England's 2015 In Review

After shaky beginnings England's 2015 developed into a year to remember as the Ashes were reclaimed and, perhaps just as significantly, an enterprising crop of young players made their mark on the world stage on the back of a new aggressive style of cricket.

Few might have suggested England could have looked back so fondly on the year when they crashed out of the World Cup at the group stage and then drew the Test series in the Caribbean. England desperately needed to rediscover a feel-good factor at the start of the summer and in the visage of Ben Stokes' century at Lord's in the opening Test against New Zealand, they not only saw a game-changing performance, but a display that underlined a general shift in the mentality of the team.

Here the ECB looks back on a year of highs and lows that culminated in this week's Test win away to world number one South Africa:

January
England's year began with an air of anticipation as they finalised preparations for the World Cup in a testing tri-series against Australia and India. Eoin Morgan had been newly installed as limited-overs captain and he kicked off the tour with a century against Australia in Sydney, albeit in a defeat.

It was otherwise a good January as Morgan's men twice beat defending world champions India to book their place in the final against Australia, while Ian Bell's ODI-best 141 in Hobart helped him pass Paul Collingwood as England's most prolific ODI runscorer.

February
It is fair to say that February did not go to plan. The month started with a thumping 112-run defeat to Australia in the tri-series final at the WACA Ground and worse was to follow as their World Cup campaign hit rocky ground quickly. England could not have asked for a tougher start to the tournament, facing the co-hosts in their first two games, but heavy defeats in both proved tough to come back from.

James Taylor provided a highlight in the opening-night defeat to Australia, in front of a packed MCG crowd on Valentine's Day, when he hit an unbeaten 98. The Nottinghamshire right-hander was denied the chance of a maiden ton only when James Anderson was incorrectly given run out to end the match.

A Brendon McCullum masterclass then put England to the sword in Wellington, but they bounced back a couple of days later in Christchurch to notch an expected win over Scotland with Moeen Ali crashing a 91-ball century.

March
Joe Root became England's youngest World Cup centurion when he peeled off the first of his six centuries in 2015 against Sri Lanka in Wellington. England passed 300 for the second successive game but Sri Lanka produced one of the finest chases seen at a World Cup as centuries from Lahiru Thirimanne and Kumar Sangakkara steered them home by nine wickets.

It was a hammer blow to England's hopes in the tournament and left them needing to beat Bangladesh in Adelaide a week later to stay in the hunt to reach the knockout stages. Alex Hales was brought back to add firepower at the top of the order but England fell short, failing to chase down the Tigers' 275 for five, to crash out. A comfortable nine-wicket win over Afghanistan in a rain-hit match at Sydney completed their group games before the long flight home.

April
England flew out to the Caribbean for their three-Test tour against West Indies where James Anderson became the record Test wicket-taker for his country. It was a double celebration for the Lancashire seamer, who was also playing in his 100th Test, when he passed Ian Botham's record of 383 wickets, which had stood for 30 years. Windies wicketkeeper Denesh Ramdin edged to Alastair Cook in the slips cordon to spark Anderson's celebrations, although a Jason Holder century denied England victory.

Anderson would, however, be central to England taking a 1-0 series lead in the next Test in Grenada when he produced the decisive burst on another slow wicket. Joe Root's unbeaten 182 had given England a first-innings lead but West Indies were cruising at 224 for two before Anderson made three quick breakthroughs to turn the match on its head and England went on to claim a first away Test win since beating India in Kolkata in late 2012.

May
If May began badly by the end of the month a feel-good factor had started to return to the England team and permeated through to the end of a victorious Ashes campaign. Beating the Aussies was the furthest thing from anyone's mind, however, when England suffered a five-wicket defeat to West Indies in Barbados to draw the series 1-1. Afterwards, Jonathan Trott confirmed the end of his glorious England career after 52 Tests and three Ashes successes.

A second-innings collapse proved costly and proved to be the final completed match of head coach Peter Moores' second stint in charge. He left his role after the rain-ruined one-day international against Ireland in Dublin - when James Taylor was honoured with the captaincy - and Paul Farbrace took interim charge for what would prove a hugely entertaining Test series against New Zealand.

