With England finishing the year beating India at home and whitewashing Sri Lanka away, it is easy to forget they began 2018, in Test cricket at least, as a bit of a shambles. Defeat in the fifth Ashes Test in Sydney started them off on the wrong foot before they were humiliated in Auckland, bowled out for 58 by New Zealand. Despite the ODI team keeping up their good form, there was a definite sense of gloom around.

Fast forward 12 months and the mood is much brighter: seven Test wins from their last eight games and five ODI series victories out of six in the calendar year see England begin 2019 in decent shape.

What went right

Perhaps the most important development happened off the pitch with the appointment of Ed Smith as National Selector. The choice was left-field given the former Middlesex and Kent batsman had been working in the media, but he has been a success with the recalls of Jos Buttler and Adil Rashid, and the selection of Sam Curran proving excellent calls. The selection for the tour of Sri Lanka was another tick in the box with Smith and his deputy, James Taylor, including a wide variety of bowling options which England so lacked the previous winter in Australia.

On the pitch, Alastair Cook's retirement may have come as something of a surprise but he ended his Test career with a fairytale hundred at the Oval against India - a highlight of the summer. Cook received at least four standing ovations during the match but none were as loud or as sustained as that when he reached three figures in England's second innings. It was his 33rd and last Test hundred and was one of those "I was there moments". What a player he has been.

With the white ball, Eoin Morgan's men achieved a first ODI whitewash over a weakened Australia during the home summer to go with their 4-1 defeat of the old enemy down under at the start of the year. Although Scotland memorably ambushed England in Edinburgh in June, Morgan's men responded by beating India at home thanks to two brilliant Joe Root hundreds.

What went wrong

Following a brawl outside a nightclub last year, Ben Stokes' trial in July, which caused the all-rounder to miss the second Test against India at Lord's, was perhaps the lowest point of the year. Cricket led the news for all the wrong reasons and although Stokes was found not guilty of affray at Bristol Crown Court, his reputation, and that of Alex Hales, has been significantly damaged.

Not wanting to be left out, the ECB embarrassed themselves with their shambolic handling of the feted 'New Competition', to be played over 100 balls per team and set to begin in 2020. It has been a PR disaster with the ECB refusing to publish the research on which the whole idea is based. Barring a hastily arranged, at times farcical conference call upon the announcement of "The Hundred", Tom Harrison, the CEO, has not even given a press conference in 2018 to explain why the ECB think cramming a fourth domestic competition into an already packed schedule is a good idea.

Top Performer

Jos Buttler ends 2018 as England's most important player across all formats, having re-established himself in the Test team, and continued to lead the way in white-ball cricket. Although his numbers this year are excellent - averaging 44.70 in Tests and 51.61 in ODIs - Buttler adds so much more to England's squad. His instinctive approach - summed up by the words "F*** it" that he has written on the top of his bat handle - is what England needed in Test cricket after 18 months of rigid timidity, and his sharp cricketing brain is being harnessed as vice-captain in all formats.

There were a number of standout innings. His maiden Test century against India at Trent Bridge vindicated his recall despite having played precious little red-ball cricket in the previous two years. Buttler also scored a quite brilliant hundred in the fifth ODI against Australia in June, hauling England from 114 for 8 to chase 205. No other England player passed 20.

Biggest Disappointment

Mark Wood is supposed to be a difference-maker for England. Yet, in 2018, he struggled to make much of an impact at all. He started the year with a standout delivery - a bouncer to David Warner in the first ODI in Australia which shook the opener up - but frankly that was about as good as it got.

Wood was down on pace for much of the year and struggled for incisiveness. He averaged more than 57 with the ball in ODI cricket and was dropped after the first Test against Pakistan in May, although he could point to a number of dropped catches in that match which could have made a difference. With Warwickshire's Olly Stone called up for the Sri Lanka tour and Jofra Archer waiting in the wings, Wood needs a strong ODI series in the Caribbean early next year to restate his credentials.

What does 2019 have in store

Has there ever been a bigger summer for English cricket than 2019? A home World Cup, the first since 1999, and then an Ashes series present two massive challenges for England on the pitch and a huge opportunity off it. Success in both would propel cricket onto the front pages and give the game a platform that it rarely has given the dominance of football and the TV paywall which obscures the game from many.

Although the Ashes is a key focus, it is the World Cup that is most anticipated. Eoin Morgan's ODI team has been building nicely for the last three years but after missing out on last season's Champions Trophy, the pressure is on to win England's first ever global one-day trophy. Anything less than victory next summer will be considered a failure.

Aside from all that, Ashley Giles, the new Director, England Cricket will have to appoint a new coach in September when Trevor Bayliss steps down at the end of his contract. Giles has to decide whether to split the role between red and white-ball or to have one head coach for all formats. Whatever he decides, the choice will be an important one.