Analysis of England’s 100 Test wins by an innings

The victory at Trent Bridge in the fourth test of Ashes 2015 was England’s 100th Test win by an innings. Bharath Seervi analyses England’s 100 inning wins.

England was where cricket had originated. They have also completed a century of innings victories in Test cricket since they played the first ever Test against Australia at MCG in 1877. England beat Australia by an innings and 78 runs in the fourth Test of Ashes 2015 at Trent Bridge to win their 100th Test by an innings. Having played 961 test matches — the most by any team — England became the first team to reach here.

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In 961 Tests, England have won 344, lost 278 and drawn 339. As mentioned above, of the 344 Tests won by them, 100 were by margin of an innings, 106 were won by runs (defending a target) and 137 were won by wickets (chasing a target). The other win came against Pakistan at The Oval in 2006 when the tourists forfeited the Test — the only such occasion in history. Ashes 2015, 4th Test at Trent Bridge: Statistical report

England’s first win by an innings came against Australia at MCG in 1883 by an innings and 27 runs. They were the first to win a Test by an innings as well. Let us analyze England’s 100 innings victories by various parameters.

England’s 100 wins by an innings: By opposition

Of England’s 100 wins by an innings, the most have come against Australia (27). Against Sri Lanka they have the least number of wins by an innings (2).

England’s 100 wins by an innings: By decade

–          The decade of 1950s was the best for England in this case: they won by an innings almost every fifth Test. The current decade has seen England winning a Test by an innings less than every seventh match — the best since 1950s. Alviro Petersen, Ashwell Prince’s record First-Class partnership and other statistics

–          In 1980s and 1990s, England won only six Tests by an innings out of 211. In the new millennium, however, they have won 23 Tests by an innings out of 197.

England’s 100 wins by an innings: By captain

–          Peter May’s 12 innings victories by an came in the 1950s.

–          Andrew Strauss’ 11 innings victories came between 2006 and 2011. Dale Steyn: Least balls bowled for 400 Test wickets

England’s 100 wins by an innings: By venue

–          England has won seven Tests by an innings at MCG,  their highest in an overseas venue.

England’s 100 wins by an innings: By margin

–          The highest victory margin of an innings for England is by an innings and 579 runs against Australia at The Oval in 1938. Wally Hammond declared on 903 for 7. With Don Bradman and Jack Fingleton unable to bat in either innings, Australia sank without a trace. Elton Chigumbura and others who scored their first two ODI centuries in successive innings

England’s 100 wins by an innings: By toss result

England’s 100 wins by an innings: Batting first vs Batting second

Australia is the next team with most innings victories in Tests after England (85). They are the only other team with more than 50 victories by an innings. They have won just three Tests by an innings since 2010. Considering that frequency, they would need about more than two decades more to complete 100 victories by an innings! Clive Rice: The most experienced First-Class and List A cricketer from South

(Bharath Seervi is a cricket statistician who is obsessed with digging numbers, facts and records related to the game. An active member of Society of Cricket Statisticians of India, he blogs at www.cricketseervistats.blogspot.com. He can be followed on Twitter at @SeerviBharath and on Facebook here)