# International cricket in 2012

The 2012 international cricket season was from April 2012 to August 2012. One year after gaining the number-one ranking in the ICC Test Championship, England lost the ranking to South Africa in August 2012 following a 0–2 Test series defeat at home. Also in August 2012, England rose to number one in the ICC ODI Championship following ten consecutive ODI victories and the annual update of the rankings. The update also put South Africa and India within one rankings point behind England.
The previous number one ODI team was Australia, who slipped to number four after holding the top spot from September 2009. Shortly before they lost the ranking, they lost 0–4 in an ODI series in England. It marked the end to their era of dominance in ODI cricket which included three consecutive World Cup wins, two ICC Champions Trophy wins and finishing nine of the past eleven years with the number-one ranking. The annual update also put South Africa at the top of the ICC T20I Championship rankings, replacing England. However, the T20I rankings would change significantly as a result of the 2012 ICC World Twenty20 at the start of the following season.

## Season overview

International tours :
| Start date | Home team | Away team | Results [Matches] | Results [Matches] | Results [Matches] |
| Start date | Home team | Away team | Test | ODI | T20I |
| 17 May 2012 | England | West Indies | 2–0 [3] | 2–0 [3] | 1–0 [1] |
| 1 June 2012 | Sri Lanka | Pakistan | 1–0 [3] | 3–1 [5] | 1–1 [2] |
| 23 June 2012 | Ireland | Australia | — | 0–0 [1] | — |
| 29 June 2012 | England | Australia | — | 4–0 [5] | — |
| 30 June 2012 | West Indies | New Zealand | 2–0 [2] | 4–1 [5] | 2–0 [2] |
| 18 July 2012 | Ireland | Bangladesh | — | — | 0–3 [3] |
| 19 July 2012 | England | South Africa | 0–2 [3] | 2–2 [5] | 1–1 [3] |
| 21 July 2012 | Sri Lanka | India | — | 1–4 [5] | 0–1 [1] |
| 24 July 2012 | Scotland | Bangladesh | — | — | 1–0 [1] |
| 25 July 2012 | Netherlands | Bangladesh | — | — | 1–1 [2] |
| 23 August 2012 | India | New Zealand | 2–0 [2] | — | 0–1 [2] |
| 25 August 2012 | Afghanistan | Australia | — | 0–1 [1] | — |
| 28 August 2012 | Pakistan | Australia | — | 1–2 [3] | 2–1 [3] |
| Other international series ||||||
| Start date | Series | Series | Series | Winners | Winners |
| 17 June 2012 | Twenty20 Triangular Series | Twenty20 Triangular Series | Twenty20 Triangular Series | Zimbabwe | Zimbabwe |
| 6 September 2012 | Trinidad Quadrangular T20 | Trinidad Quadrangular T20 | Trinidad Quadrangular T20 | Afghanistan | Afghanistan |
| Minor tours ||||||
| Start date | Home team | Away team | Results [Matches] | Results [Matches] | Results [Matches] |
| Start date | Home team | Away team | First-class | First-class | ODI |
| 3 July 2012 | Ireland | Afghanistan | 0–0 [1] | 0–0 [1] | 1–0 [2] |
| 4 July 2012 | Scotland | Canada | 0–0 [1] | 0–0 [1] | 1–0 [2] |
| Minor tournaments ||||||
| Start date | Series | Series | Series | Winners | Winners |
| 3 September 2012 | ICC World Cricket League Division Four | ICC World Cricket League Division Four | ICC World Cricket League Division Four | Nepal | Nepal |
| 15 September 2012 | ICC World Cricket League Division Eight | ICC World Cricket League Division Eight | ICC World Cricket League Division Eight | Vanuatu | Vanuatu |

