Sport 2013 - Another unforgettable year

By Simon Wright – Follow me on Twitter @Siwri88

It was always going to be tough to topple the memorable sporting year of 2012 but 2013 certainly was a brilliant cameo to last year’s events. The Brits finally had a Wimbledon winner, continue to reign on two wheels in Paris and a distance god made his success into world domination. There was also the retirement of football’s greatest manager, a won and lost Ashes series, Lions roar to glory Down Under and an invincible German take Formula One by storm. It is fair to say that there were many highlights over the past calendar year.

There is only one place where this review can start and that is to lookback on a remarkable year of tennis. In the women’s game, Serena Williams almost swept the board. The American won the French and US Open, the WTA Championships in Istanbul and regained her number one world ranking. Her Wimbledon defence ended though in the last 16, beaten by Sabine Lisicki of Germany. Lisicki made it to the final but crumbled on the main stage, allowing Frenchman Marion Bartoli – often the bridesmaid to finally become the bride. A straight sets victory for Bartoli saw her claim the only Grand Slam title of her career. A sudden retirement followed in August due to injury but no-one can take away the rose bowl dish won at SW19. Victoria Azarenka won the Australian Open and it was good year for Laura Robson as she made the second week at Wimbledon. Fellow Brit Heather Watson struggled with illness for the majority of the year whilst retirement beckoned for Anne Keothavong and Elena Baltacha. With Roger Federer enduring his worst season in 11 years – failing to reach any of the semi-finals at the Grand Slam events and claiming only one ATP win all season, the main honours were divided between three men. Serbian Novak Djokovic started the year in brilliant fashion, beating Andy Murray in four sets to win again in Melbourne. Despite a shock first round elimination in south west London, Rafael Nadal returned from career threatening injury to win the US Open and triumph for an eighth time at Roland Garros. That leads us to the unforgettable day on Sunday, 7 July 2013.

Andy Murray ended the long British drought of 77 years at Wimbledon

Injury meant Murray missed the French Open and his draw looked tough too, until all of his potential opponents were wiped out on ‘Holby City Wednesday’ on the opening week. Buoyant from his victory at Queens Club, Murray (pictured) made it to the final despite a huge scare in the quarter-finals against Fernando Verdasco. He would play Djokovic after his own five-hour epic with Juan Martin del Potro of Argentina. The final which should have been a tense affair turned into a classy performance from the Brit. Murray won all the crucial points and it was Djokovic who made the mistakes when put under pressure. In searing heat and at 5.25pm on Centre Court, Djokovic found the net and that was that. The longest drought in British sport was over – we had a Wimbledon Men’s Singles Champion and that was Andy Murray after 77 years of hurt. It was an emphatic performance and guaranteed him BBC Sports Personality of the Year in December.

Rugby Union had a powerful 12 months of competitive action. Leicester Tigers defeated Northampton Saints in a bad tempered Aviva Premiership final whilst Toulon were crowned Heineken Cup winners, inspired by Jonny Wilkinson in the final. On the international scene, New Zealand went through an entire calendar year undefeated which included autumn international victories at Twickenham and Dublin. In the RBS Six Nations, there was a final weekend showdown for the championship as Wales met England. An English victory would secure their first Grand Slam in a decade. However it was the Welsh who prevailed with a record win over their opponents 30-3. Leigh Halfpenny was top points scorer in the championship with 74 points. France meanwhile ended up with the wooden spoon. Then it was onto the summer’s big contest in Australia as the British and Irish Lions aimed to win their first overseas series since 1997. It was 1-1 after two very close games with the Lions snatching the first test 23-21 in Brisbane but losing the second 16-15 in Melbourne. It went down to the finale in Sydney and the Lions played the Aussies off the park, routing them 41-16 to win the series 2-1. It was their first series win in Australia in 24 years. Halfpenny was the star again, scoring 49 points over the three tests.

