FaaipDeOiad
Hall of Fame Member
A little while ago, I made a post in the South Africa v England thread about England being on the verge of reaching 5 victorious test series in a row. Looking through some stats, I discovered that England held the record for a series winning streak, with 8 between 1884 and 1892. I was a little surprised that the West Indies of the 80s didn't have this record, so I decided to have a look at the longest undefeated streaks in test series, and discovered something interesting.
The record is of course held by the West Indies, who went 29 series between 1980 and 1995 without being beaten, before Australia finally knocked them off. During this time, they drew 9 series (including 4 in a row at one point), and the most they ever won in a row was 7. In second place was England with 14, who didn't lose a series between 1951 and 1958. However, with Australia's recent win over Pakistan, they have moved up to 15 undefeated series since the 2001 loss to India (which seems like just yesterday to me), with two draws against New Zealand and India in that time.
So, other than showing the astonishing amount of cricket played these days, this also means that for the first time a side is in a position to challenge the West Indian record of 29 series without a loss. Any thoughts about whether or not they can do it? And if not, who will be the side that beats them?
The record is of course held by the West Indies, who went 29 series between 1980 and 1995 without being beaten, before Australia finally knocked them off. During this time, they drew 9 series (including 4 in a row at one point), and the most they ever won in a row was 7. In second place was England with 14, who didn't lose a series between 1951 and 1958. However, with Australia's recent win over Pakistan, they have moved up to 15 undefeated series since the 2001 loss to India (which seems like just yesterday to me), with two draws against New Zealand and India in that time.
So, other than showing the astonishing amount of cricket played these days, this also means that for the first time a side is in a position to challenge the West Indian record of 29 series without a loss. Any thoughts about whether or not they can do it? And if not, who will be the side that beats them?