Lots of Tests in little time

If Pakistan were a better batting side, they would probably be an exhausted team, but perhaps a happier one, at the moment. Had each of their four Tests so far during the ongoing tour of England lasted five days, they would have had 20 days of cricket out of 28. Pakistan began the two-Test "home" series against Australia on July 13 and their second Test against England at Edgbaston was scheduled to end on August 10. However, their batsmen's fragility, and their bowlers' consistency in bowling out their opponents for cheap, ensured that all four Tests ended in less than four days. So Pakistan had 16 days of Test cricket out of 28, which isn't too bad, but their schedule could have been potentially gruelling.

India and New Zealand once played four Tests in 23 days, but those matches, in February-March 1965, were scheduled over four days each and not five. India won that home series 1-0. That tour of India was in the middle of a hectic period for New Zealand. They went from India to Pakistan for three five-day Tests, which spanned 19 days, and lost that series 0-2. So New Zealand played seven Tests in the subcontinent in 46 days - no team had played seven Tests in a shorter time span before or have since.

Before New Zealand visited the subcontinent, they had hosted Pakistan for three Tests as well, all of which were drawn, between January 22 and February 16. To sum up, New Zealand played 10 Tests - at home, in India and in Pakistan - in 82 days between January 22 and April 14, 1965, losing three and winning none. It's the shortest time span in which a team has played 10 Tests, by 28 days. New Zealand hold the record for having played four to 10 Tests in the least time.

They weren't done. New Zealand continued their world tour by leaving Pakistan for three Tests in England. The weather during the English summer was ghastly, the New Zealand players were weary and they lost all three games. By the end of the series, they had played 13 Tests - lost six, won none - in 172 days on the road.

In 1979, India travelled to England for a four-Test series, which began on July 12 and ended on August 30 at The Oval. They then returned home after the 0-1 defeat and plunged into a six-Test series against Australia beginning on September 11. India won that series 2-0 by completing an innings-and-100-run win on November 7. Less than three weeks later they were hosting Pakistan in another six-Test rubber, which culminated in another 2-0 win for India on February 3. A tired Indian squad then hosted a tired England squad, weary after a tour of Australia, in a one-off Test beginning on February 15, to commemorate the golden jubilee of the BCCI. That Test ended in a ten-wicket thrashing for the hosts in four days. India had played 17 Tests in 222 days between July 12, 1979 and February 19, 1980.

India have also played the most Tests in a one-year period - 19 between November 3, 2001 and November 3, 2002. During this time they toured South Africa, hosted England and Zimbabwe, visited West Indies and England and then played a home series against West Indies as well. So that's a little fewer than 85 days of Test cricket. Throw in the 26 ODIs India played during that period and that is one hectic year.

India have also played 20 Tests in the least time - 384 days between December 10, 1982 and December 29, 1983. They played 11 Tests in Pakistan and West Indies, then travelled to England where they won the World Cup, after which they hosted Pakistan and West Indies for nine more Tests. The period ended on a low note, with West Indies beating India 3-0 in the six-Test series.

We've not considered England's 1929-30 season, when they sent one team to West Indies and another to New Zealand at the same time, in our calculations. England technically played four Tests in 25 days, five in 33, six in 45 and seven in 47. They began two Tests on February 21, 1930, one in Auckland and another in Georgetown.

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