Sailing is not the most popular sport but it produced an incredible story and one of sport’s greatest comebacks in September. The year started sadly when Team GB medallist in Beijing and London, Andrew Simpson died in May when the yacht he was on training for the Americas Cup capsized. The final between Emirates Team New Zealand and Team Oracle USA was a tale of two halves. New Zealand stormed into an 8-1 lead and looked like they were going to be convincing winners. They hadn’t counted on the greatest Olympic sailor in history on the other side. Sir Ben Ainslie led a monumental fightback to turn the momentum USA’s way. In San Francisco for the final race, the comeback was complete. The US won 9-8 to win sport’s oldest trophy. Ainslie was hailed as the master again and talks are underway for a Team GB entry into the race in future years to come.

Chris Froome continued Britain's success in the Tour de France

The cycling year didn’t start well when one of sport’s believed to be heroes confessed all. Lance Armstrong admitted to doping on a regular basis when he stormed to his seven Tour de France wins from 1999 to 2005. The sporting world was rocked and cycling left to fight more bad headlines of drug use in competition. Armstrong has rightfully been stripped of his titles and now goes down as one of the biggest cheats in sporting history. None of that bothered Chris Froome (pictured) though on the 100^th anniversary of the Tour de France. After bronze at last year’s Olympic time trial and finishing runner-up on the 2012 tour to Sir Bradley Wiggins, Froome went one better in 2013. He dismantled the competition to claim the yellow jersey on the eighth stage and won the prestigious race for Team Sky. After waiting a lifetime, Britain now has two tour winners in two years, as Froome was flanked home by his team-mates on the Champ Elysees. Wiggins missed the tour due to injury but completed a successful year for our country with victory in September’s Tour of Britain. On the track, there were nine medals for Great Britain at the World Track Cycling Championship in Minsk in February. Becky James was the star with four medals in her first championships – two of them were gold. Laura Trott was beaten in the Omnium by Sarah Hammer of the United States but retained her Team Pursuit title and was the inaugural winner of Ride London this summer too.

Another sport to suffer the old story of drug scandals was athletics. American sprinter Tyson Gay, Jamaica’s Asafa Powell and Kelly-Ann Baptiste from Trinidad & Tobago were among the big names to fail tests. All face two-year bans. It was a successful year for British sprinting with James Dasaolu breaking the magical 10-second barrier at the British Championships in Birmingham, whilst both he and Adam Gemili made major sprinting finals later in the year. The Sainsbury’s Anniversary Games in the Olympic Stadium were a huge success before the best in the business headed off to Moscow for the IAAF World Athletics Championships in August. From a British perspective, the year belonged to Mo Farah. He repeated his Olympic double at long distance in the Russian capital. He won both the 5000m and 10,000m in tight finishes, something he couldn’t quite achieve in Daegu two years ago. In the women’s 400m, Christine Ohuruogu produced another great finish to steal the gold medal from chief rival Amelie Montsho to win her second world championship gold. In the process, she grabbed Kathy Cooke’s long-standing national record. There was also a brilliant bronze medal in the women’s 110m hurdles for Tiffany Porter. Usain Bolt wasn’t quite at his fearsome best but he still won three gold medals, matched by Jamaican team-mate Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce. The Russians were delighted when home favourite Yelena Isinbayeva won a dramatic pole vault final, helping Russia top the medals table and there were other outstanding world performances from the likes of Valerie Adams (New Zealand) and Teddy Tamgho (France). Sadly, the drug abuse from some of the world’s most recognised track stars tainted the track and field year.

