Test teams performance in their first 50 Tests - A comparison

Arshad Chughtai

July 3, 2001

When Zimbabwe beat India in the Harare Test recently it was their sixth victory in 52 test matches. The victory prompted me to carry out a comparative study of test playing countries performance in their first 50 test matches. Results reveal that England lead the rest of the test playing nations having won 30 of their first 50 tests against 13 defeats, Australia won 18 against 26 defeats, West Indies won 15 against 17 defeats, Pakistan won 10 against 14 defeats, South Africa won 9 against 32 defeats, Zimbabwe won 5 against 25 defeats, Sri Lanka won 4 against 24 defeats and New Zealand, at the bottom of this table had won only three test matches against a large number of 26 defeats. Interestingly, India had drawn the most tests (27) out of the first fifty played, followed by Pakistan (26). Bangladesh has so far played only three tests, all lost.

Here is the performance of each team in their first 50 tests:

England: 1876-77 to 1896 (20 years)
OPPONENT        PLAYED     WON     LOST     DRAWN
Australia         44        24      14        6
South Africa       6         6       0        0
Total             50        30      14        6


Australia: 1876-77 to 1897-98 (22 years)
OPPONENT        PLAYED     WON     LOST     DRAWN
England           50        18      26        6
Total             50        18      26        6


South Africa: 1888-89 to 1924 (36 years)
OPPONENT        PLAYED     WON     LOST     DRAWN
England           36         8      23        5
Australia         14         1       9        4
Total             50         9      32        9


West Indies: 1928  to 1953-54 (26 years)
OPPONENT        PLAYED     WON     LOST     DRAWN
England           28        10      10        8
Australia         10         2       8        0
India             10         2       0        8
Newz Zealand       2         1       0        1
Total             50        15      18       17


New Zealand: 1929 to 1962-63 (34 years)
OPPONENT        PLAYED     WON     LOST     DRAWN
England           29         0      12       17
Australia          1         0       1        0
South Africa      14         2       9        3
West Indies        6         1       4        1
Total             50         3      26       21


India: 1932 to 1956-57 (25 years)
OPPONENT        PLAYED     WON     LOST     DRAWN
England           19         1      10        8
Australia          6         0       5        1
West Indies       10         0       2        8
Pakistan          10         2       1        7
New Zealand        5         2       0        3
Total             50         5      18       27


Pakistan: 1952 to 1964-65 (13 years)
OPPONENT        PLAYED     WON     LOST     DRAWN
India             15         1       2       12
England           12         1       6        5
Australia          6         1       2        3
West Indies        8         3       4        1
New Zealand        9         4       0        5
Total             50        10      14       26


Sri Lanka: 1981 to 1993-94 (13 Years)
OPPONENT        PLAYED     WON     LOST     DRAWN
England            5         1       3        1
Pakistan          12         1       6        1
India             11         1       4        6
New Zealand       11         1       4        6
South Africa       3         0       1        2
West Indies        1         0       1        2
Total             50         4      22       24


Zimbabwe: 1992 to 2000-01 (09 Years)
OPPONENT        PLAYED     WON     LOST     DRAWN
India              5         1       2        2
New Zealand       11         0       5        6
Pakistan          12         2       6        4
Sri Lanka         10         0       5        5
England            4         0       1        3
Australia          1         0       1        0
West Indies        2         0       2        0
Bangladesh         2         2       0        0
Total             50         5      25       20


 Overall Performance Comparison:
TEAM            WON     LOST     DRAWN
England         30       13        4
Australia       18       26        6
South Africa     9       32        9
West Indies     15       18       17
New Zealand      3       26       21
India            5       18       27
Pakistan        10       14       26
Sri Lanka        4       22       24
Zimbabwe         5       25       20

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