Fourteen Tests, 41 players, one year

With the proliferation of matches in the cricket schedule, teams are increasingly using different players for different formats, with only a core group remaining constant across Tests, ODIs and Twenty20s. This means the number of players fielded by teams in a year has increased in recent times. In 2011, for instance, India have fallen only two short of using the most players in ODIs, finishing on 34 to West Indies' 36 in 2009. In this week's column we've examined which team needed the most cricketers in a year.

England played only 14 matches in 1930, when Tests were the only form of international cricket that existed. Yet they used as many as 41 players during the course of that year, 11 of whom were debutants. Even with the rapid rise in the number of matches since, no team has needed more players in a year.

In the winter of 1929-30 the MCC, as England's touring sides were known then, sent two squads on concurrent tours of New Zealand and the West Indies. Fourteen players travelled to New Zealand, of whom 12 were used in the four-Test series that England won 1-0. The West Indies tour party comprised 15 players, of whom 13 took part in the series that was drawn 1-1. The last of those matches was the timeless Test that had to be called off because it had gone on for nine days and the England players had a ship to catch. It was also the match in which Andy Sandham scored 325 and never played again. Most of the players who went on these tours were not part of the Ashes at home in 1930, during which England used 21 players: 16 of them had not travelled to New Zealand or West Indies.

Most players for a team in a year - All internationals

Team	Year	Num	Tests	ODIs	T20Is		Mat	Tests	ODIs	T20Is		Debuts
England	1930	41	41	0	0		14	14	0	0		11
West Indies	2009	41	30	36	23		41	12	21	8		12
Pakistan	2010	40	29	28	30		46	10	18	18		6
West Indies	2011	40	17	27	23		43	10	28	5		16
India	2000	39	25	31	0		40	6	34	0		13
India	2010	39	21	33	21		48	14	27	7		11
India	2011	39	25	34	21		49	11	34	4		4
England	1996	38	27	31	0		29	9	20	0		12
England	1998	38	28	27	0		28	16	12	0		7
Australia	2009	38	19	32	28		61	13	39	9		13
England	1999	37	26	20	0		28	8	21	0		6
India	2001	37	28	26	0		37	13	24	0		5
Pakistan	2003	37	28	32	0		41	8	33	0		10

England have a monopoly on the top seven years with the most Test players - the earliest being 1899 (35 players in seven matches) and the latest 1951 (33 players in 13 matches). West Indies are the first team other than England in the table below - the most players they used in a year being 30, in 1930. West Indies played only five Tests that year, four against England at home and one in Australia. Of those 30, only George Headley and Clifford Roach played all five Tests. One of those players was Puss Achong, the first cricketer of Chinese extraction to play Tests. The term "chinaman" for a left-arm wrist-spinner was reportedly coined for Achong. He played only one Test in 1930. Seventeen of those 30 players played only one Test in 1930.

England's entry for 1989 is remarkable because they used as many as 29 players for one six-Test Ashes. It is the second largest number of players used by a team in a series, behind the 30 England used during the 1921 Ashes.

Most players for a team in a year - Tests

Team	Year	Num	Debuts		Mat	Won	Draw	Lost
England	1930	41	11		14	3	7	4
England	1948	36	15		11	1	4	6
England	1899	35	17		7	2	4	1
England	1921	34	19		8	0	2	6
England	1951	33	15		13	5	5	3
England	1988	32	10		10	1	5	4
England	1935	31	13		9	1	5	3
West Indies	1930	30	16		5	1	2	2
England	1933	30	7		9	6	3	0
India	1952	30	9		11	3	3	5
England	1981	30	5		13	3	6	4
West Indies	2009	30	11		12	1	5	6
England	1964	29	9		12	1	10	1
Australia	1977	29	15		13	5	3	5
England	1984	29	8		15	1	6	8
England	1986	29	11		15	2	5	8
England	1989	29	5		6	0	2	4
England	1993	29	9		10	1	1	8
Pakistan	2010	29	8		10	2	2	6

In 2009, West Indies fielded 30 players in 12 Tests, 36 players in 21 ODIs - which is the most for a team in a year - and 23 players in eight Twenty20 internationals. This was largely because the row between the WICB and the WIPA boiled over days before the home series against Bangladesh was due to begin. As a result, 13 players (Chris Gayle, Adrian Barath, Sulieman Benn, Dwayne Bravo, Shivnarine Chanderpaul, Narsingh Deonarine, Runako Morton, Brendan Nash, Denesh Ramdin, Ravi Rampaul, Andrew Richardson, Ramnaresh Sarwan and Jerome Taylor) made themselves unavailable for selection. West Indies eventually had to field seven debutants in the first Test, in St Vincent, the most in a match since their first-ever Test in 1928. The upshot of the dispute was that Bangladesh won the Tests 2-0 and the ODIs 3-0.

Most players for a team in a year - ODIs

Team	Year	Num	Debuts		Mat	Won	Tied	Lost
West Indies	2009	36	9		21	4	0	15
India	2011	34	3		34	21	2	10
India	2010	33	11		27	17	0	10
Pakistan	2003	32	6		33	21	0	11
Australia	2009	32	13		39	23	0	14
Pakistan	1984	31	10		20	6	0	12
Pakistan	1995	31	9		19	8	1	10
England	1996	31	12		20	7	0	12
Pakistan	1996	31	11		39	23	0	15
Pakistan	1997	31	5		36	15	0	19
India	2000	31	8		34	15	0	19
West Indies	2001	31	6		30	13	0	17
Australia	1979	30	10		13	5	0	7
Pakistan	1998	30	4		26	12	0	14
Pakistan	2000	30	6		41	20	0	21
England	2006	30	8		20	5	0	14
England	2011	30	8		30	11	2	16
India	1998	29	9		40	24	0	14
West Indies	1999	29	9		35	14	1	19
South Africa	2000	29	6		41	25	1	14
South Africa	2002	29	6		38	22	1	15
West Indies	2008	29	9		20	5	0	13
New Zealand	2009	29	7		24	10	0	11
Pakistan	2011	29	9		32	24	0	7

Pakistan played 18 Twenty20 internationals in 2010. It is the most played by a team in a year. The 30 players they used in those matches is the highest number of T20 players used by a team in a year.

Most players for a team in a year - T20Is

Team	Year	Num	Debuts		Mat	Won	Tied	Lost
Pakistan	2010	30	5		18	6	0	12
Australia	2009	28	9		9	3	0	5
England	2007	26	15		8	2	0	6
South Africa	2009	25	8		12	8	0	4
England	2009	24	8		9	3	0	5
South Africa	2007	23	7		8	6	0	2
Sri Lanka	2009	23	6		13	7	0	6
West Indies	2009	23	7		8	5	0	3
New Zealand	2010	23	6		13	7	1	5
South Africa	2010	23	4		11	8	0	3
England	2011	23	9		7	4	0	3
West Indies	2011	23	13		5	2	0	3
South Africa	2006	22	13		3	1	0	2
West Indies	2008	22	10		4	1	1	2