Cricket’s oldest rivalry was renewed not once but twice as England and Australia clashed in the Ashes. The summer belonged to England as they retained the urn 3-0 in a series which was overshadowed by failings in technology such as Hotspot. England won the first test by a dramatic 14 runs in Trent Bridge before crushing the Aussies by a staggering 347 runs at Lord’s. The Ashes were retained after rain brought an end to an Australian fightback in Manchester before victory at Chester-Le-Street rubbed salt into the wounds of the tourists. Only the darkness at The Oval prevented an even heavier beating for Australia. Ian Bell was the man of the series with three centuries scored and 562 runs achieved as he finally came of age. Unfortunately for England, their winter tour Down Under has been nothing but a complete shambles. The Ashes have been already been lost to Australia and with two to play, England stare down the barrel of a 5-0 annihilation like in 2007. Jonathan Trott left the tour after one test due to stress and Graeme Swann announced his retirement with immediate effect recently. English cricket is currently in crisis. On the domestic front, the main honours went to Durham (County Championship) and Northamptonshire (Twenty20 Cup), whilst one of the best batsmen to play the game, Sachin Tendulkar of India retired.

Jockey AP McCoy celebrates his magical 4000th winner at Towcester

Horse racing brought another remarkable story in November. At Towcester, Mountain Dunes took AP McCoy (pictured) to another historic landmark as he achieved his 4000^th winner. He is the first jump jockey to achieve this and is now champion jockey 18 times. He now has 4029 winners (as of last week) and all this was achieved after being injured for the first month of this year. The favourite Bob’s Worth won the Cheltenham Gold Cup in March as trainer Nicky Henderson and jockey Barry Geraghty combined to leave the Paul Nicholls/Ruby Walsh combination trailing in their wake. Ruler of the World won the Epsom Derby and outsider Auras Encore took the honours in the Grand National, as all 40 horses that started made it back safely at Aintree this time around.

There was British success on two wheels as Tom Sykes became World Superbike champion and Tai Woffenden became Britain’s first world Speedway Grand Prix champion in 13 years. In MotoGP, there was a new rookie sensation who took the paddock by storm. Spaniard Marc Marquez became the first newcomer since Kenny Roberts Jr in 1978 to win the championship at his first attempt. A run of four successive victories in mid-season was the turning point and he finished third in a tense season finale in Valencia to hold off a determined challenge from Jorge Lorenzo. ‘The Doctor’ returned to the top step of the rostrum as Valentino Rossi won the Dutch TT at Assen – his first win in almost three years. Britain’s Cal Crutchlow scored two pole positions and three podiums in another impressive year, earning himself a works ride for next season with Ducati.

On four wheels, Allan McNish became the endurance sportscar champion and won at Le Mans again before bowing out into retirement. Fellow Scot Dario Franchitti was forced to give up IndyCar racing after sustaining career-ending injuries in a terrible crash at an event in Houston. Scott Dixon won the championship, while Brazilian Tony Kanaan was the winner of the Indy 500. Andrew Jordan won the British Touring Car Championship, holding off late challenges from Jason Plato and Gordon Shedden to win his maiden title. In Formula One, only one man dominated the season. Sebastian Vettel broke records for fun as he claimed his fourth consecutive world championship. The unstoppable German won 13 races to equal Michael Schumacher’s mark from 2004 and matched Alberto Ascari’s long-standing achievement of nine consecutive victories, the first to do it in a season. He is unbeaten since July. Red Bull team-mate Mark Webber retired and moves into sportscars next season with Porsche while six Pirelli tyre blowouts turned the British Grand Prix at Silverstone into a joke. It was sparse success for British drivers. Lewis Hamilton disappointed many in his first campaign with Mercedes but did win the Hungarian Grand Prix again. Jenson Button and McLaren didn’t even score a single podium in 2013 and Paul di Resta’s lack of consistency means his career in the sport is also over.

There were happier British experiences in the world of golf. At the US Open, there was major success at long last for Justin Rose. On Father’s Day, he held off a late surge from Phil Mickelson to become the first English major winner since Nick Faldo back in 1996. Tiger Woods might have missed out on the main prizes but did regain his number one status. Mickelson made up for his US Open disappointment with a brilliant final day to win The Open Championship. Jason Dufner edged out Jim Furyk to take the honours in the USPGA Championship whilst Adam Scott landed the prestigious green jacket at the US Masters in Augusta. It was a troubled year for Rory McIlroy who lost form and slipped to number six in the world rankings. Elsewhere, Europe’s Ladies team won their first ever Solheim Cup in the States, thrashing the home side 18-10.