## Pre-season rankings

ICC Test Championship 28 April 2012 :
| Rank | Team | Matches | Points | Rating |
| 1 | England | 44 | 5124 | 116 |
| 2 | South Africa | 32 | 3709 | 116 |
| 3 | Australia | 46 | 5153 | 112 |
| 4 | India | 46 | 5103 | 111 |
| 5 | Pakistan | 35 | 3781 | 108 |
| 6 | Sri Lanka | 38 | 3780 | 99 |
| 7 | West Indies | 34 | 2898 | 85 |
| 8 | New Zealand | 28 | 2366 | 85 |
| 9 | Bangladesh | 18 | 135 | 8 |
ICC ODI Championship 16 April 2012 :
| Rank | Team | Matches | Points | Rating |
| 1 | Australia | 49 | 6030 | 123 |
| 2 | South Africa | 30 | 3549 | 118 |
| 3 | India | 55 | 6409 | 117 |
| 4 | England | 39 | 4333 | 111 |
| 5 | Sri Lanka | 52 | 5745 | 110 |
| 6 | Pakistan | 45 | 4710 | 105 |
| 7 | New Zealand | 31 | 2667 | 86 |
| 8 | West Indies | 32 | 2753 | 86 |
| 9 | Bangladesh | 36 | 2408 | 67 |
| 10 | Zimbabwe | 33 | 1511 | 46 |
| 11 | Ireland | 14 | 504 | 36 |
| 12 | Netherlands | 9 | 137 | 15 |
| 13 | Kenya | 9 | 74 | 8 |
ICC T20I Championship 31 March 2012 :
| Rank | Team | Matches | Points | Rating |
| 1 | England | 14 | 1811 | 129 |
| 2 | South Africa | 12 | 1468 | 122 |
| 3 | Sri Lanka | 9 | 1056 | 117 |
| 4 | New Zealand | 14 | 1596 | 114 |
| 5 | Pakistan | 17 | 1817 | 107 |
| 6 | Australia | 15 | 1603 | 107 |
| 7 | India | 9 | 930 | 103 |
| 8 | Ireland | 10 | 946 | 95 |
| 9 | West Indies | 10 | 933 | 93 |
| 10 | Afghanistan | 6 | 500 | 83 |
| 11 | Netherlands | 5 | 321 | 64 |
| 12 | Zimbabwe | 9 | 463 | 51 |
| 13 | Scotland | 5 | 200 | 40 |
| 14 | Canada | 5 | 79 | 16 |
| 15 | Kenya | 6 | 75 | 13 |

### Notes

* Zimbabwe is currently unranked in Tests, as it has played insufficient matches. It has 167 points and a rating of 42.
* Bangladesh is currently unranked in T20Is, as it has played insufficient matches.

## May
### West Indies in England

Test series :
| No. | Date | Home captain | Away captain | Venue | Result |
| Test 2043 | 17–21 May | Andrew Strauss | Darren Sammy | Lord's, London | England by 5 wickets |
| Test 2044 | 25–29 May | Andrew Strauss | Darren Sammy | Trent Bridge, Nottingham | England by 9 wickets |
| Test 2045 | 7–11 June | Andrew Strauss | Darren Sammy | Edgbaston, Birmingham | Match drawn |
| ODI series |||||||||
| No. | Date | Home captain | Away captain | Venue | Result |
| ODI 3276 | 16 June | Alastair Cook | Darren Sammy | The Rose Bowl, Southampton | England by 114 runs (D/L) |
| ODI 3278 | 19 June | Alastair Cook | Darren Sammy | The Oval, London | England by 8 wickets |
| ODI 3278a | 22 June | Alastair Cook | Darren Sammy | Headingley, Leeds | No result |
| Only T20I |||||||||
| No. | Date | Home captain | Away captain | Venue | Result |
| T20I 246 | 24 June | Stuart Broad | Darren Sammy | Trent Bridge, Nottingham | England by 7 wickets |

