1. Reintegration: The KP saga was one of the more interesting Pietersen stories. It clearly touched a number of raw nerves and, temporarily, shattered the concept of Team England. Jimmy Anderson thought the reintegration period sounded "like an offender being released into the community". KP saw the funny side when he wore a shirt signed by all his team-mates during the series victory celebrations in Nagpur.

2. Retirement: Retirements were happening left, right and centre throughout 2012. Many of them were legends of the game or pretty close. Three men with Test batting averages of over 50 - Rahul Dravid, Michael Hussey and Ricky Ponting - filed for the exit. Andrew Strauss' whispered summer goodbye, as gentle in its dignity as Mike Atherton's in 2001, has been almost entirely forgotten. His former county colleague, Mark Ramprakash, also left the scene. A Test average of 27 has never been so out of place.

3. Grinding: There were some moments that were a real throwback to Tests of yore. England finished the first day at Nagpur on 199 for five. Sir Geoffrey Boycott must have been purring over Joe Root's debut innings of 73, compiled with a scoring rate of under 32. If the modern spectator wants entertainment, Ed Cowan and Nick Compton look like the openers from hell.

4. DRS: In the Cowdrey lecture delivered at Lord's, the late Tony Greig cited the DRS as one of the major problems of the game at the moment. He said: "The DRS is not perfect, but it does err in favour of the umpires' decisions and according to the ICC, fewer mistakes are made with its use. And furthermore, there is less conflict on the ground." MS Dhoni might just think that now. Whether the BCCI do so is another matter entirely.

5. Monty: In an age where two- or even three-dimensional cricketers are required, it was refreshing to see England bring Monty Panesar back into the equation. His circling of a 'catch' in Mumbai during the 2006 series is still the stuff of legend, but Panesar adds enough value in his specialist subject. If he can enjoy the backing of the management, England can happily miss a 15 or 20 from their number eleven. Or even the odd catch.

6. Sentiment: Sentiment is definitely not dead in sport. However, it was still something to witness Ponting's last stand at Perth accompanied by a guard of honour from the South African team. Ponting and Graeme Smith were never ones for syrupy stuff on the field, but it was clear that the Tasmanian was choked by this show of respect. As Smith said: "All of us will miss Ricky as an opponent."

7. Daddies: They are popping up everywhere now. Ian Bell flew back to England during the Indian series to witness the birth of his son. He ended up missing it. Earlier in the English summer, Smith attended the domestics with the birth of a daughter, curiously named Cadence. Graeme Swann and Jonny Bairstow were given leave to go home for pressing family matters. Gone are the days when it was bad news to marry a cricketer...

8. Daddies II: Alastair Cook has recovered his appetite for the Daddy centuries which mentor Graham Gooch raves about. However, nobody could compete with Michael Clarke in 2012. The Australian captain hit three double-centuries and one triple. He has just added another mere 106. The man is getting greedy. We are in the era of super-size innings.

9: Tragedy: The death of Tom Maynard in tragic circumstances was a stark reminder of how the game of cricket is secondary. The Surrey batsman was only 23 years old. His father Matthew, who played for England, said: "The amount of letters that we've had shows how he turned out as a really great bloke. There can be nothing more rewarding for a parent knowing how your lad's turned out like you hoped them to."

10. Smiles: The neutral might have enjoyed the West Indians' triumph at the World Twenty20 in October. Here was a team that was once a mighty force but has lost its position in world cricket. Atherton noted: "It depresses people because I grew up watching that team of the 1980's and there was no greater sight in cricket. This team is nowhere near that, but it's fantastic to watch them back and playing with a smile." Whatever your view on Twenty20 cricket, the West Indians are better equipped to enjoy it than most. Cue Chris Gayle and the Gangnam.

Tim Ellis