Overdosing on the same opponent

A couple of days ago, Sri Lanka Cricket said they were hoping India would pay them a visit to play Tests and a tri-series later this year. Our immediate reaction was, "Again?!" Then we started thinking about which teams played each other most often during short periods of time, and came up with this.

India v anybody was a common fixture in 1983 - they played cricket on 107 days that year - but India v West Indies was the commonest of them all. They played 11 Tests - West Indies won 5, India 0 - and 11 ODIs - West Indies won 8, India 3 - a total of 64 days of cricket in all.

In 1984, Australia was West Indies' preferred opponent and they played them in ten Tests and 12 ODIs. West Indies won six of those Tests and went undefeated, unless you include the Sydney Test which finished in 1985, while in the one-dayers they won nine, lost two with one tied. However, despite their dominance over India and Australia, West Indies failed to win the most important match of those years - the 1983 World Cup final at Lord's.

Most international matches between two teams in a year

Team	Team	Year	Mat	Days		Tests	Days	ODIs	Days	T20Is	Days
India	West Indies	1983	22	64		11	52	11	12	0	0
Australia	West Indies	1984	22	55		10	43	12	12	0	0
Australia	South Africa	1994	21	41		5	25	16	16	0	0
England	Pakistan	1987	19	50		8	38	11	12	0	0
England	New Zealand	2008	19	41		6	28	10	10	3	3
India	West Indies	2002	18	47		8	37	10	10	0	0
Australia	South Africa	2009	18	33		4	19	10	10	4	4
India	Sri Lanka	2009	18	29		3	14	12	12	3	3
Australia	India	1986	17	33		4	20	13	13	0	0
England	West Indies	2004	17	43		8	34	9	9	0	0
Pakistan	West Indies	1993	16	25		3	12	13	13	0	0
Pakistan	South Africa	2007	16	33		5	22	10	10	1	1
Pakistan	Sri Lanka	2009	16	30		5	19	8	8	3	3
India	Sri Lanka	1997	15	35		5	25	10	10	0	0
India	New Zealand	1999	15	30		4	19	11	11	0	0
Australia	South Africa	2002	15	27		4	16	11	11	0	0
England	India	2002	15	31		4	20	11	11	0	0
Australia	South Africa	2006	15	29		4	18	9	9	2	2
England	West Indies	2009	15	36		6	27	7	7	2	2

If we expand our timeframe to two years, then the India-Sri Lanka jousts of 2008 and 2009 are easily the most between any team. The teams began 2008 by playing four ODIs against each other in a tri-series in Australia and faced off in two more matches during the Asia Cup in Pakistan in July. India then toured Sri Lanka for three Tests and five ODIs in July-August. After a gap of a few months, India visited Sri Lanka again in January-February 2009 for five more ODIs and a Twenty20. They won four of the one-dayers and the Twenty20 as well. Not yet satisfied, India returned in September, this time for a tri-series involving New Zealand and the hosts. They played Sri Lanka twice and lost once. Now it was Sri Lanka's turn to visit and they toured India in December for three Tests, five ODIs and two Twenty20s.

So over the last two years, India and Sri Lanka have played a whopping 32 matches against each other across three formats - six Tests, 23 ODIs and three Twenty20s. That's 52 days in all. And they want more.

Even if we look at a five-year span, India and Sri Lanka have still played each other the most times. Between 2005 and 2009, they played 51 matches against the other - nine Tests, 39 ODIs and three Twenty20 internationals.