## June
### Pakistan in Sri Lanka

T20I series :
| No. | Date | Home captain | Away captain | Venue | Result |
| T20I 244 | 1 June | Mahela Jayawardene | Mohammad Hafeez | Mahinda Rajapaksa International Cricket Stadium, Hambantota | Sri Lanka by 37 runs |
| T20I 245 | 3 June | Mahela Jayawardene | Mohammad Hafeez | Mahinda Rajapaksa International Cricket Stadium, Hambantota | Pakistan by 23 runs |
| ODI series |||||||||
| No. | Date | Home captain | Away captain | Venue | Result |
| ODI 3272 | 7 June | Mahela Jayawardene | Misbah-ul-Haq | Pallekele International Cricket Stadium, Pallekele | Pakistan by 6 wickets |
| ODI 3273 | 9 June | Mahela Jayawardene | Misbah-ul-Haq | Pallekele International Cricket Stadium, Pallekele | Sri Lanka by 76 runs |
| ODI 3274 | 13 June | Mahela Jayawardene | Misbah-ul-Haq | R. Premadasa Stadium, Colombo | No result |
| ODI 3275 | 16 June | Mahela Jayawardene | Misbah-ul-Haq | R. Premadasa Stadium, Colombo | Sri Lanka by 44 runs |
| ODI 3277 | 18 June | Mahela Jayawardene | Misbah-ul-Haq | R. Premadasa Stadium, Colombo | Sri Lanka by 2 wickets |
| Test series |||||||||
| No. | Date | Home captain | Away captain | Venue | Result |
| Test 2046 | 22–26 June | Mahela Jayawardene | Mohammad Hafeez | Galle International Stadium, Galle | Sri Lanka by 209 runs |
| Test 2047 | 30 June–4 July | Mahela Jayawardene | Misbah-ul-Haq | Sinhalese Sports Club Ground, Colombo | Match drawn |
| Test 2048 | 8–12 July | Mahela Jayawardene | Misbah-ul-Haq | Pallekele International Cricket Stadium, Pallekele | Match drawn |

### Zimbabwe Twenty20 Triangular Series

Although contested by three ICC full member nations, this tournament does not have Twenty20 International status, because it was organised outside of the ICC Future Tours Programme. The matches are considered to be first-class-equivalent Twenty20 matches.
| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | L | T | NR | BP | Pts | NRR |
| 1 | South Africa | 4 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 0.378 |
| 2 | Zimbabwe | 4 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 8 | −0.086 |
| 3 | Bangladesh | 4 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 8 | −0.280 |
Twenty20 series :
| No. | Date | Team 1 | Captain 1 | Team 2 | Captain 2 | Venue | Result |
| Group stage ||||||||
| Match 1 | 17 June | Zimbabwe | Brendan Taylor | Bangladesh | Mushfiqur Rahim | Harare Sports Club, Harare | Zimbabwe by 11 runs |
| Match 2 | 19 June | Bangladesh | Mushfiqur Rahim | South Africa | Hashim Amla | Harare Sports Club, Harare | South Africa by 39 runs |
| Match 3 | 20 June | Zimbabwe | Brendan Taylor | South Africa | Hashim Amla | Harare Sports Club, Harare | Zimbabwe by 29 runs |
| Match 4 | 21 June | Zimbabwe | Brendan Taylor | Bangladesh | Mushfiqur Rahim | Harare Sports Club, Harare | Bangladesh by 6 wickets |
| Match 5 | 22 June | Bangladesh | Mushfiqur Rahim | South Africa | Hashim Amla | Harare Sports Club, Harare | Bangladesh by 3 wickets |
| Match 6 | 23 June | Zimbabwe | Brendan Taylor | South Africa | Hashim Amla | Harare Sports Club, Harare | South Africa by 6 wickets |
| Final ||||||||
| Final | 24 June | Zimbabwe | Brendan Taylor | South Africa | Hashim Amla | Harare Sports Club, Harare | Zimbabwe by 9 wickets |

### Australia in Ireland

ODI :
| No. | Date | Home captain | Away captain | Venue | Result |
| ODI 3279 | 23 June | William Porterfield | Michael Clarke | Civil Service Cricket Club Ground, Belfast | No result |

