Ever the diplomatic entity, and eager to reward your loyalty, the powers-that-be at Cricket365 headquarters ran a series of polls through the closing throes of December, which saw thousands of you snub Graeme Smith, cheer for Virender Sehwag, oust Rangana Herath and more...

While there was no denying Alastair Cook's brilliance, with the prolific England captain fetching a whopping 65 percent of your votes, Virender Sehwag enjoyed a much bigger backing than Graeme Smith. Surprising, indeed, given the South African scored more than 300 runs more than the Indian in just one extra fixture.

The choice of Hashim Amla for the number three berth was evidently an even easier choice than Cook at the top of the knock, with the bearded right-hander accruing three quarters of the votes. Azhar Ali, interestingly, edged out Cheteshwar Pujara as Amla's understudy in this XI.

The poll to pique the most interest was that which argued the makeup of the middle order. Michael Clarke, of course, led the pack - but there was on place for Shivnarine Chanderpaul or Kevin Pietersen. Instead, India's talent trumped that of Pakistan - as Virat Kohli cracked the nod ahead of Asad Shafiq.

The all-rounder's spot made for intriguing reading, as Shane Watson, Shakib Al Hasan and Ravichandran Ashwin vying for status alongside Jacques Kallis. There was always only going to be one winner, though, with the veteran South African victorious by a long shot. Indian fans, however, can take consolation in Ashwin's two-figure aggregate - better than Angelo Mathews, Stuart Broad and Daniel Vettori combined.

The wicketkeeper-batsman poll ran the longest, some 24 hours longer than any of its predecessors or successors, to truly decide a tight race. Mahendra Singh Dhoni and Kamran Akmal jostled for position, while Denesh Ramdin enjoyed a momentary push, but didn't have the legs for the distance. AB de Villiers and Matt Prior certainly did, and swapped the lead time and time again. Ultimately, the Englishman won by a mere handful of votes. Fair enough.

And so it was to the bowling ranks, where we decided on a two-two split of seam and spin rather than three-one. The vast amount of cricket played in the gulf and the sub-continent, where slow bowlers had a big say, demanded as much. The composition of the four-man attack, though, was your prerogative.

The spin department brought a landslide victory for Saeed Ajmal. Nobody, not even 2012's top Test wicket-taker Rangana Herath held a candle to the Pakistani trumpcard's reader-generated statistics. Graeme Swann, challenged, marginally, though still fetched some 50 percent less votes than his hypothetical team-mate.

The bulk of you agreed with our glowing assessment of James Anderson's year, but believed Dale Steyn's 2012 was stronger than that of Vernon Philander - and Morne Morkel and Umar Gul. Philander took four more wickets than Steyn, in one less match, and garnered an average some eight runs less than his team-mate. Still, your wish is our command.

Final Readers' Test Team of the Year
1. Alastair Cook (England)
2. Virender Sehwag (India)
3. Hashim Amla (South Africa)
4. Jacques Kallis (South Africa)
5. Michael Clarke (Australia, captain)
6. Virat Kohli (India)
7. Matt Prior (England, wicketkeeper)
8. Graeme Swann(England)
9. Dale Steyn (South Africa)
10. Morne Morkel (South Africa)
11. Saeed Ajmal (Pakistan)