The first Test at Lord's was one to savour as Ben Stokes clubbed the fastest Test ton at HQ, from 85 balls, and issued the first statement of the positive approach that would mark England's cricket for the rest of the year. Stokes' innings, after being promoted to six by Farbrace, captured the imagination of the public too and long queues snaked around Lord's the next day for the conclusion of the Test. The fans were not disappointed as Stokes again took centre stage, removing Kane Williamson and Brendon McCullum from successive balls, before a dramatic victory was completed late in the day when Moeen Ali held a superb catch running back at third man.

England then went to Leeds for the final match of the series full of confidence and the mood was boosted further when Alastair Cook took over as England's leading Test run-scorer of all-time. The skipper passed his mentor Graham Gooch's 8,900-run mark when he drove Tim Southee through the covers in textbook style. Fittingly, Cook brought up the milestone in the same game that close friend Anderson became the first England bowler to take 400 Test wickets.

England were also able to celebrate a maiden Test ton for Adam Lyth, but they would suffer a series-levelling defeat which was watched by Trevor Bayliss - newly installed as the first Australian to be England's Head Coach - from his home Down Under.

June
England cast off the shackles of the World Cup and unveiled a new-found aggression during a 3-2 ODI series victory over World Cup finalists New Zealand. While Bayliss was still yet to formally join up with the team his assistant Farbrace, who worked alongside him at Sri Lanka, oversaw a regeneration in limited-overs fortunes. It was breathtaking stuff and most significantly, immediately productive, as England passed 400 for the first time in an ODI ever in the first match of the series.

Joe Root and Jos Buttler both plundered centuries and Edgbaston was rocking when the Black Caps were skittled for 198 - Steven Finn and Adil Rashid both taking four wickets each - to confirm a 210-run win. The Black Caps won the next two games but England again broke into unchartered territory to level the series when they completed the fourth highest ODI chase ever - and the best on these shores - when they chased down 349 for seven with an astonishing six overs to spare. Eoin Morgan and Root both hit rapid centuries - the skipper describing his ton as his best ever - and the series was duly wrapped up in Durham a few days later when England again came back from nowhere on the back of a superb Jonny Bairstow innings.

New Zealand's memorable tour was completed when England claimed a 56-run win in the one-off Twenty20 at Emirates Old Trafford.

July
The Ashes took over the back pages in July and after England's players met new Head Coach Bayliss for the first time during a pre-series camp in Spain the focus of attention moved to Cardiff for the opening Test. England were regarded as the underdogs but Root laid down the marker for things to come as he scored an opening-day century, after he was dropped second ball by wicketkeeper Brad Haddin. The Yorkshireman would be named man of the match as England claimed a 169-run win on the final day to fuel belief that they could prove the doubters wrong and win back the little urn.

Those expectations were checked emphatically when a Steven Smith double-century led Australia to a similarly comprehensive victory at Lord's as England were bowled out for 103. It would be Australian batting collapses that would decide the series, however, as England made their move in the third Test under gloomy skies at Edgbaston.

As ever it was Anderson at the heart of the damage, claiming 6-47 as Australia were bowled out for 136, before Finn marked his return to Test cricket after two years with figures of 6-79 in the second innings. After speculation about his place in the side Ian Bell then guided England past a tricky chase of 121 with an unbeaten 65. The only negative to come from the Test was a side injury to Anderson that would rule him out of the rest of the series. It left Stuart Broad to lead the attack.

August
If there were any nerves in the England dressing-room as they prepared to try and reclaim the Ashes on the first morning at Trent Bridge they were gone by lunch.

Stuart Broad wrote his name in Ashes folklore forever with arguably the most devastating spell of bowling cricket's oldest rivalry had ever seen. The 29-year-old, playing on his home ground returned the barely believable figures of 8-15 as Australia were bowled out for 60 in just 18.3 overs. In amongst the carnage Ben Stokes produced a catch that would prompt the most iconic image of the series, when Broad held his hands over his face in disbelief, and from there the Ashes party began in full swing. Root ensured there was no way back for Australia as he more than doubled their entire first innings score and there was no need for England to bat again as Ben Stokes claimed 6-36 to complete a three-day win to savour.

