Australia's all-round MCG dominance
Venues where teams have had the longest winning and losing streaks
Travis Basevi and George Binoy
02-Jan-2008
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Australia's 337-run demolition of India in the Boxing Day Test extended their winning streak at the MCG to nine matches, only three short of West Indies' 12 wins in Barbados. A fortnight ago we looked at the longest winning and losing streaks at particular venues in Tests. This week the focus is on one-day internationals.
Australia's dominance at the MCG hasn't been restricted to Tests. They've enjoyed long unbeaten periods in ODIs as well. Australia won 11 straight games in Melbourne between 1989 and 1991 before their streak was interrupted by a washout against West Indies in 1991-92. However, they won their next four games to extend their unbeaten run to 16 before they were beaten by West Indies in January 1993. England's unprecedented win in the tri-series final in February 2007 ended another 11-match winning streak for Australia at the MCG which began in January 2002.
Simply put, Australia have won 46 and lost only 12 out of the last 60 ODIs played at the MCG. However, they also played seven ODIs without a win in Melbourne between 1983-84 and 1984-85; they lost four matches and tied one against West Indies, and recorded their first defeat at home against Sri Lanka.
| Team | Mat | Start Match | Scorecard | End Match | Scorecard |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Australia |
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The majority of the entries in the table below are teams dominating at home venues - Australia in Adelaide, Sri Lanka at the Premadasa Stadium , and even Pakistan in Sharjah, which is virtually a home venue for them given how often they've played there and the vociferous crowd support they receive. However, the entry at No. 6 breaks the trend: West Indies won ten consecutive ODIs in Brisbane between 1992 and 2001. Out of those ten wins, only four were against the hosts, Australia, while the other six came against India, Zimbabwe, Pakistan and Sri Lanka during tri-nation tournaments. Since then, West Indies have lost two games against Australia and Pakistan at the Gabba and their last appearance there was washed out in January 2005.
| Team | Mat | Start Match | Scorecard | End Match | Scorecard |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| West Indies | 13 | Mar 2, 1994 | ODI 888 | May 16, 2004 | ODI 2129 |
| Arnos Vale Ground, Kingstown, St Vincent | |||||
| Melbourne Cricket Ground | |||||
| Pakistan | 10 | ||||
| Sharjah C.A. Stadium | |||||
| Australia | 10 | Jan 26, 1987 | ODI 425 | Dec 17, 1995 | |
| Adelaide Oval | |||||
| Sri Lanka | |||||
| R.Premadasa Stadium, Khettarama, Colombo | |||||
| West Indies | 10 | Jan 11, 1992 | |||
| Brisbane Cricket Ground, Woolloongabba, Brisbane | |||||
| South Africa | 8 | Dec 6, 1994 | ODI 956 | Jan 26, 2000 | |
| Newlands, Cape Town | |||||
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New Zealand's poor run in Auckland is the longest among major ODI nations who have suffered consecutive losses at a home venue. New Zealand were defeated seven times at Eden Park - by Australia, Pakistan, India, Sri Lanka and West Indies - between 1992-93 and 1994-95. They even tied one game during that period, against Pakistan, when they lost their last six wickets for 19 runs while chasing 162.
| Team | Mat | Start Match | Scorecard | End Match | Scorecard |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bangladesh | 27 | ||||
| Bangabandhu National Stadium, Dhaka | |||||
| Kenya | 13 | Oct 12, 1997 | ODI 1241 | Sep 5, 2002 | |
| Gymkhana Club Ground, Nairobi | |||||
| Zimbabwe | |||||
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Bangladesh's 27 defeats before their first win at the Bangabandhu Stadium is the longest losing streak at a home venue by some distance. While most of those matches were against tougher and more seasoned opponents, they also lost twice to Kenya and four times to Zimbabwe before beating India in December 2004. It was their first ever victory at home although they had won five times overseas before then.
| Team | Mat | Start Match | Scorecard | End Match | Scorecard |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bangladesh | 27 | Nov 2, 1988 | ODI 533 | Nov 7, 2004 | ODI 2191 |
| Bangabandhu National Stadium, Dhaka | |||||
| Gymkhana Club Ground, Nairobi | |||||
| Zimbabwe | 12 | ||||
| Harare Sports Club | |||||
| Sri Lanka | 10 | Apr 8, 1984 | ODI 260 | Mar 24, 1989 | |
| Sharjah C.A. Stadium | |||||
| Zimbabwe | |||||
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Travis Basevi is the man who built Statsguru. George Binoy is an editorial assistant on Cricinfo