Awesome in Australia, insipid in India
Captains with the best and worst win-loss records in a particular country
Ricky Ponting has led Australia in 73 Tests, and by the end of the Ashes he will have moved past Clive Lloyd on the list of most capped Test captains. Ponting doesn't need to move past anyone on the list of most successful captains, though, for he's already six clear of Steve Waugh's 41 wins in second place. Unlike Waugh, however, not one of Ponting's 47 wins as Australia captain have come in India, where his record is five defeats and two draws in seven Tests spanning three tours. The closest he came to victory was in Mohali 2010, when Australia failed to take the last Indian wicket before VVS Laxman pulled off the tensest of heists.
Ponting's seven Tests without victory in India isn't the most for a captain with a winless record in a country. Mike Gatting led England in 11 home Tests between 1986 and 1988 without winning one. He led against India, New Zealand, Pakistan and West Indies, losing three Tests and drawing eight. Gatting's away record was better, if a little draw-heavy, with two wins, two defeats and eight draws. The two victories were in Australia, though, and won the Ashes in 1986-87, which more than made up for Gatting's poor home record. No England captain has won in Australia since.
Two leading allrounders of their respective times, Garry Sobers and Kapil Dev, had rather unsuccessful home records as captain. Both led in 20 home Tests and won only two. Sobers' home run started superbly, with two wins and a draw in his first three games during Australia's 1965 tour. He lost three and drew 14 of his last 17 home Tests. Kapil's only victories as captain in India were a brace of innings wins against Sri Lanka in 1986-87. That apart, India lost four, drew 13 and tied one of Kapil's 18 other home games as captain.
| Player | Host Country | Span | Mat | Won | Draw | Tied | Lost | % |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| MW Gatting (Eng) | England | 1986-1988 | 11 | 0 | 8 | 0 | 3 | 100.00 |
| AD Nourse (SA) | South Africa | 1948-1950 | 10 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 6 | 100.00 |
| BC Lara (WI) | South Africa | 1998-2004 | 9 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 8 | 100.00 |
| JR Reid (NZ) | England | 1958-1965 | 8 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 7 | 100.00 |
| AW Greig (Eng) | England | 1975-1976 | 8 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 3 | 100.00 |
| IT Botham (Eng) | England | 1980-1981 | 8 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 2 | 100.00 |
| SM Gavaskar (India) | Pakistan | 1982-1984 | 8 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 3 | 100.00 |
| SP Fleming (NZ) | Australia | 1997-2004 | 8 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 4 | 100.00 |
| A Ranatunga (SL) | India | 1990-1997 | 7 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 4 | 100.00 |
| RT Ponting (Aus) | India | 2004-2010 | 7 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 5 | 100.00 |
| JR Reid (NZ) | New Zealand | 1956-1965 | 14 | 1 | 7 | 0 | 6 | 92.85 |
| HW Taylor (SA) | South Africa | 1913-1923 | 13 | 1 | 5 | 0 | 7 | 92.30 |
| A Flower (Zim) | Zimbabwe | 1994-1999 | 11 | 1 | 5 | 0 | 5 | 90.90 |
| GS Sobers (WI) | West Indies | 1965-1972 | 20 | 2 | 15 | 0 | 3 | 90.00 |
| N Kapil Dev (India) | India | 1983-1987 | 20 | 2 | 13 | 1 | 4 | 90.00 |
| RB Kanhai (WI) | West Indies | 1973-1974 | 10 | 1 | 6 | 0 | 3 | 90.00 |
| KR Rutherford (NZ) | New Zealand | 1993-1995 | 10 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 6 | 90.00 |
| ADR Campbell (Zim) | Zimbabwe | 1996-2002 | 10 | 1 | 5 | 0 | 4 | 90.00 |
| Habibul Bashar (Ban) | Bangladesh | 2004-2007 | 10 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 7 | 90.00 |
| BE Congdon (NZ) | New Zealand | 1973-1975 | 8 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 3 | 87.50 |
Click here for the corresponding ODI table.
