Which teams are the worst travellers?

The last seven months have been terrible ones for touring teams in Test cricket. India have lost eight Tests in a row - four each in England and Australia - while Sri Lanka have lost two out of three; England, meanwhile, lost all three in the UAE to Pakistan. The only team to escape the drubbing was Australia: they won their three-Test series against Sri Lanka 1-0.

Traditionally, tours to Australia, South Africa and England have been the toughest ones for teams from the subcontinent; conversely, tours to Asia have been the most difficult ones for the others. Is it true that teams from the subcontinent are worse travellers than the sides from Australia, South Africa and England? Here's a look at the numbers.

For the purpose of this exercise, only three teams each were considered from within and outside the subcontinent. Bangladesh's terrible record in Test cricket disqualifies them immediately, while New Zealand and West Indies have also struggled in Tests over the last few years, no matter where they've travelled. That leaves India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka as the subcontinent teams, and Australia, England and South Africa as the sides from outside the subcontinent. The time period considered for the exercise is since the beginning of 2005 - long enough for teams to have toured each of the other countries at least once, and also the period during which Australia's overwhelming dominance overseas had come to an end. In the five years between 2000 and 2004, for example, Australia had a 9-3 win-loss record in Asia; since then, it has dropped to 1-4 in nine Tests.

The overall numbers since the beginning of 2005 show that the top teams from outside the subcontinent have had as much trouble in Asia as the subcontinental teams have had overseas. Australia, England and South Africa have drawn more Tests, but the win-loss ratio is almost the same: 0.28 for the subcontinent teams, and 0.31 for the overseas team in Asia. Between 2000 and 2004, however, the overseas teams had a much better record in Asia: 15 wins and only ten defeats. Australia had their imposing 9-3 record, and even England (3-3) and South Africa (3-4) did better. On the other hand, the subcontinent teams had a worse record between 2000 and 2004, with a 3-16 win-loss ratio.

The win-loss ratios are almost the same, but in terms of batting and bowling averages the differences are huge: the gap between the two averages is significantly more for the teams from the subcontinent, compared to that for the overseas teams touring Asia. The main difference is in the batting averages: the unfamiliarity with bouncy pitches and seaming conditions is a clear disadvantage for the teams from the subcontinent - they average 27.48 per wicket when they tour Australia, South Africa and England. In contrast, when those teams tour Asia, their batting average is a respectable 34.37. The batting averages also conform to the theory that it's much tougher to adjust to higher bounce than to pitches with lower bounce.

The huge difference in the averages, despite the close win-loss ratio, also suggests that the margins of defeats for the teams from the subcontinent are much greater. In the period under consideration, India, Sri Lanka and Pakistan have lost ten of those 32 Tests by an innings, four by more than 290 runs, and three by nine or more wickets. The victory margins, on the other hand, have been much narrower. India alone have lost by an innings five times during this period. (Click here for the full list of results.)

Australia, South Africa and England haven't been blown away as often when they tour Asia. They've lost thrice by an innings, but have also won a couple of times by that margin (both by South Africa, against India). (Click here for their full list of results.)

Breaking it up further by teams, the difference between batting and bowling averages is greatest for Sri Lanka, despite them having the best win-loss ratio among the three teams. That's again because of the margins by which they've lost some of their matches. The bowling has been their chief cause for concern: they've conceded nearly 50 runs per wicket. India's difference isn't as high, despite the drubbings in England and Australia, while Pakistan's difference is the smallest, thanks to a bowling attack that is significantly better than those of India and Sri Lanka.

Subcontinent teams overseas*

Team	Tests	W/L/D	W/L ratio	Bat ave	Bowl ave	Diff
Sri Lanka	11	2/6/3	0.33	28.76	49.95	-21.19
India	21	4/13/4	0.30	28.47	41.64	-13.17
Pakistan	17	3/13/1	0.23	25.35	35.83	-10.48

* In Aus, Eng and RSA only

Among overseas teams in Asia, South Africa are the only ones with a positive difference between batting and bowling averages. Their batting numbers clearly reveal that they, more than any other side, have best figured out how to play on slow pitches and in turning conditions. England's batsmen, on the other hand, have struggled, even though their bowlers have done pretty well.

Overseas teams in Asia*

Team	Tests	W/L/D	W/L ratio	Bat ave	Bowl ave	Diff
South Africa	11	3/4/4	0.75	42.61	41.43	1.18
Australia	9	1/4/4	0.25	34.71	40.35	-5.64
England	14	1/8/5	0.12	28.68	36.77	-8.09

* Excluding Bangladesh

And here's a further break-up of the batting numbers by pace and spin. The difference is the largest for India, which justifies the policy of unleashing four fast bowlers against them - spinners average almost 50 runs per wicket against them, while fast bowlers average less than 24. The numbers for Pakistan are slightly unexpected - spinners have done better against them than fast bowlers, even in conditions that should have generally favoured quick bowling. (Click here to see the list of spinners who've been among the wickets against Pakistan.)

