Australia end mixed-bag year with Ashes glory

Australia started the year as a team in transition and facing plenty of uncertainty. In late 2016, Australia were humiliated on home soil by South Africa leading to a makeover and insertion of youth. It seemingly did the trick with Australia completing a home whitewash of Pakistan followed by a surprisingly, highly competitive Test tour of India.

Australia's first Test victory in Pune was arguably their best victory overseas since the famed tour of the Caribbean in 1995 and they continued to push hot favourites India to the brink before ultimately falling short.

Still, the goodwill built during that tour was viewed as a harbinger for another successful era but Australia's ascension stonewalled due to the spiralling pay dispute. Relations festered between Cricket Australia and its players, resulting in a cloud of uncertainty. It seemed to adversely affect the team, who suffered a disappointingly fruitless Champions Trophy campaign in the midst of the fracas.

Eventually, the bitter saga was resolved but Australia seemed rattled by the lingering side effects and suffered a shock first Test defeat in Bangladesh. There were fears the defeat could rock Australia's confidence and continue their schizophrenic play in recent years.

However, Australia rebounded to square the series and that momentum carried over to an utterly dominant Ashes campaign, where they reclaimed the Urn on home soil.

Ultimately, the overwhelming Ashes success ensures 2017 was a successful year for Australia. After all, beating England satisfies a demanding public for some time to come. Armed with Steve Smith as the leader of the pack, and a star-studded attack marked by a slew of match-winning quicks entering their primes, there is an expectation that Australia is genuinely headed towards golden era.

If that eventuates, 2017 could well be remembered as the defining year when Australia laid the platform to greatness.

Timeline:

Warner blazes into history:

It was probably always on the cards, but David Warner sealed his place in history with a dashing first-session century on the opening day of Test action in 2017. Warner became the first batsman to achieve the feat since Pakistan's Majid Khan in 1976 and the first ever to score a ton before Lunch on any day of a Test match in Australia. At the break, Warner was 100 not out from just 78 balls.

Warner's brilliance inspired Australia to a 220-run victory over Pakistan at the SCG, leading them to a 3-0 series whitewash.

Warner blazes again, this time in coloured clothing:

Warner continued his scintillating start to the season with consecutive centuries to seal Australia's 4-1 One-Day International victory over Pakistan. The series was a tight affair with the teams splitting the opening two games before Australia claimed the pivotal third match in Perth. Warner then took over with imperious tons in Sydney and Adelaide - punctuating the series with a brilliant 179 in Australia's 57-run victory on Australia Day.

Marvellous Marcus:

Talented all-rounder Marcus Stoinis produced an all-time classic - 146 not out - to almost produce an incredible heist in the Chappell-Hadlee series in New Zealand. Chasing 287, a weakened Australia - without leaders Steve Smith and David Warner - crumbled to 67 for 6 before Stoinis took over with 11 sixes, but Australia ultimately fell short by six runs and lost the three-match series 2-0.

Clash of formats:

In the hectic nature of cricket, formats are clashing and thus Australia found themselves with two national teams playing almost simultaneously. As Australia's Test team were in India, a second-string national team played Sri Lanka in the Twenty20 format at home to end the summer.

The weakened Australian team lost a thrilling series 2-1.

Intriguingly, Australia's coaching staff was comprised of former legends Justin Langer, Ricky Ponting and Jason Gillespie - who are all prime candidates to replace incumbent national coach Darren Lehmann in 2019.

Memorable Test victory; tough series loss in India:

A young Australian team was overwhelmingly written off ahead of a daunting tour of India - a site of some of their most painful defeats over the years. However, a steely Australia impressively galvanised and thrashed the hosts in the first Test in Pune. It was arguably Australia's greatest overseas Test win since beating the mighty West Indies in Jamaica in 1995.

Left-arm spinner Steven O'Keefe shocked the strong Indian batting order with a 12-wicket haul - one for the ages - while Smith made a brilliant 109 in his self-declared best career ton. A confident Australia continued to surprise with offspinner Nathan Lyon taking 8 for 50 on the first day of the second Test as the visitors closed in on an astounding retention of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy.

Chasing 188 for victory, Australia was routed for 112 as the acrimonious series - marked by the teams trading insults - turned. A brilliant fifth day stonewalling partnership between Peter Handscomb and Shaun Marsh saved Australia in the third Test but the weary tourists fell away in the fourth to lose a hard-fought series 2-1.

Despite the gut-wrenching defeat, Australia held their heads high after producing one of their gutsiest efforts in years. With three centuries in the series, Smith stamped himself as an all-timer while Australia's attack impressed in the tough conditions.

Champions Trophy Failure:

Australia have long dominated the ODI format but there was a cloud of uncertainty over the team owing to the escalating pay dispute. The notorious UK weather cruelled Australia's opening two matches were washed out, setting the stage for a must-win clash against hosts England. A Ben Stokes ton dashed Australia's hopes and ended their brief campaign in bitter disappointment but, truthfully, most of their thoughts were on off-field matters.

