Following on from his reviews of 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017 and 2018, Gary has picked out a few moments to savour from 2019
![Three memories of cricket in 2019](https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/209ffe8a21fa97b14b61de0eecada4d43c77481f/0_0_2560_1536/master/2560.jpg?width=1200&height=630&quality=85&auto=format&fit=crop&overlay-align=bottom%2Cleft&overlay-width=100p&overlay-base64=L2ltZy9zdGF0aWMvb3ZlcmxheXMvdGctZGVmYXVsdC5wbmc&enable=upscale&s=28d45c4abed2eb35d14dabdea48106c9)
By Gary Naylor for the 99.94
Cricket Blog
It was one of the all-time great performances. Steve Smith scored 144 and 142 in his first Test back after the ban, his mastery of the art of batting complete: the contemptuous pushes and clips to rotate the strike; the boundaries striking a tattoo on the boundary boards as the acceleration towards a winning position inevitably came; the Bradmanesque stats stacking higher and higher. If you couldn’t admire the skill – some, unaccountably, still can’t – the will was undeniable. This is what greatness looks like.