After the match Australia captain Michael Clarke announced his international retirement and was given a fitting farewell, alongside veteran opener Chris Rogers, as Australia won the dead rubber at the Kia Oval by an innings.

A memorable month ended with the England men's and women's teams both beating Australia in a Twenty20 double-header at Cardiff. Charlotte Edwards' side were, however, unable to retain the Women's Ashes as they lost the multi-format series 10-6.

September
After an Ashes series that was marked by wide-margin results the ODI series against Australia went down to the final match. The tourists won the opening two matches as the first piece of controversy hit the summer when Stokes was given out handled ball after Mitchell Starc attempted to throw down the stumps in his follow through.

Any bad blood that issued between the teams appeared to help England as they won in Manchester, on the back of James Taylor's maiden international century and a stunning Steven Finn catch, before levelling the series in Leeds.

Australia would go home with at least one trophy, however, as they skittled England for 138 in the final game at Manchester when skipper Eoin Morgan had to be treated for concussion after a Starc bouncer struck him on the helmet.

October
England's progress under Bayliss was tested away from home for the first time when they ventured to the United Arab Emirates to play Pakistan. The last time England were in the Middle East they had been thumped 3-0, but almost pulled off a stunning victory in the first Test in Dubai after Alastair Cook's marathon 13 hour and 56 minutes at the crease.

The skipper's innings spanned three days and was the third longest in the history of the Test game as his 263 underlined the indefatigable determination and skill that has elevated the left-hander to the top of England's Test runscoring list. At the time it appeared Cook's efforts were only a game-saving service, however, Adil Rashid spun the game on its head with 5-64 to leave England needing 99 in fading light. England raced after the target but the conditions closed in with the score 74 for four from 11 overs.

Pakistan welcomed back leg-spinner Yasir Shah for the second Test in Dubai and it proved decisive as England almost pulled off a memorable rearguard. Cook's men batted for 137.3 overs as they attempted to salvage a draw, falling just 39 balls short of doing so, when Rashid's 179-ball resistance ended at the hands of Shah who took eight wickets in the match.

November
England's hopes of claiming a series-levelling draw in Sharjah were ended with a fifth-morning collapse after they had opened up a 72-run first-innings lead. James Anderson and Stuart Broad showed their quality in conditions that did not suit, but a Mohammad Hafeez century left England with a target of 284 that they fell short of as Shah claimed 4-44.

The disappointment of the Test series defeat did not carry over into the limited-overs squad as England confirmed their growing status as a white-ball team with convincing ODI and Twenty20 series wins. The ODI series was highlighted by Jos Buttler's stunning return to form, when he hit the fastest century by an England player, from 46 balls, to break his own record by 15 balls. The wicket-keeper batsmen described it as the proudest moment of his career, after he had been dropped during the Test series, and confirmed that a player of his unique talent is never far away from the sublime.

England then swept their three-match Twenty20 series after a Super Over success in the final game. Chris Jordan was the match-winner as he produced a nerveless Super Over, in which he conceded just three runs, against the hard-hitting talent of Shahid Afridi and Umar Akmal.

December
England ended the year on a high with a convincing 241-run win over world number one South Africa to start their eagerly-anticipated Test series in Durban.

Nick Compton marked his return to Test cricket after two years, and in the city of his birth, with a composed 85 which laid the foundations of victory after England were sent in under grey skies. Stuart Broad then reaffirmed England's position, in the absence of the injured James Anderson, with 4-25 as an 89-run lead was built.

The batsmen then went on the attack, most notably Joe Root, Jonny Bairstow and James Taylor, to leave South Africa with a record fourth-innings chase of 416. They never got close as man of the match Moeen Ali removed AB de Villiers with the third ball of the final day while Steven Finn returned 4-42 after missing the Pakistan series through injury.