### Australia in England

ODI series :
| No. | Date | Home captain | Away captain | Venue | Result |
| ODI 3280 | 29 June | Alastair Cook | Michael Clarke | Lord's, London | England by 15 runs |
| ODI 3281 | 1 July | Alastair Cook | Michael Clarke | The Oval, London | England by 6 wickets |
| ODI 3281b | 4 July | Alastair Cook | Michael Clarke | Edgbaston, Birmingham | Match abandoned |
| ODI 3284 | 7 July | Alastair Cook | Michael Clarke | Riverside Ground, Chester-le-Street | England by 8 wickets |
| ODI 3286 | 10 July | Alastair Cook | Michael Clarke | Old Trafford, Manchester | England by 7 wickets |

### New Zealand vs West Indies in the United States

T20I series :
| No. | Date | Home captain | Away captain | Venue | Result |
| T20I 247 | 30 June | Darren Sammy | Ross Taylor | Central Broward Regional Park, Fort Lauderdale | West Indies by 56 runs |
| T20I 248 | 1 July | Darren Sammy | Ross Taylor | Central Broward Regional Park, Fort Lauderdale | West Indies by 61 runs |

## July
### Afghanistan in Ireland

2011–13 ICC World Cricket League Championship :
| No. | Date | Home captain | Away captain | Venue | Result |
| ODI 3281a | 3 July | William Porterfield | Karim Sadiq | Clontarf Cricket Club Ground, Dublin | Match abandoned |
| ODI 3282 | 5 July | William Porterfield | Karim Sadiq | Clontarf Cricket Club Ground, Dublin | Ireland by 59 runs |
| 2011–13 ICC Intercontinental Cup |||||||||
| No. | Date | Home captain | Away captain | Venue | Result |
| First-class | 9–12 July | Kevin O'Brien | Karim Sadiq | Observatory Lane, Dublin | Match drawn |

### Canada in Scotland

2011–13 ICC Intercontinental Cup :
| No. | Date | Home captain | Away captain | Venue | Result |
| First-class | 4–7 July | Gordon Drummond | Jimmy Hansra | Bothwell Castle Cricket Ground, Uddingston | Match abandoned |
| 2011–13 ICC World Cricket League Championship |||||||||
| No. | Date | Home captain | Away captain | Venue | Result |
| ODI 3285a | 9 July | Gordon Drummond | Jimmy Hansra | Cambusdoon New Ground, Ayr | Match abandoned |
| ODI 3287 | 11 July | Gordon Drummond | Jimmy Hansra | Cambusdoon New Ground, Ayr | Scotland by 4 wickets |

### New Zealand in West Indies

ODI series :
| No. | Date | Home captain | Away captain | Venue | Result |
| ODI 3283 | 5 July | Darren Sammy | Ross Taylor | Sabina Park, Kingston, Jamaica | West Indies by 9 wickets (D/L) |
| ODI 3285 | 7 July | Darren Sammy | Ross Taylor | Sabina Park, Kingston, Jamaica | West Indies by 55 runs |
| ODI 3288 | 11 July | Darren Sammy | Ross Taylor | Warner Park Stadium, Basseterre, St Kitts | New Zealand by 88 runs |
| ODI 3289 | 14 July | Darren Sammy | Ross Taylor | Warner Park Stadium, Basseterre, St Kitts | West Indies by 24 runs |
| ODI 3290 | 16 July | Darren Sammy | Ross Taylor | Warner Park Stadium, Basseterre, St Kitts | West Indies by 20 runs |
| Test series |||||||||
| No. | Date | Home captain | Away captain | Venue | Result |
| Test 2050 | 25–29 July | Darren Sammy | Ross Taylor | Sir Vivian Richards Stadium, North Sound, Antigua | West Indies by 9 wickets |
| Test 2052 | 2–6 August | Darren Sammy | Ross Taylor | Sabina Park, Kingston, Jamaica | West Indies by 5 wickets |

### Bangladesh in Ireland

T20I Series :
| No. | Date | Home captain | Away captain | Venue | Result |
| T20I 249 | 18 July | William Porterfield | Mushfiqur Rahim | Civil Service Cricket Club Ground, Belfast | Bangladesh by 71 runs |
| T20I 250 | 20 July | William Porterfield | Mushfiqur Rahim | Civil Service Cricket Club Ground, Belfast | Bangladesh by 1 run |
| T20I 251 | 21 July | William Porterfield | Mushfiqur Rahim | Civil Service Cricket Club Ground, Belfast | Bangladesh by 2 wickets |