The challenge for visiting teams in Asia is spin bowling, but England seem to struggle equally against pace too, averaging just 27.89 against them. South Africa's batsmen average more than 50 against pace, and a respectable 36 against spin.

Teams from the subcontinent versus pace and spin overseas*

Team	Pace - Runs	Dismissals	Average	Spin - Runs	Dismissals	Average
Sri Lanka	4235	163	25.98	1250	37	33.78
India	7789	328	23.74	2536	51	49.72
Pakistan	5477	209	26.20	1941	89	21.80

* In Aus, Eng and RSA only

Overseas teams versus pace and spin in Asia*

Team	Pace - Runs	Dismissals	Average	Spin - Runs	Dismissals	Average
South Africa	2845	54	52.68	3815	106	35.99
Australia	2061	64	32.20	2918	84	34.73
England	3180	114	27.89	3450	129	26.74

* Excluding Bangladesh

Running the rule over the bowlers, it's clear that Sri Lanka need to find quality fast bowlers who'll excel in overseas conditions: their current lot concede almost 64 runs per wicket; it's their spinners who've succeeded in pulling it back a bit. Pakistan's fast bowlers are clearly the best of the lot, averaging 30.24 per wicket.

Among the overseas bowlers in Asia, England's are the best, both in terms of pace and spin. However, their batting has been so inept in Asia that their win-loss ratio is much worse than those of South Africa and Australia.

Bowlers from subcontinent teams overseas*

Team	Pace - wkts	Average	Strike rate	Spin - wkts	Average	Strike rate
Sri Lanka	57	63.82	106.30	52	34.23	69.29
India	205	36.97	65.96	100	45.40	80.15
Pakistan	181	30.24	57.36	75	44.72	85.80

* In Aus, Eng and RSA only

Bowlers from overseas teams in the subcontinent*

Team	Pace - wkts	Average	Strike rate	Spin - wkts	Average	Strike rate
South Africa	107	35.69	63.82	44	47.54	100.16
Australia	96	35.21	74.94	36	50.75	82.53
England	137	33.70	70.82	65	41.67	83.57

* Excluding Bangladesh

And finally, here's a break-up of stats by Asian batsmen in Australia, England and South Africa since the beginning of 2005, overall and against fast bowling. As the table below shows, the numbers don't make impressive reading for most batsmen. Sachin Tendulkar averages almost 49 overall and 41.50 against pace, but the numbers are significantly lower for Rahul Dravid, VVS Laxman and Virender Sehwag. Younis Khan's success in his last two series, in England and South Africa, are reflected in his numbers below. Mohammad Yousuf had one exceptional series in England in 2006, and that helped lift his overall numbers during this period. Mahela Jayawardene's stats tell the story of his troubles outside the subcontinent, but Kumar Sangakkara has done much better.

Subcontinent batsmen in Aus, Eng and RSA since Jan 2005

Batsman	Overall - runs	Dismissals*	Average	v pace - runs	Dismissals*	Average
Sachin Tendulkar	1806	37	48.81	1328	32	41.50
VVS Laxman	1284	36	35.66	943	33	28.57
Rahul Dravid	1263	37	34.13	910	31	29.35
Mohammad Yousuf	1097	21	52.23	797	13	61.30
Kumar Sangakkara	844	20	42.20	647	15	43.13
Salman Butt	796	23	34.60	632	16	39.50
Virender Sehwag	758	28	27.07	617	23	26.82
Imran Farhat	714	29	24.62	647	23	28.13
Sourav Ganguly	698	18	38.77	458	14	32.71
Younis Khan	645	11	58.63	503	8	62.87
Mahela Jayawardene	632	21	30.09	487	21	23.19
Tillakaratne Dilshan	594	14	42.42	465	11	42.27
Thilan Samaraweera	591	15	39.40	435	12	36.25
Gautam Gambhir	525	18	29.16	434	15	28.93

* Only dismissals by bowlers

Among overseas batsmen in Asia, the numbers for the three South Africans - Hashim Amla, Jacques Kallis and AB de Villiers - stand out. How England must wish for at least one batsman who could put up similar numbers in Asia.

Overseas batsmen in Asia since Jan 2005

Batsman	Overall-runs	Dismissals*	Average	v spin - runs	Dismissals*	Average
Hashim Amla	1228	15	81.86	737	8	92.12
Jacques Kallis	1127	13	86.69	720	11	65.45
AB de Villiers	1028	14	73.42	561	10	56.10
Michael Hussey	956	15	63.73	579	10	57.90
Ian Bell	805	26	30.96	391	17	23.00
Kevin Pietersen	759	26	29.19	410	14	29.28
Paul Collingwood	754	16	47.12	409	8	51.12
Alastair Cook	741	19	39.00	404	6	67.33
Andrew Strauss	683	19	35.94	393	10	39.30
Graeme Smith	666	15	44.40	321	10	32.10
Ricky Ponting	614	13	47.23	363	6	60.50
Michael Clarke	500	16	31.25	338	9	37.55

* Only dismissals by bowlers All stats exclude matches in Bangladesh.