da casino： When Zimbabwe beat India in the Harare Test recently it was their sixth victory in 52 test matches
Arshad Chughtai03-Jul-2001When 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 DRAWNAustralia 44 24 14 6South Africa 6 6 0 0Total 50 30 14 6Australia: 1876-77 to 1897-98 (22 years)OPPONENT PLAYED WON LOST DRAWNEngland 50 18 26 6Total 50 18 26 6South Africa: 1888-89 to 1924 (36 years)OPPONENT PLAYED WON LOST DRAWNEngland 36 8 23 5Australia 14 1 9 4Total 50 9 32 9West Indies: 1928 to 1953-54 (26 years)OPPONENT PLAYED WON LOST DRAWNEngland 28 10 10 8Australia 10 2 8 0India 10 2 0 8Newz Zealand 2 1 0 1Total 50 15 18 17New Zealand: 1929 to 1962-63 (34 years)OPPONENT PLAYED WON LOST DRAWNEngland 29 0 12 17Australia 1 0 1 0South Africa 14 2 9 3West Indies 6 1 4 1Total 50 3 26 21India: 1932 to 1956-57 (25 years)OPPONENT PLAYED WON LOST DRAWNEngland 19 1 10 8Australia 6 0 5 1West Indies 10 0 2 8Pakistan 10 2 1 7New Zealand 5 2 0 3Total 50 5 18 27Pakistan: 1952 to 1964-65 (13 years)OPPONENT PLAYED WON LOST DRAWNIndia 15 1 2 12England 12 1 6 5Australia 6 1 2 3West Indies 8 3 4 1New Zealand 9 4 0 5Total 50 10 14 26Sri Lanka: 1981 to 1993-94 (13 Years)OPPONENT PLAYED WON LOST DRAWNEngland 5 1 3 1Pakistan 12 1 6 1India 11 1 4 6New Zealand 11 1 4 6South Africa 3 0 1 2West Indies 1 0 1 2Total 50 4 22 24Zimbabwe: 1992 to 2000-01 (09 Years)OPPONENT PLAYED WON LOST DRAWNIndia 5 1 2 2New Zealand 11 0 5 6Pakistan 12 2 6 4Sri Lanka 10 0 5 5England 4 0 1 3Australia 1 0 1 0West Indies 2 0 2 0Bangladesh 2 2 0 0Total 50 5 25 20 Overall Performance Comparison:TEAM WON LOST DRAWNEngland 30 13 4Australia 18 26 6South Africa 9 32 9West Indies 15 18 17New Zealand 3 26 21India 5 18 27Pakistan 10 14 26Sri Lanka 4 22 24Zimbabwe 5 25 20
Notes:
1. Bangladesh has so far played only 3 tests
2. England won most (30) of their first fifty tests
3. India drew most (27) of their first fifty tests
4. South Africa lost most (32) of their first fifty tests