Most of the captains with the highest percentage of matches lost in a country suffered those defeats in Australia. Jock Cameron led South Africa on a five-Test tour of Australia in 1931-32 during which the visitors were whitewashed. Since then, Jimmy Adams, Mohammad Yousuf and Andrew Flintoff have also led their teams in five Tests there and got whipped in all of them.
Sixteen of the 25 entries in the table of captains with the greatest percentage of defeats in a country are those who've been beaten in Australia. The earliest is Archie MacLaren, who captained England in eight Tests in Australia between 1897 and 1902 and lost six of them.
| Player | Host Country | Span | Mat | Won | Draw | Tied | Lost | % |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Khaled Mashud (Ban) | Bangladesh | 2002-2004 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 100.00 |
| T Taibu (Zim) | Zimbabwe | 2004-2005 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 100.00 |
| HB Cameron (SA) | Australia | 1931-1932 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 100.00 |
| DI Gower (Eng) | West Indies | 1986-1986 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 100.00 |
| JC Adams (WI) | Australia | 2000-2001 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 100.00 |
| Mohammad Yousuf (Pak) | Australia | 2004-2010 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 100.00 |
| A Flintoff (Eng) | Australia | 2006-2007 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 100.00 |
| BC Lara (WI) | South Africa | 1998-2004 | 9 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 8 | 88.88 |
| JR Reid (NZ) | England | 1958-1965 | 8 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 7 | 87.50 |
| GN Yallop (Aus) | Australia | 1978-1979 | 7 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 85.71 |
| Wasim Akram (Pak) | Australia | 1995-1999 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 83.33 |
| Mohammad Ashraful (Ban) | Bangladesh | 2008-2009 | 6 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 83.33 |
| PF Warner (Eng) | South Africa | 1906-1906 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 80.00 |
| PW Sherwell (SA) | Australia | 1910-1911 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 80.00 |
| AER Gilligan (Eng) | Australia | 1924-1925 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 80.00 |
| J Ryder (Aus) | Australia | 1928-1929 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 80.00 |
| GC Grant (WI) | Australia | 1930-1931 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 80.00 |
| HF Wade (SA) | South Africa | 1935-1936 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 80.00 |
| L Amarnath (India) | Australia | 1947-1948 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 80.00 |
| FR Brown (Eng) | Australia | 1950-1951 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 80.00 |
Click here for the corresponding ODI table.
There have been several captains with undefeated records in a particular country, most of them at home. Mike Brearley was unbeaten as England captain in 19 home Tests, winning 12 and drawing the rest between 1977 and 1981. No captain has been undefeated in a country in more.
Clive Lloyd, however, is the only captain to have led in more than ten matches in an overseas country and maintained an unbeaten record. He did it 14 Tests in England between 1976 and 1984. Lloyd never captained West Indies against Brearley's England though. His first tour of the country was when Tony Greig was made to grovel during West Indies 3-0 victory in the five-match series in 1976. Ian Botham was captain of England when West Indies won 1-0 in 1980 and it was David Gower who suffered the humiliation of a 5-0 thrashing in 1984.
| Player | Host Country | Span | Mat | Won | Draw | Tied | Lost | % |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| JM Brearley (Eng) | England | 1977-1981 | 19 | 12 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 100.00 |
| CH Lloyd (WI) | England | 1976-1984 | 14 | 9 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 100.00 |
| SM Pollock (SA) | South Africa | 2000-2003 | 13 | 10 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 100.00 |
| NJ Contractor (India) | India | 1960-1962 | 10 | 2 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 100.00 |
| AH Kardar (Pak) | Pakistan | 1955-1956 | 9 | 3 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 100.00 |
| CA Walsh (WI) | West Indies | 1994-1997 | 9 | 2 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 100.00 |
| Zaheer Abbas (Pak) | Pakistan | 1984-1984 | 8 | 3 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 100.00 |
| Wasim Akram (Pak) | Pakistan | 1993-1999 | 8 | 5 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 100.00 |
| MC Cowdrey (Eng) | West Indies | 1960-1968 | 7 | 1 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 100.00 |
| DB Close (Eng) | England | 1966-1967 | 7 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 100.00 |
| JG Wright (NZ) | New Zealand | 1988-1990 | 7 | 2 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 100.00 |
| GC Smith (SA) | West Indies | 2005-2010 | 7 | 4 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 100.00 |
| Javed Miandad (Pak) | Pakistan | 1980-1990 | 22 | 10 | 11 | 0 | 1 | 95.45 |
| GP Howarth (NZ) | New Zealand | 1980-1985 | 17 | 8 | 8 | 0 | 1 | 94.11 |
| SM Gavaskar (India) | India | 1978-1985 | 29 | 7 | 20 | 0 | 2 | 93.10 |
| SR Waugh (Aus) | Australia | 1999-2004 | 29 | 22 | 5 | 0 | 2 | 93.10 |
| CH Lloyd (WI) | West Indies | 1976-1984 | 24 | 13 | 9 | 0 | 2 | 91.66 |
| IVA Richards (WI) | West Indies | 1984-1991 | 24 | 15 | 7 | 0 | 2 | 91.66 |
| MS Dhoni (India) | India | 2008-2010 | 12 | 9 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 91.66 |
| RT Ponting (Aus) | Australia | 2004-2010 | 35 | 28 | 4 | 0 | 3 | 91.42 |
Click here for the corresponding ODI table.