In football, the greatest football manager of his generation retired. Sir Alex Ferguson left on a high and went out on top as Manchester United cruised to a 13^th Premier League title. There were new winners in a dramatic year. Liverpool Ladies became WSL champions; Swansea City defeated Bradford City to claim their first major silverware in the League Cup final and Ben Watson’s injury time header won the FA Cup for Wigan Athletic against Manchester City. Rafa

There was another European success for Chelsea - this time in the Europa League

Benitez guided Chelsea to more European success as they beat Benfica in Amsterdam to win the UEFA Europa League (team pictured). A few days earlier, Frank Lampard had become the club’s all-time record goalscorer. Benitez moved to Napoli and he was replaced by the ‘Happy One’ as Jose Mourinho returned. The all-German UEFA Champions League final went to Bayern Munich at Wembley. Arjen Robben scored the late winner to defeat Borussia Dortmund, part of a German treble. Spain won the European Under-21 championship, Germany the Women’s Euros as both England teams woefully exited at the group stages. The senior male side though did qualify for the World Cup finals and Gareth Bale became the most expensive player in the history of football, joining Real Madrid for £85.3m.

In other sport, Ellie Simmonds won three gold medals as Team GB claimed 29 gold medals in World Paralympic Championships in athletics and swimming. There were over 70 medals in total and Hannah Cockroft was a leading star. She followed up her two London gold medals last summer with double gold in the wheelchair racing T34 category at both 100m and 200m. She also won both races at the Sainsbury’s Anniversary Games. Phil ‘the Power’ Taylor won a 16^th PDC World Darts title at the start of the year but has already been knocked out this time around, so will have to wait for number 17. There were big crowds at the Rugby League World Cup held in the autumn. Hosts England lost in the semi-finals to holders New Zealand but it was Australia who took the cup back with them to Oz after seeing off the Kiwis in the final. Wigan Warriors rekindled their glory days of the 1990s with victory in both the Challenge Cup final and Super League. Oxford won the University Boat Race and 36,000 competitors took part in the London Marathon, just six days after the two bombs that killed three in the closing stages of the Boston Marathon. Carl Froch retained his IBF and WBA Super Middleweight belts which included a controversial win over George Groves in November and stars of London 2012, Nicola Adams, Andrew Selby and David Florence all won world championships in 2013.

As ever, sport has not disappointed in 2013 and in fact, it was another cracking year. 2014 should be even better with the World Cup finals in Brazil, the Commonwealth Games coming to Glasgow, Zurich hosting the European Athletics Championships, another Ryder Cup in this country and the regular editions of Wimbledon, the Six Nations, a new-look Formula One and England summer cricket tests against Sri Lanka and India. Let’s face it – we are experiencing a golden generation of sport so embrace it while we are in the heart of these great contests and unexpected triumphs.

Categories: 2013, Andy Murray, AP McCoy, Chelsea, Chris Froome, Ellie Simmonds, Sport, Tour de France, UEFA Europa League, Wimbledon

2012 - A year in review - Sport

By Simon Wright

The sporting year of 2012 was dominated by the Olympics and Paralympics in London, but that doesn’t mean it was a quiet year elsewhere.  Far from it, as there was plenty of intrigue and drama all the way.

Cycling saw history made and legends disgraced, tennis allowed records to be broken and new challengers to emerge, football produced one of the most sensational finishes to any season, while horse racing had another year of triumph and tragedy.

It was a mixed bag for cricket, minor miracles emerged in golf and Formula One produced another thrilling showdown.   So, here is the sporting review of 2012, excluding the Olympic highlights.

It’s Wiggo time

Cycling has rarely been out of the headlines in 2012.  Thankfully, most of the stories were of a positive nature.

Bradley Wiggins made history in the Tour de France

The country fell in love with Bradley Wiggins and his sideburns.  He might have won Olympic gold and BBC Sports Personality of the Year, but his main feat arrived just days before the London extraganvanza.

