The England cricket team's dismal year – in pictures

25 August 2013 England secure a 3-0 Ashes victory as bad light forces a draw at the Oval. The team gather en-masse on the Kennington outfield, and senior players including Jimmy Anderson and Stuart Broad reportedly urinate on the pitch. The ECB later apologise, conceding that: "some of our behaviour was inappropriate". Photograph: Tom Jenkins for the Guardian

24 November 2013 After dismissing Australia for 295 in the first innings, England's Ashes defence goes downhill quickly. They go on to lose by 381 runs in Brisbane. It is the highest run margin of an England defeat for more than a decade, having lost by 384 runs in 2002-3. To the Australians. In Brisbane. Photograph: Scott Barbour/Getty Images

25 November 2013 Jonathan Trott flies home from the Ashes tour, citing a long-standing stress-related condition. He had struggled terribly for form in the first Test, prompting David Warner to label him "poor and weak". Photograph: Anthony Devlin/PA

17 December 2013 A thrilling 120 from Ben Stokes sees England pass 350 for the only time in the series at the third Test at Perth. Unfortunately, it is not enough to prevent the team from losing by 150 runs and having to surrender the urn. Photograph: Ryan Pierse/Getty Images

22 December 2013 With England facing an unassailable 3-0 deficit, Graeme Swann takes the unusual step of retiring from cricket in the middle of a series. He says: "It's time for somebody else to buckle up and enjoy the ride." First in the spin-bowling hotseat is Monty Panesar, who takes one wicket in the defeat at the MCG and is promptly dropped. Photograph: Anthony Devlin/PA Archive

5 January 2014 Looking to the future, England give debuts to Scott Borthwick, Boyd Rankin (above) and Gary Ballance for the fifth Test at the SCG. The new-look England side last just three days before collapsing to a 281-run defeat, ensuring a 5-0 Ashes whitewash for Australia. Photograph: David Gray/Reuters

31 January 2014 Andy Flower steps down as England head coach. The Ashes debacle was just the third Test series defeat of the 18 he had presided over since April 2009. He is eventually replaced by Peter Moores, from whom he had taken over five years previously. Photograph: Jason O'Brien/Action Images

2 February 2014 Despite some spirited showings, a young England side under the stewardship of Ashley Giles loses eight out of nine of the limited-overs clashes that follow the Ashes series. A demoralised team is trounced by 84 runs in the final T20 international. Photograph: Saeed Khan/AFP/Getty Images

4 February 2014 Kevin Pietersen, England's leading run-scorer across all formats, is sacked by the ECB, who indicate that Pietersen was not giving Alastair Cook his "full support". Confidentiality clauses mean the full details remain undisclosed, which didn't stop Piers Morgan describing Cook as a "repulsive little weasel" on Twitter. Photograph: Paul Kane/Getty Images

31 March 2014 England limp out of the World T20 after narrow defeats to South Africa and New Zealand in Ashley Giles' last involvement as limited-overs coach. In their final fixture, they are thrashed by the Netherlands, Logan van Beek and Mudassar Bukhari ripping through England's middle order as they are dismissed for 88. Photograph: A.M. Ahad/AP

23 June 2014 England reduce Sri Lanka to 277-7 in the second innings of the second Test at Headingley, a lead of just 169. However, sloppy fielding (Liam Plunkett dropping a catch above) and wayward bowling sees Cook's team let things slip, and the visitors reach 457. A heroic rearguard action from Moeen Ali almost rescues a draw, but Jimmy Anderson's dismissal off the penultimate ball of the fifth day gives Sri Lanka the series win. Photograph: Ed Sykes/Action Images