Summer cricket fever begins

Most Aussies associate summer with barbecues, hot days at the beach and Christmas festivities, but for sports fans there is something much more important happening at this time of year – cricket!

No Australian summer is complete without this sport, whether it is a casual game at the park or beach, or day after day watching the biggest games on the small-screen.

And this year is set to be no different, with thousands of Aussies getting ready to descend on Melbourne for the annual Boxing Day test.

Australia will take on Sri Lanka at the MCG for this Vodafone Test Series, which will wrap up on December 30.

The Commonwealth Bank Series will kick off on January 11, with Australia playing the field against Sri Lanka, before taking on the West Indies on February 1.

The KFC T20 Internationals will get started on January 26, where Australian will take on both Sri Lanka and the West Indies in three separate matches.

Whether you can make it to the Wacca in Perth, the SCG in Sydney, the Gabba in Brisbane or the cricket capital of Australia – the MCG in Melbourne – test matches will be travelling around the country, with games to be played at almost every main venue.

It's no secret that we are a sports crazy nation, but unfortunately many of us still have to work over the cricket season.

If you find yourself being dragged into the office this summer and don't want to miss out on all the cricketing action, why not check out some of the following apps?

Cricket LIVE Australia

This free app by Vodafone will give you all your cricketing news for the 2012/13 season.

Featuring live match video screening and video match highlights, you can keep up to the play with all the cricket buzz wherever you are.

It also has international player stats, match reminders and end of session alerts and ball by ball schedules.

Available for iPhones and iPads, the Cricket LIVE app will have extensive coverage for the Vodafone Test Series, the Commonwealth Bank Series, KFC T20 INTL and KFC T20 Big Bash League.

Cricbuzz

Available for iPhone, Android, Windows phones and Blackberry's, this app is regarded as one the best for cricket lovers.

With extensive commentary, match information, you won't miss out on much with this.

KFC T20 Big Bash League

This app will give you all the information you need regarding the Big Bash including player profiles, live cricket scores and match highlights.

It also has social media integration so that you can join the conversations on Twitter and Facebook.