He won the Tour de France, cycling’s most difficult race to win.  He crossed the finish line with the yellow jersey in Paris, to become the first Brit to win the race since its inception in 1903.

British team-mate Chris Froome backed him up by finishing second, while Mark Cavendish did his bit for Team Sky too and won the final stage for the fourth year running.

Cavendish has quit Team Sky since, but the future looks bright for the team, as they have snapped up youngster Jonathan Tiernan-Locke, who was winner of the Tour of Britain in September.

On the track and a sign of Team GB’s Olympic dominance shone through at the World Championships in Melbourne.

Sir Chris Hoy, Victoria Pendleton, Ben Swift and Laura Trott all won gold and broke world records in the process.

While Wiggo fever hit Britain, Lance Armstrong’s reputation is in complete tatters.

Armstrong’s record seven Tour de France titles were annulled from the history books, after doping allegations were upheld and made public.

He was one of sport’s most inspired figures a while ago.  Now he goes down as the biggest cheat in sporting history.

Murray comes of age

In tennis, the year saw some surprises and a big breakthrough for Britain.

In the women’s game, Victoria Azarenka finally fulfilled her potential with victory in the Australian Open.

The flamboyant Maria Sharapova was the Queen of Clay at Roland Garros.  The Russian completed her set of Grand Slam titles and became world number one for a brief period.

Ultimately though, it was Serena Williams who stole the limelight once again.  After overcoming some serious health issues in the last two years, the American won her fifth Wimbledon title, defeating a brave Agnieszka Radwanska challenge in the final.

She then went on to win the Olympics, the US Open and the WTA Championships at the end of the season.

It was a good year for the British female players too.  Laura Robson reached round four at the US Open, beating the retiring Kim Clijsters along the way, and Heather Watson became the first British female player to win a singles title in 27 years, as she won the Japan Open.

2012 though was the year that saw Andy Murray coming of age.  The year started inconsistently, with defeat to David Ferrer in the French Open quarter-finals, then an embarrassing first-round exit from the AEGON Championships at Queen’s Club.

However he bounced back at Wimbledon and in some fashion.  Murray became the first British male player to reach the final in 76 years.  He came up short in the final, going down in four sets to Roger Federer, but his emotional speech after the agonising loss at SW19 won him the hearts of the nation.

British drought in tennis ended with Andy Murray's US Open victory

Murray used his Wimbledon heartbreak as a motivation to not be the nearly man once again.  He thrashed Federer in the Olympics final, and in the early hours of a Tuesday morning in early September, he overcame Novak Djokovic in five brutal sets to win the US Open.

He ended the drought at Flushing Meadows, becoming Britain’s first Grand Slam winner since Fred Perry back in 1936.  The foundations have been set for a bright future.

Federer won his seventh Wimbledon title and broke the record for most weeks at number one, as the Swiss Master showed once again that he can still do it at this level.

Djokovic won the Australian Open and the ATP Tour Finals event at the 02 Arena.  The Serbian ends the year as number one, and although he was more vulnerable in 2012, he is still probably the best in the game at the moment.

Former Grand Slam winners Juan Carlos Ferrero and Andy Roddick both called it a day and Rafael Nadal might have to join them.  He did win his seventh French Open title, but an early exit at SW19 in round two against Lukas Rusol and persistent knee trouble mean he hasn’t played since the summer.

His career is firmly in the balance and if he doesn’t come back, it will be a real shame as tennis is currently in a golden period.  It is pleasing to say that Murray is now firmly in the battle to be the best in the world. 

The miracle of Medinah

Golf has often been accused to be a very boring and pedantic sport but that wasn’t the case in 2012.

In the major tournaments, Bubba Watson held off the challenge of South African Louis Oosthuizen to win in a play-off at the US Masters at Augusta, while Webb Simpson won his maiden title at the US Open in San Francisco.

At the Open Championship in July, it was Ernie Els who delivered the goods.  The veteran seized on an opportunity to take his second Open title, a decade on from his last major success.