Never-ending pay dispute:

During an excruciating 10-month period, Australian cricket unravelled as relations between Cricket Australia and its players hit a nadir, with the bickering playing out publicly. As fixed revenue percentage model was at the heart of the dispute with CA determined to dismantle it, it became a major sticking point in negotiations.

A resolution on a new pay deal failed to be brokered by the bickering parties before the June 30 deadline and resulted in the cancellation of Australia A's July tour of South Africa. Finally, a resolution was struck in early August ensuring Australia's Test tour of Bangladesh would eventuate. Both parties claimed to be winners but the players continued to be included in a form of revenue sharing under the new deal.

It was a bitter ending to a dark period in Australian cricket and relations between players and board might never be the same again.

Testing tour of Bangladesh:

After such a tough time in Australian cricket, the underprepared Test players had to immediately regain their focus in a tricky two-Test tour of Bangladesh. Australia's lack of preparation showed and they were humbled in a 20-run first Test defeat. It was Australia's first ever Test defeat to Bangladesh and thus continued their woes in the subcontinent.

Australia avoided humiliation with a seven-wicket victory in the second Test to ensure the series finished at 1-1. Warner overcame his subcontinent woes to score a match-winning century, while Lyon was Australia's dominant bowler with an astounding 22 wickets in the series.

Limited-overs travails in India:

A tiring Australia struggled against formidable India, losing the five-match ODI series 4-1. After hefty losses in the opening three matches, a brilliant Warner century ensured Australia had a consolation victory before losing the final game again.

A weakened Australian team, minus skipper Smith, continued the prolonged tour with a trio of Twenty20 matches as Warner stepped into the hot-seat as captain. After a rain-affected loss in the opener, West Australian speedster Jason Behrendorff starred with a devastating burst in Game 2 to level the series before rain - which often blighted Australia's limited-overs games in 2017 - washed out the finale.

Ashes Redemption:

The whole year was a steady build up to the Ashes. Beating England is the No.1 priority in Australian cricket and the mouthwatering fixture had been circled for a long time. Australia came into the series as overwhelming favourites and justified that tag with a convincing Ashes triumph. Smith was impregnable with the bat and ably backed by his star-studded attack as Australia reclaimed the Urn with a victory in Perth to seal an unassailable 3-0 series lead.

Top Performer: Steve Smith

Nathan Lyon deserves a special mention here as the offspinner finishes 2017 as the leading wicket-taker in Tests. But, undoubtedly, Smith deserves the title after another astonishing year where he stamped himself as the best Test batsman in the world.

Ahead of the fourth Ashes Test, Smith this year had plundered 1305 runs at 76, including six centuries - three of which were in the difficult terrain of India. Smith relishes the responsibility of captaincy and the 28-year-old is moulding a team on the rise.

Worst Performer: Matthew Wade

Wade came into the year with a golden opportunity to cement himself as Australia's Test wicketkeeper after selectors backed him following the team's makeover in late 2016. Testament to his standing, he captained Australia's ODI team during the tour of New Zealand but things have spiralled since after suffering a form drought with the bat.

He scored just 233 runs at an average of 23.3 in Test cricket, a dire mark considering he was selected over Peter Nevill because of his supposed prowess with the bat. Wade was eventually dropped ahead of the Ashes, as selectors punted with Tim Paine - who was Wade's teammate at Tasmania where he played as a specialist batsman.

Wade's ODI future looks shaky after he was dropped for a match in the midst of the five-match series in India. He started the year spectacularly with an unbeaten century against Pakistan but could muster just 84 runs at an average of 12 after that.

Promising Player: Pat Cummins

Since his spectacular Test debut against South Africa in 2011, Cummins has been earmarked as Australia's golden boy. However, his blossoming career was stymied by a succession of injuries and there were grave doubts over his durability.

After being wrapped in cotton wool by selectors, Cummins made his long-awaited Test comeback during the tour of India and immediately made an impact. Cummins, who is believed to have all the tools to become Australia's pace talisman, claimed 29 wickets at 26 this year. Those figures, however, don't do complete justice to his talent as he readies himself to become Australia's best all-round quick.

Looking forward to 2018:

Australia endured some speedbumps along the way but finished 2017 in an exciting position. There is a feeling that Australia is headed into a dominant period but they need to tap into consistency in order to ascend to another level. They are still prone to some baffling performances, particularly with their maligned batting which feels reliant on Smith and Warner. Several batting positions look up for grabs but their frontline attack should be around for some time barring any injury.

Australia has a crucial four-Test series in South Africa, which looms as a major litmus test. They have consistently performed well in South Africa but will be keen to perform well against a powerhouse overseas. After that, Australia's schedule eases before a huge home stand against India next summer.