Sri Lanka completed century of Test matches when they took the field against Pakistan in the First Test match of the current series at Sinhalese Sports Club (SCC), Colombo. The first ever Test match played by Sri Lanka was way back in 1982 against England at P Saravanamuttu Stadium (PSS), Colombo. Since then, Sri Lanka has played exactly 100 Test matches emerging victorious on 18 occasions, loosing 40 while remaining 42 ended in no result.
An effort is being made to compare performances of all Tests playing nations (except Zimbabwe who still is far away from this milestone) in their FIRST 100 TEST matches. The objective of this study is to determine which country showed the best performance in their initial 100 test matches. Of course, there could be number of ways to determine and carry out such comparative studies. The one I am following is a simple one. However, I invite other cricket statistics enthusiasts to give their ideas to make this study more interesting.
First, we see how each country has performed in terms of wins and losses in their initial 100 test matches. Refer to Table # 1 below.
|
Country |
Played |
Won |
Lost |
Draw |
Success % |
W/L Ratio |
Ranking |
|
England |
100 |
45 |
38 |
17 |
53.50 |
1.18 |
1 |
|
West Indies |
100 |
35 |
33 |
32 |
51.00 |
1.06 |
2 |
|
Australia |
100 |
42 |
40 |
18 |
51.00 |
1.05 |
3 |
|
Pakistan |
100 |
19 |
26 |
55 |
46.50 |
0.73 |
4 |
|
Sri Lanka |
100 |
18 |
40 |
42 |
39.00 |
0.45 |
5 |
|
South Africa |
100 |
15 |
52 |
33 |
31.50 |
0.29 |
6 |
|
India |
100 |
10 |
40 |
50 |
35.00 |
0.25 |
7 |
|
New Zealand |
100 |
7 |
46 |
47 |
30.50 |
0.15 |
8 |
Ranking is based on the ratio of wins to losses and not on conventional way of awarding 2 points for each win and I point for each drawn matches. For example, India has lost less number of matches (40) as compared to South Africa who lost 52 of their first 100 matches, yet South Africa is ranked above India by virtue of their 15 wins and better W/L ratio as against India's 10 wins.
Time taken by various teams to play 100 Test matches vary by great proportions due to various factors. Sri Lanka required approximately 18 years to play 100 Test matches whereas England and Australia needed almost twice as that of Sri Lanka, primarily due to less number of matches played during the initial days. South Africa took more than six decades to play 100 Tests, as they were affected by two World Wars that did not allow any matches to be staged from 1914 to 1920 and then from 1939 to 1945. Table # 2 table gives the time duration for each country to play 100 Tests (rounded off to nearest month).
|
Country |
Time to 100 Tests |
|
Sri Lanka |
18 Y 4 M |
|
Pakistan |
26 Y 5 M |
|
England |
32 Y 4 M |
|
India |
35 Y 1 M |
|
Australia |
35 Y 2 M |
|
West Indies |
36 Y 8 M |
|
New Zealand |
42 Y 3 M |
|
South Africa |
60 Y 0 M |
The next point to consider is the cumulative total of runs for the first 100 Tests for each country. England and Australia feature at the bottom of the table. The main reason for their bottom position in the table is the type and style of cricket played during initial years of 1880s to 1900. Bowler friendly wickets and uncovered pitches always helped the bowling side to take quick wickets and dismiss opponents at lower scores. That is why Australia, England and South Africa recorded a great number of 2-digits innings totals. By the middle of the 20th century when Test matches became relatively more frequent with Pakistan, West Indies and India also playing Test matches at regular intervals, a sharp increase in batting statistics is noticed. Table # 3 below gives total number of runs scored, wickets lost, individual hundred and individual double hundred scored by each country in their first 100 Test matches.
