria made it clear to Peever he had lost their support – and had to go.

Peever had also supported the retention of high-performance chief Pat Howard, who also was forced out.

6) Kevin Pietersen plays his final Big Bash League match before a sparse crowd:
The South African-born Englishman had been one of the game's greatest showman for 13 years, whether that be an international level or with the Melbourne Stars in the BBL.

Yes, he could polarise, but the sport needs figures like that. And he could bat, too.

However, he played his last match before a modest crowd of about 19,000 at the cavernous MCG in a season when the Stars failed to make the finals.

What that showed was that supporters aren't rusted on yet, and filling stadiums is a issue when a team is losing.

It also sparked questions as to how this season would go now the competition has become a full home-and-away campaign and extends into the middle of February, when the school year has resumed and the winter codes ramp up. We all know what happened to the golden goose.

7) Victory over India in Perth:
In a year of tumult, the 146-run win over India in the second Test in Perth was something special.

It was Australia's first in seven Tests and began to validate the hard work new coach Justin Langer and skipper Tim Paine had done.

It was also a pressure release, and highlighted how great Nathan Lyon had become.

Perth's new stadium had been expected to favour the fast bowlers but Lyon, this country's greatest ever off-spinner, was so good he claimed eight wickets for the match, including dismissing Virat Kohli in the second innings for a record seventh time.

8) England post a record ODI score against Australia:
Australia may be the defending World Cup champions but their one-day cup defence remains a major concern – although that could change should Smith and Warner be picked.

Regardless, this was a team struggling last summer at home even with the pair. The mid-year series in England highlighted their all-round woes, when the host nation belted the highest ODI total in history – 6-481 off 50 overs at Trent Bridge.

Alex Hales crunched 147 and Jonny Bairstow 139, in what was to be a 242-run win.

Australia have a home series against India, an away series in India and another against Pakistan to find their groove before the World Cup in England.

9) Australians largely overlooked by Indian Premier League franchises:
Whether it be because of a cramped international schedule next year, or players in recent times pulling out because of injury, Australians are on the nose with IPL franchises, judging by this year's interest in retaining or drafting players.

This could change come 2020 but it's an issue that remains unresolved.

10) There was a time when …

Everything, at least on the surface, seemed rosy when the Australian side completed a 4-0 Ashes series romp in Sydney with an innings and 123-run win in the New Year's Test.

Led by centuries to Shaun Marsh, Mitch Marsh and Usman Khawaja, the home side amassed 7-649 (declared) in its first innings.

This was a side fulfilling the winning mantra set out by CA although there were signs this team was too often "headbutting the line", as Nathan Lyon once said.

The graceless manner in which the team celebrated on the dais in Sydney was a portent of things to come.

It wasn't long before this hostile pursuit of victory, in the face of tougher opposition, would tip the team – and the sport – over the edge.

Jon Pierik is a sports writer with The Age, focusing primarily on AFL football, cricket and basketball. He has won awards for his cricket and basketball writing.

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