It had been Adam Scott’s tournament to lose, but he did a ‘Van der Velde’ from 1999 and bogeyed the last four holes – handing Els the coveted Claret Jug.

The golfer of the year was definitely Rory McIlroy.  The Northern Irishman stormed to his second major championship in August, blitzing the field at Kiawah Island to win the US PGA Championship by eight strokes.

He ended the year with the most prize money and top of both the European and US rankings. 

So it was on to the Ryder Cup and what turned out to be the ‘Miracle of Medinah.’  The American team were in complete control on the first two days and opened up a handsome 10-4 lead at one point.

However the heroics of Ian Poulter, Justin Rose and McIlroy allowed Europe to stay in the contest.  On the final day, trailing 10-6 – they produced one of the greatest sporting comebacks in history to dominate the singles and retain the Ryder Cup 14½-13½.

Some inspired performances and a great team unit, organised by captain Jose Maria Olazabal had delivered.  This has gone down as one of Europe’s greatest ever team performances. 

Aguero wins it at the last

Sunday, 13 May 2012 and one city was divided – with the destiny of the 2011-12 Premier League title firmly in the balance.

Manchester United had been eight points clear at one point, but Manchester City closed them down – beat them in the Manchester derby in late April and held the advantage going into what looked like would be a routine final day.

Wayne Rooney’s early goal won the Red Devils their match at Sunderland.  As ever, City looked to have made a meal of it.

They led relegation threatened QPR 1-0, but second half goals from Djibril Cisse and Jamie Mackie allowed the visitors to take a 2-1 lead, despite having just 10 men on the field.

The Citizens fans looked shocked but Edin Dzeko rekindled hope in stoppage time, heading in an equaliser. 

As the final whistle blew on Wearside, United were champions again but they were still playing at the Etihad. 

Mario Balotelli found Sergio Aguero, who drilled his shot inside Paddy Kenny’s near post to seal City the title in the most unbelievable fashion.  It was their first title in 44 years, won on goal difference and confirmed their place as one of the superpowers of the English game.

Chelsea produced their usual habit of sacking managers.  They started 2012 with Andre Villas-Boas in charge, and ended it with Rafa Benitez at the helm.

In between though, interim manager Roberto Di Matteo produced his own minor miracle.  They beat Liverpool 2-1 to win the FA Cup final, then a fortnight later – went to Munich to take on Bayern in the Champions League final.

Drogba inspired Chelsea to an unlikely Champions League triumph

Trailing 1-0 with three minutes to go, Didier Drogba thumped a header home in his last game for the club.  Petr Cech saved a penalty from Arjen Robben in extra-time, then from Ivica Olic in the penalty shootout itself.

Bastian Schweinsteiger hit the post, before Drogba’s final kick for the west Londoners took them to the promise land.  Roman Abramovich’s dream had finally been realised – they were Champions of Europe at last. 

Di Matteo was appointed full-time boss in the summer, but was dismissed harshly in November and the Blues are already out of this season’s Champions League edition.

Liverpool won the League Cup in February on penalties but Kenny Dalglish still lost his job and was replaced by Brendan Rodgers.  The Reds fans though were delighted in September, when the findings of an independent panel revealed the full truth about the Hillsborough disaster of 1989.

The first verdicts in the inquests of 1991 were quashed recently in the High Court and the families of the 96 who never came home can start to think about finally getting justice.

The John Terry racism storm continued in 2012.  The FA removed the England captaincy from Terry in February, prompting Fabio Capello to quit as Three Lions boss.

Terry went on to play at the European Championships in the summer, and was cleared in a court of law – but charged by the FA for racist abuse.  He retired from international football in September and was banned for four games, his reputation  as an individual completely destroyed.

Despite Harry Redknapp being the fans choice, the FA went for Roy Hodgson as the next man to lead England.  He took them to Euro 2012, this time with low expectations.

England won their group in Poland/Ukraine, but suffered the familiar exit – this time at the hands of Italy in a quarter-final penalty shootout.

