Changes, none and plenty

Since they dropped Matthew Hoggard and Steve Harmison after the first Test in Hamilton, England have gone on to win two series against New Zealand without tinkering with their XI. After he put the names of James Anderson and Stuart Broad on the team-sheet for the Wellington Test, Michael Vaughan could have done himself a favour by keeping photocopies, as he has submitted the same line-up for four Tests since - the first time England have remained unchanged for five Tests on a trot since 1884-85. This week the List looks at teams that have remained unchanged for the most Tests and ODIs in a row, and the converse: teams that have made the most changes to their XI in successive games.

The record for persisting with an unchanged XI also happens to be five Tests, which was first achieved by England on the winter tour of Australia in 1884-85. Thirteen players were on that tour, while WG Grace, Walter Read, Allan Steel, Dick Barlow and Ted Peate - who featured in England's home series in 1884 and 1886 - were not part of the party. Arthur Shrewsbury led the side, which contained five debutants - William Attewell, Johnny Briggs, Wilf Flowers, Joe Hunter (a wicketkeeper whose only appearances came on that tour) and Bobby Peel - for England in the first Test in Adelaide. That XI played all five Tests; James Lillywhite (jnr) and Alfred Shaw, who along with Shrewsbury were involved in organising the trip, didn't play a single game. Lillywhite even umpired the second Test in Melbourne. England also remained unchanged for four straight Tests during tours to Australia in 1881-82, 1894-95, and much later in 1978-79.

The feat of five Tests with an unchanged XI was repeated in 1906, when Percy Sherwell, playing his first Test, captained South Africa to their first Test victory - a slender one-wicket win in Johannesburg - and a 4-1 series win over England. However, although an unchanged Australian XI played four successive Tests in 1949-50 in South Africa, and a few XIs played four on the trot in the 1970s and 1980s, it wasn't until 1989 that another XI played five in a row - when Australia prevailed 3-0 in the 1989 Ashes. Five XIs - including the current England team - have played five on the trot in the last two decades, while three teams have also played unchanged for four straight games in the 2000s, an indication that selectors of late have been more patient if teams are fairly successful. Had it not been for the shock defeat to West Indies in the Boxing Day Test last year, South Africa's selectors would have perhaps let Herschelle Gibbs continue for the next Test; had he not been dropped, an unchanged XI would have played six consecutive Tests for the first time. England have a chance for a crack at that record when they host South Africa for a Test series starting next month.

While England stuck with the same XI during their Australia tour in 1884-85, it didn't seem to rub off on their opponents, who fielded a new XI after losing the first Test in Adelaide. Australia's first XI demanded 50% of the gate fee for the second Test, and refused to play after the proposition was turned down. That ended Jack Blackham's record of having played all 17 Tests since the inaugural one in 1877. Nine players made their debut in the second Test, in Melbourne, but the result remained the same.

England also feature prominently on the list of most volatile line-ups, having made 11 changes thrice in successive Tests during the 1890s and 1900s. This happened because often new players were sent on away tours, and perhaps that was responsible for England's downfall in South Africa in 1905-06. A new XI faced against South Africa in January 1906 from the one that played the fifth Test of the Ashes in 1905, which England had sealed 2-0. The only other team to have changed an entire XI over consecutive Tests is South Africa, which is understandable as none of their players who featured in their last Test in 1970 before the isolation years, took the field against West Indies in Barbados in 1992.

There have been fewer whole-scale changes in recent years. The Packer years saw a bit of upheaval in the West Indies and Australia squads, as many players signed up for World Series Cricket and were blacklisted by their countries. West Indies sent an inexperienced team to tour Sri Lanka and India in 1978-79, but were back to full strength for the 1979-80 tour to Australia as the boards reached a compromise with Kerry Packer by then. Australia had eight of the Packer players returning to the XI for the first Test of that series, under Kim Hughes, who captained during the away tour to India earlier in the year.

In 2003, for the first Test against Bangladesh, Pakistan made eight changes from the XI that had lost in Cape Town earlier that year, but that was to be outdone, as after avoiding an embarrassment with a one-wicket in Multan, they made ten changes in time for the first Test of South Africa's return visit.

West Indies sides have been hit by contract disputes this decade, while over 20 years earlier, Sri Lanka, in their first away Test, came up against a largely second-string Pakistan as several key players who had been part of a Test win in Melbourne refused to continue under Javed Miandad. Pakistan tried four debutants: one of them, Saleem Malik, scored a century in his first game.

Despite their drastic changes to Test XIs, it's a Pakistan team from the 2000s that has played the most consecutive ODIs without making a change. Their seven-match streak unchanged began with the first game of the Sharjah Cup in April 2002, which they clinched by destroying Sri Lanka in the final by a whopping 217 runs after having lost twice to the round-robin stage of the tournament. Pakistan's attack comprised the captain, Waqar Younis, Wasim Akram and Shoaib Akhtar, who were good enough to skittle Sri Lanka out for 78. Also present were offspinner Saqlain Mushtaq and allrounders Abdul Razzaq and Shahid Afridi. Pakistan then hosted New Zealand at home, but the unchanged run ended after they rested players for the final ODI after having won the first two.

South Africa have twice played unchanged XIs for six ODIs in a row. The first time was during the World Cup in 1999; however, just as they were beginning to look unstoppable an injury niggle to Jacques Kallis forced them to bring Nicky Boje in for their final game ahead of their semi-final. Australia heroically won that match - Boje conceding 29 off his three overs - a result that would come back to haunt South Africa.

Quite a few XIs have remained unchanged for five games in succession during World Cup campaigns, including those of three winners: West Indies in 1979, India in 1983, and Sri Lanka in 1996.

Canada and UAE are the only countries to have completely revamped their XIs over consecutive games, but that's primarily due to the long gap in between matches - after 1979, Canada only played in 2003. England have always been known for not taking one-day cricket seriously, and it's not surprising that they figure prominently on this list. In 1995, Pakistan made nine changes between sides that faced Sri Lanka in April and August, when four debutants played (this time it was Saleem Elahi who scored a century on debut). Their early exit from the 2003 World Cup also saw them make seven changes for their next tournament, in Sharjah.

Notes:

Only starting XIs have been considered and so Supersubs are ignored for ODIs.