• Top Tens

Memorable moments from 2011

England retained the Ashes in emphatic style © Getty Images

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In the final Top Tens of 2011, we take a look back at some of the most memorable moments from a year in sport.

England seal Ashes victory Down Under
England underlined their growing status as the best Test side in world cricket as they secured a thumping victory by an innings and 83 runs in Sydney to win the Ashes series 3-1. Not only had they become the first England side to win in Australia since 1987, they did so in emphatic fashion, condemning Australia to three innings defeats in the process. England confirmed their status as the best Test side in the world when they stunned India 4-0 to claim the world No. 1 ranking in the summer.

Rooney gives City bicycle kick in the teeth
Just a week after slumping to defeat against Wolves, Manchester United got their Premier League title bid firmly back on course with a 2-1 win against archrivals Manchester City at Old Trafford in February. The champions looked to be heading for another setback when David Silva's equaliser cancelled out Nani's opener, but Wayne Rooney produced a stunning overhead kick to seal all three points for United, who moved four points clear at the top of the table. Rooney showed exquisite technique and textbook timing to scissor-kick Nani's cross past Joe Hart. Against any opposition, it was a worthy winner of goal of the season, but against City, who missed out on the chance to move within two points of United, it ensured the goal would go down in Old Trafford folklore.

Rory McIlroy suffered a final-day collapse at Augusta © PA Photos

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Rory McIlroy's Masters meltdown
Rory McIlroy has long been hailed as Tiger Woods' successor, and it looked like he was firmly on course to snap up his first major at The Masters. Leading by four strokes with 18 holes to play, the green jacket was McIlroy's to lose. When he walked off the ninth hole at Augusta, McIlroy held a one-shot lead, but suffered a spectacular capitulation as his game unravelled. It began at the 10th with a triple bogey seven, and despite a superb iron shot to put him within 10 feet of the flag at the 11th hole, he three putted for another bogey. He dropped two more shots at the 12th before hooking his tee shot into the creek at 13. He finally signed for an 80 for a share of 15th place, as Charl Schwartzel birdied the final four holes to snatch victory. With many questioning his mental strength, McIlroy silenced his doubters in emphatic fashion, winning US Open by a staggering eight shots in June.

Frankel's majestic win at Newmarket
Sir Henry Cecil's colt came into 2011 with massive hype surrounding him, following an unbeaten two-year-old campaign. Cecil, a ten-time champion trainer and handler of 24 British Classic winners (Frankel made it 25), knows a good horse when he sees one. Cecil has never been one to hype a horse but he too was effusive in his praise of Frankel ahead of his date with destiny at the 2000 Guineas. Frankel arrived at Newmarket on the back of a prep-run win in the Greenham. That victory told the watching public little other than Frankel was fit and well. He tanked through his win in the Greenham, leading some to suggest he may burn himself out if failing to settle over Newmarket's straight mile. Mindful of this, Cecil and jockey Tom Queally hatched a plan. It was a plan no-one had considered: to let Frankel bounce out of the stalls and make all the running. What followed was one of the most breathtaking sights seen in a Classic in years, as Frankel set off like a scalded cat but instead of falling in a hole, he maintained the gallop and passed the post six lengths to the good of what was subsequently proved to be a top-class field. Further victories followed at Royal Ascot and Glorious Goodwood before Frankel signed off for the year with a power-packed display in the Queen Elizabeth II Stakes to secure the Horse of the Year prize. Cecil expects his charge to improve as a four-year-old but it will take something pretty special to match that hair-standing-up-on the-back-of-your-neck moment on the Rowley Mile in April.

Novak Djokovic was crowned world No. 1 following his Wimbledon victory © Getty Images

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Djokovic all-conquering at the All England Club
When Novak Djokovic's remarkable 43-match unbeaten streak came to an end at the hands of Roger Federer in Paris, many wondered how the Serb would respond. With seven titles already under his belt, would Djokovic's season begin to unravel? After pulling out of Queen's to take a well-earned break, Djokovic shrugged off his first defeat of 2011, returning in London to ease through the opening rounds at Wimbledon. After seeing off Federer's conqueror Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in the semi-finals, Djokovic beat defending champion Rafael Nadal in a thrilling final at the All England Club, usurping the Spaniard as world No. 1 in the process.

Darren Clarke wins The Open
There was barely a dry eye in the house at Royal St George's when Darren Clarke sank the closing putt to win the Open Championship. The Northern Irishman, who lost his wife to cancer in 2006, considered quitting the sport just a few months previously, but completed a marvellous turnaround to claim his first major victory. Clarke had the luxury of strolling down the 18th fairway with a three-stroke cushion, holding his nerve to sink the putt to seal a popular victory. An emotional Clarke dedicated his triumph to his children, Tyrone and Conor, after winning the Open Championship at his 20th attempt. "It's for the kids," Clarke said. "They'll be very proud." When asked what celebrations could be in store, he quipped: "They could be long and … well, not arduous - but definitely enjoyable!"

Usain Bolt's Daegu DQ
Usain Bolt was the red-hot favourite to defend his 100m title at the World Athletics Championships in South Korea, and the world record holder had cruised through the opening rounds. Laughing and joking on the start line, Bolt looked relaxed as he took his place in the blocks. Given his superior pace over his rivals, Bolt inexplicably jumped the gun - earning an immediate disqualification, paving the way for his Jamaican team-mate Yohan Blake to claim gold. But it was all about Bolt, and the sport's governing body faced calls to scrap its controversial false start rule.

Mark Cavendish added the rainbow jersey to the green he won in France © Getty Images

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Cavendish crowned sprint king in Copenhagen
Less than two months after winning the green jersey at the Tour de France, Mark Cavendish cemented his status as the fastest man on two wheels with a thrilling victory in the road race at the UCI Road World Championships in Denmark. After a superb team performance by the British team, Cavendish appeared to be boxed in as the race reached its climax, but he found a gap and powered through to outsprint Australian Matt Goss to win the rainbow jersey. Cavendish's victory saw him become the first man to win complete the Tour de France-World Championship double since Belgian Freddy Maertens in 1981.

Europe break American dominance
Europe's female golfers ended eight years of American dominance in the Solheim Cup, triumphing in a dramatic climax at Killeen Castle in Ireland. Trailing 12½-11½, Europe looked to be heading for a fourth straight defeat. But captain Alison Nicholas saw her charges fight back, with Christel Boeljon drawing Europe level. Suzann Pettersen was the star for Europe, grabbing three successive birdies to snatch victory from Michelle Wie, before Caroline Hedwall and Azahara Munoz halved their matches with Ryann O'Toole and Angela Stanford respectively to secure a thrilling victory.

Khan surrenders world titles
One of Britain's brightest boxing talents, many believed Amir Khan had the ability to become the planet's pound-for-pound king, but his road to superstardom was in tatters after he surrendered his WBA and IBF light-welterweight titles to Lamont Peterson in Washington. In a controversial split points decision, Khan was left to rue being docked two points for pushing as Peterson claimed victory in front of his home fans. With two of the judges scoring the fight 113-112 in Peterson's favour with the third scoring the fight 115-110 to Khan, the Brit's hopes of moving up to welterweight and fighting Floyd Mayweather Jnr appear a long way off.

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