Brian Close's record as captain in England - seven Tests, six wins and one draw - appears in both the table above and below. He is 10th out of 12 captains who've never lost in a particular country, and is also third among those with the best win percentage in a country - 85.71% at home.
No one, however, has a better record in more countries than Ponting. He's won five out of six Tests as captain in South Africa, when they were formidable hosts against all other teams. He's won four out of five matches in New Zealand, the other was drawn. And at home, Ponting's led Australia in 28 wins out of 35 Tests, and only three have been lost. He has impressive records in Sri Lanka, West Indies and Bangladesh too. He's never captained Australia in Pakistan and has three wins to go with five defeats in England. It's only in India that Ponting had the chance to win as captain and never managed to. And it's likely to stay that way.
| Player | Host Country | Span | Mat | Won | Draw | Tied | Lost | % |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| WW Armstrong (Aus) | Australia | 1920-1921 | 5 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 100.00 |
| FMM Worrell (WI) | West Indies | 1962-1962 | 5 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 100.00 |
| DB Close (Eng) | England | 1966-1967 | 7 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 85.71 |
| MS Atapattu (SL) | Sri Lanka | 2004-2005 | 6 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 83.33 |
| RT Ponting (Aus) | South Africa | 2006-2009 | 6 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 83.33 |
| RT Ponting (Aus) | Australia | 2004-2010 | 35 | 28 | 4 | 0 | 3 | 80.00 |
| GHS Trott (Aus) | Australia | 1897-1898 | 5 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 80.00 |
| PW Sherwell (SA) | South Africa | 1906-1906 | 5 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 80.00 |
| JWHT Douglas (Eng) | South Africa | 1913-1914 | 5 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 80.00 |
| HL Collins (Aus) | Australia | 1924-1925 | 5 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 80.00 |
| DR Jardine (Eng) | Australia | 1932-1933 | 5 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 80.00 |
| VY Richardson (Aus) | South Africa | 1935-1936 | 5 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 80.00 |
| AL Hassett (Aus) | South Africa | 1949-1950 | 5 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 80.00 |
| JE Cheetham (SA) | South Africa | 1953-1954 | 5 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 80.00 |
| RT Ponting (Aus) | New Zealand | 2005-2010 | 5 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 80.00 |
| SM Pollock (SA) | South Africa | 2000-2003 | 13 | 10 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 76.92 |
| SR Waugh (Aus) | Australia | 1999-2004 | 29 | 22 | 5 | 0 | 2 | 75.86 |
| MS Dhoni (India) | India | 2008-2010 | 12 | 9 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 75.00 |
| AL Hassett (Aus) | Australia | 1950-1953 | 14 | 10 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 71.42 |
| A Shrewsbury (Eng) | Australia | 1884-1887 | 7 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 71.42 |
Click here for the corresponding ODI table.
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Travis Basevi is a cricket statistician and UK Senior Programmer for Cricinfo and other ESPN sports websites. George Binoy is an Assistant Editor at ESPNcricinfo
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