### South Africa in England

Test series :
| No. | Date | Home captain | Away captain | Venue | Result |
| Test 2049 | 19–23 July | Andrew Strauss | Graeme Smith | The Oval, London | South Africa by an innings and 12 runs |
| Test 2051 | 2–6 August | Andrew Strauss | Graeme Smith | Headingley, Leeds | Match drawn |
| Test 2053 | 16–20 August | Andrew Strauss | Graeme Smith | Lord's, London | South Africa by 51 runs |
| ODI series |||||||||
| No. | Date | Home captain | Away captain | Venue | Result |
| ODI 3296 | 24 August | Alastair Cook | AB de Villiers | Sophia Gardens, Cardiff | No result |
| ODI 3298 | 28 August | Alastair Cook | AB de Villiers | The Rose Bowl, Southampton | South Africa by 80 runs |
| ODI 3300 | 31 August | Alastair Cook | AB de Villiers | The Oval, London | England by 4 wickets |
| ODI 3302 | 2 September | Alastair Cook | AB de Villiers | Lord's, London | England by 6 wickets |
| ODI 3304 | 5 September | Alastair Cook | AB de Villiers | Trent Bridge, Nottingham | South Africa by 7 wickets |
| T20I Series |||||||||
| No. | Date | Home captain | Away captain | Venue | Result |
| T20I 258 | 8 September | Stuart Broad | AB de Villiers | Riverside Ground, Chester-le-Street | South Africa by 7 wickets |
| T20I 260 | 10 September | Stuart Broad | AB de Villiers | Old Trafford, Manchester | No result |
| T20I 262 | 12 September | Stuart Broad | AB de Villiers | Edgbaston, Birmingham | England won by 28 runs |

### India in Sri Lanka

ODI series :
| No. | Date | Home captain | Away captain | Venue | Result |
| ODI 3291 | 21 July | Mahela Jayawardene | Mahendra Singh Dhoni | Mahinda Rajapaksa International Cricket Stadium, Hambantota | India by 21 runs |
| ODI 3292 | 24 July | Mahela Jayawardene | Mahendra Singh Dhoni | Mahinda Rajapaksa International Cricket Stadium, Hambantota | Sri Lanka by 9 wickets |
| ODI 3293 | 28 July | Mahela Jayawardene | Mahendra Singh Dhoni | R. Premadasa Stadium, Colombo | India by 5 wickets |
| ODI 3294 | 31 July | Mahela Jayawardene | Mahendra Singh Dhoni | R. Premadasa Stadium, Colombo | India by 6 wickets |
| ODI 3295 | 4 August | Angelo Mathews | Mahendra Singh Dhoni | Pallekele International Cricket Stadium, Pallekele | India by 20 runs |
| T20I |||||||||
| No. | Date | Home captain | Away captain | Venue | Result |
| T20I 255 | 7 August | Mahela Jayawardene | Mahendra Singh Dhoni | Pallekele International Cricket Stadium, Pallekele | India by 39 runs |

### Bangladesh vs Scotland in the Netherlands

T20I :
| No. | Date | Home captain | Away captain | Venue | Result |
| T20I 252 | 24 July | Gordon Drummond | Mushfiqur Rahim | Sportpark Westvliet, The Hague | Scotland by 34 runs |

### Bangladesh in the Netherlands

T20I :
| No. | Date | Home captain | Away captain | Venue | Result |
| T20I 253 | 25 July | Peter Borren | Mushfiqur Rahim | Sportpark Westvliet, The Hague | Bangladesh by 8 wickets |
| T20I 254 | 26 July | Peter Borren | Mushfiqur Rahim | Sportpark Westvliet, The Hague | Netherlands by 1 wicket |

