England Men's Cricket Team

In a year when we've all needed some distractions, the England men's cricket team have been a constant. They might not have always (or often) been good, they might not even always have been likeable — looking at you, Craig Overton and Ollie Robinson — but they've always been present. Joe Root is having one of the all-time great calendar years. Mark Wood, Jof, CJ, Moeen and Adil are one of the most delightful little groups of players around, and sometimes that's enough! It might not have been the perfect year for English cricket, but having the team around with over 100 days play scheduled for the year has been invaluable from home.

Dark humor. English cricket was up and down like a meerkat on a pogo stick, but fans took it all with grace and a typically English ability to poke fun at a team they love. There was hope too, but more in the sense of “Man, I hope this doesn't go horribly wrong“ than “Man, I hope this goes well!“

Liam Livingstone. The newly bleach-blonde Lancashire all-rounder has been adopted as something of a mascot for England's limited overs sides in 2021, partly for his swashbuckling style of play, but also because of a match last year where he got hit in the nether regions three times in about 15 minutes. Caught by the on-field mic shouting 'OH NO' as the second ball connected, the love for the man they now call 'Nutsack' is the perfect demonstration of England fans' relationship with their team.