Spain were once again the class of the international scene.  They thrashed the Italians 4-0 in the Kiev showpiece to retain the trophy.  The frustrating Fernando Torres ended as Golden Boot winner.

Pep Guardiola quit Barcelona in April and they lost their La Liga crown to Jose Mourinho’s Real Madrid.  Current boss Tito Vilanova is unbeaten so far domestically, but in hospital undergoing treatment after a cancer relapse.

However, it was another stunning year for Lionel Messi.  He has scored 91 goals across the calendar year – breaking Gerd Mueller’s 40-year record in the process.

Celtic won the SPL title and famously beat Barcelona in the Champions League group stages in November.  Glasgow rivals Rangers went bust though financially, and have had to start again in the fourth tier of Scottish football.  Hearts won the Scottish Cup, but also could face financial ruin.

Lastly, the world of football came together in March to support Fabrice Muamba.  The Bolton Wanderers midfielder collapsed in the 41st minute of an FA Cup quarter-final at Tottenham.

His heart stopped beating for over an hour, and he was giving emergency CPR on the pitch at White Hart Lane, infront of 35,000 spectators and millions of TV viewers. 

Incredibly, Muamba survived and although he had to retire from football in August on medical grounds, his story is probably the miracle of the year, and showed that football can unite as one game, despite the constant fighting battle against racism.

An Indian winter

It hasn’t been the greatest year for English cricket but it did end on a high.

Andrew Strauss started the year as captain but their number one test ranking was put under threat after losing 3-0 to Pakistan away, before grinding out a drawn series in Sri Lanka.

The West Indies were comfortably dispatched 2-0 in May, but South Africa outclassed the home side in the summer.  They clinched a 2-0 series win at Lord’s to become the number one test side.

The build-up to the final test was dominated by Kevin Pietersen’s ridiculous involvement in a series of ill-exchange texts and tweets with South African cricketers – criticising Strauss and Andy Flower.

Pietersen was suspended from the test side and although he has since returned, he is another individual who will probably want to forget 2012 ever existed. 

Strauss retired from all forms of test cricket and was replaced by Alastair Cook, who has guided England to a fantastic 2-1 series victory in India, the first away test series victory for an English side in India since 1985-86.

England did also lose their World Twenty20 crown, beaten in the Super Eight stage.  Hosts Sri Lanka reached the final but were defeated by the West Indies.

The game also said goodbye to Australian cricket legend Ricky Ponting, who retired after the Aussies lost a test series at home to South Africa in November.

On a domestic scale, Hampshire won the CB40 and Twenty20 finals, whilst Warwickshire became County Championship winners.

Vettel does it again

The 2012 Formula One world championship was the most thrilling of all-time.  There were seven different winners in the first seven races but after all that unpredictability; there was a familiar final outcome.

Red Bull’s Sebastian Vettel became the youngest ever triple world champion, clinching the title at the final race in Brazil in late November.

Vettel was spun around on the first lap, but recovered brilliantly to finish sixth and pip Ferrari’s Fernando Alonso to the crown by just three points.

Alonso was magnanimous in defeat.  He drove like a champion all year, winning three times and getting the absolute maximum out of a Ferrari that had no right to be in the championship reckoning.

It was a testing season for the British drivers.  Lewis Hamilton did win four races and Jenson Button triumphed three times, but reliability issues and accidents blighted McLaren’s title challenge. 

Hamilton’s relationship with McLaren was damaged beyond repair in September, when he shocked the paddock by tweeting confidential telemetry data to his millions of Twitter followers in the run-up to the Belgian Grand Prix.

A few weeks later, he announced he was joining Mercedes for 2013, with Michael Schumacher heading into retirement for a second time after an unsuccessful comeback. 

Pastor Maldonado won Williams first race in eight years in Barcelona but celebrations turned to horror when a fire in the garage erupted.  Luckily, no-one was seriously injured.  It was the same at Spa, when Romain Grosjean’s dangerous driving off the start saw him nearly decapitate Alonso’s head and become the first driver to be banned in 18 years.

