Do you know: How many Test series has been whitewashed in the past?

Can India avoid another embarrassing whitewash?

With losing the third test of the ongoing test series vs Australia, India faces a chance of an embarrassing 0-4 ‘whitewash’. India will go into the fourth test at Adelaide on 24th January with the hope of avoiding the unenviable prospect of being whitewashed by the Aussies. Whitewash (a defeat in a sporting contest in which the loser is beaten in every match, game, etc. in a series) is not very common in the international cricket. You may ask, how many times in the past a test series has been whitewashed. Well, the answer is 45. If Australia wins the next test, this series will be the 46th series to be whitewashed in cricket’s history. The last test series whitewash happened last year when England beat India in a 4 match home series.

The first ever test series whitewash in cricketing history also belongs to the England team. In 1886, the English team had won the 3 match Ashes with a margin of 3-0 at home. However, it is Team Australia which holds the record of whitewashing most number of series. Out of the total 45, Australia has whitewashed its opponent 18 times. England is at number two with 13 whitewashed series in its bag. India has whitewashed only two series; one in 1992-93 beating England at home 3-0 and the other against Sri Lanka with the same margin in 1993-94. On the other hand, India has faced test series whitewash 7 times of which the first one dates back to 1959; England defeated India 5-0 in that series.

Among other teams, Pakistan has 4 whitewashes while Sri Lanka and West Indies have 3 each. South Africa has been on the victorious side in a whitewashed series twice.

Here’s the complete list of the 45 test series in which the loser couldn’t win a single match.

TeamMatchOppositionSeries
England3AustraliaThe Ashes (Australia in England), 1886
England3South AfricaEngland in South Africa Test Series, 1895/96
England3South AfricaSouth Africa in England Test Series, 1912
Australia5EnglandThe Ashes (England in Australia), 1920/21
England3West IndiesWest Indies in England Test Series, 1928
Australia5South AfricaSouth Africa in Australia Test Series, 1931/32
England5 IndiaIndia in England Test Series, 1959
West Indies5IndiaIndia in West Indies Test Series, 1961/62
England3New ZealandEngland in New Zealand Test Series, 1962/63
England3New ZealandNew Zealand in England Test Series, 1965
England3IndiaIndia in England Test Series, 1967
Australia4IndiaIndia in Australia Test Series, 1967/68
South Africa4AustraliaAustralia in South Africa Test Series, 1969/70
Australia3PakistanPakistan in Australia Test Series, 1972/73
England3IndiaIndia in England Test Series, 1974
England3New ZealandNew Zealand in England Test Series, 1978
Australia3EnglandEngland in Australia Test Series, 1979/80
Pakistan3AustraliaAustralia in Pakistan Test Series, 1982/83
West Indies5EnglandThe Wisden Trophy (West Indies in England), 1984
West Indies5EnglandThe Wisden Trophy (England in West Indies), 1985/86
Pakistan3New ZealandNew Zealand in Pakistan Test Series, 1990/91
India3EnglandEngland in India Test Series, 1992/93
India3Sri LankaSri Lanka in India Test Series, 1993/94
Australia3Sri LankaSri Lanka in Australia Test Series, 1995/96
Pakistan3West IndiesWest Indies in Pakistan Test Series, 1997/98
South Africa5West IndiesWest Indies in South Africa Test Series, 1998/99
Australia3PakistanPakistan in Australia Test Series, 1999/00
Australia3IndiaBorder-Gavaskar Trophy (India in Australia), 1999/00
Australia3New ZealandTrans-Tasman Trophy (Australia in New Zealand), 1999/00
Australia5West IndiesThe Frank Worrell Trophy (West Indies in Australia), 2000/01
Sri Lanka3West IndiesWest Indies in Sri Lanka Test Series, 2001/02
Australia3South AfricaSouth Africa in Australia Test Series, 2001/02
Sri Lanka3ZimbabweZimbabwe in Sri Lanka Test Series, 2001/02
Australia3PakistanAustralia v Pakistan Test Series (in Sri Lanka/United Arab Emirates), 2002/03
Pakistan3BangladeshBangladesh in Pakistan Test Series, 2003
Australia3Sri LankaAustralia in Sri Lanka Test Series, 2003/04
England3New ZealandNew Zealand in England Test Series, 2004
England4West IndiesThe Wisden Trophy (West Indies in England), 2004
Australia3PakistanPakistan in Australia Test Series, 2004/05
Australia3West IndiesThe Frank Worrell Trophy (West Indies in Australia), 2005/06
Australia3South AfricaAustralia in South Africa Test Series, 2005/06
Australia5EnglandThe Ashes (England in Australia), 2006/07
Sri Lanka3BangladeshBangladesh in Sri Lanka Test Series, 2007
Australia3PakistanPakistan in Australia Test Series, 2009/10
England4IndiaPataudi Trophy (India in England), 2011
Stats Source: cricinfo.com

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Edited by Staff Editor
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