## August
### New Zealand in India

Test series :
| No. | Date | Home captain | Away captain | Venue | Result |
| Test 2054 | 23–27 August | Mahendra Singh Dhoni | Ross Taylor | Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium, Hyderabad | India by an innings and 115 runs |
| Test 2055 | 31 August–4 September | Mahendra Singh Dhoni | Ross Taylor | M. Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bangalore | India by 5 wickets |
| T20I series |||||||||
| No. | Date | Home captain | Away captain | Venue | Result |
| T20I 258a | 8 September | Mahendra Singh Dhoni | Ross Taylor | Dr. Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy ACA-VDCA Cricket Stadium, Visakhapatnam | Match abandoned |
| T20I 261 | 11 September | Mahendra Singh Dhoni | Ross Taylor | M. A. Chidambaram Stadium, Chennai | New Zealand by 1 run |

### Bangladesh in Zimbabwe

Bangladesh were scheduled to tour Zimbabwe in August 2012, but the tour has been postponed to April 2013 as the pitches at both Queen's Park Oval, Bulawayo and Harare Sports Club, Harare are being relaid.

### Australia vs Afghanistan in the United Arab Emirates

Only ODI :
| No. | Date | Home captain | Away captain | Venue | Result |
| ODI 3297 | 25 August | Nawroz Mangal | Michael Clarke | Sharjah Cricket Stadium, Sharjah | Australia by 66 runs |

### Pakistan vs Australia in the United Arab Emirates

ODI series :
| No. | Date | Home captain | Away captain | Venue | Result |
| ODI 3299 | 28 August | Misbah-ul-Haq | Michael Clarke | Sharjah Cricket Stadium, Sharjah | Australia by 4 wickets |
| ODI 3301 | 31 August | Misbah-ul-Haq | Michael Clarke | Sheikh Zayed Stadium, Abu Dhabi | Pakistan by 7 wickets |
| ODI 3303 | 3 September | Misbah-ul-Haq | Michael Clarke | Sharjah Cricket Stadium, Sharjah | Australia by 3 wickets |
| T20I series |||||||||
| No. | Date | Home captain | Away captain | Venue | Result |
| T20I 256 | 5 September | Mohammad Hafeez | George Bailey | Dubai International Cricket Stadium, Dubai | Pakistan by 7 wickets |
| T20I 257 | 7 September | Mohammad Hafeez | George Bailey | Dubai International Cricket Stadium, Dubai | Match tied; Pakistan won the Super Over |
| T20I 259 | 10 September | Mohammad Hafeez | George Bailey | Dubai International Cricket Stadium, Dubai | Australia by 94 runs |

## September
### Trinidad Quadrangular T20

| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | L | T | NR | Pts | NRR |
| 1 | Afghanistan | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 0.404 |
| 2 | BCB XI | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 0.330 |
| 3 | Trinidad and Tobago | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 0.105 |
| 4 | Barbados | 3 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | −0.928 |
Twenty20 series :
| No. | Date | Team 1 | Captain 1 | Team 2 | Captain 2 | Venue | Result |
| Match 1 | 6 September | Barbados | Kirk Edwards | Bangladesh | Mushfiqur Rahim | Queen's Park Oval, Port of Spain, Trinidad | Bangladesh by 7 wickets |
| Match 2 | 6 September | Trinidad and Tobago | Rayad Emrit | Afghanistan | Nawroz Mangal | Queen's Park Oval, Port of Spain, Trinidad | Afghanistan by 3 wickets |
| Match 3 | 7 September | Afghanistan | Nawroz Mangal | Bangladesh | Mushfiqur Rahim | Queen's Park Oval, Port of Spain, Trinidad | Bangladesh by 8 wickets |
| Match 4 | 7 September | Trinidad and Tobago | Rayad Emrit | Barbados | Kirk Edwards | Queen's Park Oval, Port of Spain, Trinidad | Trinidad and Tobago by 5 wickets |
| Match 5 | 8 September | Afghanistan | Shamarh Brooks | Barbados | Kirk Edwards | Queen's Park Oval, Port of Spain, Trinidad | Afghanistan by 5 wickets |
| Match 6 | 8 September | Trinidad and Tobago | Rayad Emrit | Bangladesh | Mushfiqur Rahim | Queen's Park Oval, Port of Spain, Trinidad | Trinidad and Tobago by 4 wickets |