Dario Franchitti won another Indy 500 in America but it was young Australian Ryan Hunter-Reay who took the IndyCar title.  Scotland’s Gordon Shedden claimed the honours in the British Touring Car Championship and it was Newmarket’s Rob Huff who became World Touring Car Champion. 

On two wheels, Max Biaggi triumphed in World Superbikes before going into retirement at the age of 41.  Casey Stoner also quit at the end of the MotoGP season, but the Honda man broke his ankle in Indianapolis and wasn’t a factor in the title reckoning.  

There were two podiums for Britain’s Cal Crutchlow and a battle for the title between two Spaniards.  Despite some stunning consistency, Dani Pedrosa lost out on the prize to Jorge Lorenzo, who became champion for the second time in three years.

Triumph and tragedy in horse racing

2012 in horse racing produced its usual share of controversy and drama, with a mixture of triumph and tragedy.

The greatest flat horse of all-time retired undefeated.  Frankel won all 14 races he took part in, while in the jumping game, Kauto Star was also retired after winning a record fifth King George VI.

The Cheltenham Gold Cup was won by Synchronised and AP McCoy, but tragedy would strike Jonjo O’Neill’s horse less than a month later.

After delaying the start of the John Smith’s Grand National, Synchronised was put down after breaking a leg following a fall in the world’s greatest steeplechase.

Neptune Collonges (left pictured) won a very close Grand National

The race itself had to be decided on a photo-finish, eventually given to the 33-1 shot Neptune Collonges, trained by Paul Nicholls.  It was the closest ever national finish at Aintree, but the deaths of Synchronised and another horse has put the future of the race in long-term jeopardy.

Frankie Dettori also took a massive fall from grace in 2012.  He failed a drugs test in France and was given a six-month ban. 

The rest of sport in 2012

Despite playing the best rugby league in England and winning top of the league standings, Wigan Warriors ended the year with nothing.

It was Leeds Rhinos who once again led the way, winning their sixth Super League crown.  They defeated Warrington Wolves at Old Trafford 26-18 in the final, getting some revenge for Warrington’s own Challenge Cup final victory in August.

Bradford Bulls were saved by a local consortium after being placed into administration, with Salford City Reds the latest club to face a winding-up order.  The short-term future of the rugby league game in this country isn’t looking rosy.

It isn’t either in rugby union, but that is more down to the form side of things.  In the spring, Wales maintained their momentum from the Rugby World Cup, to take their third Grand Slam in eight years in the Six Nations.

However come autumn, they suffered seven successive losses and dropped out of the IRB top eight rankings.  English rugby has had a quieter year after the disaster of 2011, but Stuart Lancaster’s side did record a tremendous autumn international success over world champions New Zealand.

Leinster made it three Heineken Cup titles in four years and it was Harlequins who were the kings in the AVIVA Premiership, as they beat Leicester Tigers 30-23 in the May final at Twickenham.

The University Boat Race in March was ruined by a protestor swimming down the Thames.  He was arrested, but a further clash between the two crews meant that Cambridge’s victory will forever be tainted.

Ronnie O’Sullivan won the World Snooker Championship at the Crucible, beating Ali Carter in the final, before taking a sabbatical from the game.  Stephen Hendry retired for good.

And the sporting world paid sad goodbyes to the likes of Sid Waddell, Mitchell Cole, Lee Richardson, Gary Ablett, Angelo Dundee, David Tait, Danny Fullbrook, Brian Woolnough, Jack Taylor, John Bond, Tom Maynard, Professor Sid Watkins and Dave Sexton.

The 2012 sporting year has been truly remarkable.  2013 promises much again but will do well to beat this year’s excitement. 

Categories: 2012, Andy Murray, Bradley Wiggins, Cycling, Didier Drogba, Football, Golf, London, Manchester City, Manchester United, Paris, Roger Federer, Sergio Aguero, Synchronised, Tour de France