Most international matches between two teams in five years

Team	Team	Span	Mat	Days		Tests	Days	ODIs	Days	T20Is	Days
India	Sri Lanka	2005-2009	51	84		9	41	39	40	3	3
India	Pakistan	1996-2000	47	57		3	13	44	44	0	0
Australia	South Africa	1994-1998	45	86		11	52	34	34	0	0
India	Pakistan	2004-2008	45	90		12	57	31	31	2	2
Australia	West Indies	1981-1985	44	92		13	60	31	32	0	0
India	Pakistan	2003-2007	42	87		12	57	28	28	2	2
Australia	England	2005-2009	42	93		15	66	23	23	4	4
Australia	South Africa	1993-1997	41	79		10	48	31	31	0	0
India	Pakistan	1995-1999	41	51		3	13	38	38	0	0
India	Sri Lanka	2006-2010	41	62		6	26	32	33	3	3
Australia	West Indies	1984-1988	40	86		13	59	27	27	0	0
Pakistan	Sri Lanka	1996-2000	40	76		10	46	30	30	0	0
Pakistan	Sri Lanka	1997-2001	40	76		10	46	30	30	0	0

India evidently like to do things in extremes. In the early 1990s they barely played Pakistan but between 1996 and 2000 India played them in 44 ODIs and three Tests. Between 2003 and 2007, India and Pakistan played 12 Tests, 28 ODIs and two Twenty20s and between 2004 and 2008, 12 Tests, 31 ODIs and two Twenty20s.

Incidentally, the most days of cricket between teams over a span of two years is only 65 - one more than the number India and West Indies played against each other in 1983. Australia played 55 days of cricket - 10 Tests and 12 ODIs - against West Indies in 1984. They played another 10 against West Indies in 1985 - no two teams have played more against each other in two years.

Most days of international cricket between two teams in two years

Team	Team	Span	Mat	Days		Tests	Days	ODIs	Days	T20Is	Days
Australia	West Indies	1984-1985	30	65		10	45	20	20	0	0
India	West Indies	1982-1983	22	64		11	52	11	12	0	0
England	West Indies	1994-1995	19	60		11	51	8	9	0	0
Australia	West Indies	1983-1984	24	58		10	43	14	15	0	0
Australia	India	2007-2008	24	54		8	38	13	13	3	3
England	West Indies	1980-1981	16	53		9	45	7	8	0	0
England	West Indies	1990-1991	18	53		9	43	9	10	0	0
Australia	England	1985-1986	15	52		10	47	5	5	0	0
India	Sri Lanka	2008-2009	32	52		6	26	23	23	3	3
Australia	England	1974-1975	12	51		10	49	2	2	0	0
Australia	England	1981-1982	13	51		10	48	3	3	0	0
India	Pakistan	1983-1984	15	51		9	45	6	6	0	0
India	Pakistan	1982-1983	15	50		9	44	6	6	0	0
England	Pakistan	1986-1987	19	50		8	38	11	12	0	0
India	West Indies	2001-2002	21	50		8	37	13	13	0	0
Australia	India	2003-2004	21	50		8	37	13	13	0	0

During the 1970s and 1980s, Australia and England played each other an astonishing number of times. Including multi-nation tournaments, Australia toured England in seven out of 11 seasons between 1975 and 85, while England returned the favour in eight out of 14 seasons between 1974-75 and 1987-88.

Most days of international cricket between two teams in five years

Team	Team	Span	Mat	Days		Tests	Days	ODIs	Days	T20Is	Days
Australia	England	1977-1981	39	122		22	105	17	17	0	0
Australia	England	1975-1979	33	111		20	98	13	13	0	0
Australia	England	1978-1982	34	110		20	96	14	14	0	0
Australia	England	1979-1983	38	108		19	89	19	19	0	0
Australia	England	1985-1989	37	105		18	86	19	19	0	0
Australia	England	1971-1975	25	98		19	92	6	6	0	0
Australia	England	1974-1978	24	95		19	90	5	5	0	0
Australia	England	1981-1985	30	95		17	82	13	13	0	0
Australia	England	1989-1993	29	93		17	81	12	12	0	0
Australia	England	2005-2009	42	93		15	66	23	23	4	4
Australia	West Indies	1981-1985	44	92		13	60	31	32	0	0
Australia	England	1976-1980	30	91		16	77	14	14	0	0
England	West Indies	1994-1998	31	91		16	75	15	16	0	0
India	Pakistan	2004-2008	45	90		12	57	31	31	2	2