|
Country |
Accumulative Runs |
Wickets Lost |
Average |
Runs / Test |
Hundreds |
Double Hundreds |
|
West Indies |
51221 |
1549 |
33.07 |
512.2 |
92 |
14 |
|
Pakistan |
45731 |
1525 |
29.99 |
457.3 |
71 |
7 |
|
Sri Lanka |
45691 |
1580 |
28.92 |
456.9 |
60 |
8 |
|
India |
45610 |
1604 |
28.44 |
456.1 |
69 |
5 |
|
South Africa |
43223 |
1716 |
25.19 |
432.2 |
53 |
2 |
|
Australia |
42545 |
1729 |
24.61 |
425.5 |
49 |
3 |
|
England |
40031 |
1639 |
24.42 |
400.3 |
47 |
1 |
|
New Zealand |
39606 |
1684 |
23.52 |
396.0 |
37 |
4 |
In the following table # 4, highest & lowest innings total, highest individual innings, number of wins and losses by innings margin and number of times innings totals of over 400 and under 100 achieved in the first 100 Tests matches for each country is given. Some very interesting results are observed. England achieved 15 off their 45 wins by innings margin in their initial 100 Test matches. On the other hand, New Zealand could not register even a single victory by innings margin while losing 20 Tests in this fashion.
West Indies scored over 400 runs in a Test innings on 36 occasions. Pakistan and India remained second in the list registering 400 and above totals 26 times each. South Africa got out for less than 100 on 22 occasions followed by Australia and England with 18 and 17 such scores respectively. Pakistan registered totals of below 100 only on two occasions.
|
Country |
Highest Innings Total |
Lowest Innings Total |
Highest Individual Score |
Innings Total Above 400 |
Innings Total Below 100 |
Victories by Innings Margin |
Losses
by Innings Margin |
|
England |
577 |
45 |
287 |
16 |
17 |
15 |
4 |
|
Australia |
586 |
36 |
214 |
18 |
18 |
5 |
12 |
|
West Indies |
790 |
76 |
365 |
36 |
9 |
10 |
13 |
|
South Africa |
533 |
30 |
231 |
17 |
22 |
2 |
19 |
|
New Zealand |
505 |
26 |
239 |
11 |
14 |
0 |
20 |
|
India |
539 |
58 |
231 |
26 |
10 |
4 |
17 |
|
Pakistan |
657 |
87 |
337 |
26 |
2 |
5 |
9 |
|
Sri Lanka |
952 |
71 |
340 |
18 |
4 |
2 |
17 |
Now we see in which Test match all Test playing nations recorded their first ever Test victory. Australia is the only team winning their first ever test match. England and Pakistan achieved this distinction in only their second Test match. New Zealand had to wait 45 Tests before they registered their maiden Test win.
|
Country |
First Test Win |
|
Australia |
1st |
|
England |
2nd |
|
Pakistan |
2nd |
|
West Indies |
6th |
|
South Africa |
12th |
|
Sri Lanka |
14th |
|
India |
25th |
|
New Zealand |
45th |
Comparing results of each country in their 1st, 25th, 50th 75th and 100th Test match also gives interesting results. New Zealand and Sri Lanka are the two teams that could not win any of their first, 25th, 50th, 75th or 100th Test match. .
|
Country |
1st Test |
25th Test |
50th Test |
75th Test |
100th Test |
|
England |
L |
W |
W |
W |
L |
|
Australia |
W |
L |
W |
L |
W |
|
West Indies |
L |
W |
L |
W |
W |
|
South Africa |
L |
L |
L |
W |
L |
|
New Zealand |
L |
L |
D |
L |
D |
|
India |
L |
W |
L |
D |
L |
|
Pakistan |
L |
W |
W |
D |
W |
|
Sri Lanka |
L |
D |
D |
D |
L |
In order make this study more interesting and to give a ranking to each country based on overall performance, a hypothetical method is adopted. 10 points are awarded for each win with additional 5 points for every win recorded by an innings margin, 5 points for each drawn game, -5 points for each defeat with additional -5 points for every defeat by an innings margin, 2 points for every individual hundred, 4 points for every double hundred, 5 points for every innings total exceeding 400 runs, -5 points for every innings total below 100 runs. The accumulative points give overall standing of every country in their first 100 Test matches.
|
Country |
Ranked |
Accumulative Points |
|
West Indies |
1 |
705 |
|
Pakistan |
2 |
605 |
|
England |
3 |
493 |
|
Australia |
4 |
385 |
|
Sri Lanka |
5 |
337 |
|
India |
6 |
323 |
|
South Africa |
7 |
59 |
|
New Zealand |
8 |
50 |
It is understood that no method can give the exact and true picture of performance of various teams especially when matches are played during different periods. Furthermore, It is not justified to compare performance of England of 1880s with that of Sri Lanka in 1980s. I, therefore, invite others to contribute their ideas to make this study more interesting.
