Published: Dec 02, 2014, 07:10 PM (IST)
Edited: Dec 02, 2014, 07:10 PM (IST)
Bangladesh have whitewashed Zimbabwe in both Tests and ODIs in the recently concluded tour. Bharath Seervi lists the occasions of whitewashing a complete tour with most number of matches.
The tour of Bangladesh for Zimbabwe has brought nil success for the visitors. Bangladesh have clean swept them in both the formats. First, Bangladesh whitewashed the three-match Test series , following it by whitewashing them again in the five-match ODI series.
The tour began with a practice match between Bangladesh Cricket Board XI against Zimbabweans at Fatullah that ended in a draw. The first Test was a low scoring encounter which ended Bangladesh winning by three wickets. The next two Tests where high-scoring ones which were won by the hosts by a margin of 162 runs and 186 runs at Khulna and Chittagong respectively. A one-day practice match was scheduled between the two series, but the tourists lost again, to Bangladesh Cricket Board XI.
The ODI series began at Chittagong. Bangladesh won the matches by 87 runs, 68 runs, 124 runs, 21 runs, and five wickets. Shakib-al-Hasan was their Man of the Series in Tests whereas it was Mushfiqur Rahim in ODIs.
In all, there were eight matches on the tour and all the eight were won by Bangladesh.
How often has this happened?
There have been numerous series whitewashes in Tests and ODIs but whitewashing both series (and also the T20I series) on the same tour is quite rare.
In fact, in the past there has been only one tour which was clean swept by a team with more than eight matches —Pakistan’s tour to Australia in 2009-10. The tour consisted of three Tests, five ODIs and a T20I, and Australia won all those nine. Hence Australia defeated Pakistan by 9-0 in the tour.
There has been one instance of clean sweeps in 8 matches, one of 7 matches and one more of 6 matches. The table below lists them.
Whitewashes a tour by a margin on 6-0 or higher
| Tour Result | Won | Lost | Host | Year | Format | Results |
| 9-0 | Australia | Pakistan | Australia | 2009/10 | Tests | 3-0 (3) – Won by 170 runs, 36 runs and 231 runs |
| ODIs | 5-0 (5) – Won by 5 wickets, 140 runs, 40 runs, 135 runs and 2 wickets | |||||
| T20Is | 1-0 (1) – Won by 2 runs | |||||
| 8-0 | Pakistan | Bangladesh | Pakistan | 2003 | Tests | 3-0 (3) – Won by 7 wickets, 9 wickets and 1 wicket |
| ODIs | 5-0 (5) – Won by 137 runs, 74 runs, 42 runs, 5 wickets and 58 runs | |||||
| 8-0 | Bangladesh | Zimbabwe | Bangladesh | 2014/15 | Tests | 3-0 (3) – Won by 3 wickets, 162 runs and 186 runs |
| ODIs | 5-0 (5) – Won by 87 runs, 68 runs, 124 runs, 21 runs and 5 wickets | |||||
| 7-0 | Sri Lanka | Zimbabwe | Zimbabwe | 2004 | Tests | 2-0 (2) – Won by Inns & 240 runs and Inns & 254 runs |
| ODIs | 5-0 (5) – Won by 12 runs, 9 wickets, 9 wickets, 72 runs and 25 runs | |||||
| 6-0 | Pakistan | New Zealand | Pakistan | 1990/91 | Tests | 3-0 (3) – Won by Inns & 43 runs, 9 wickets and 65 runs |
| ODIs | 3-0 (3) – Won by 19 runs, 8 wickets and 105 runs |
Apart from the Zimbabwe’s tour to Bangladesh, the other tour of eight matches being whitewashed was the Bangladesh’s tout to Pakistan in 2003 in which three Tests and five ODIs where played — all won by Pakistan. In 2004, Sri Lanka whitewashed Zimbabwe in the tour. They won both Tests — by an innings and plenty — and all five ODIs. Way back in 1990/91, when New Zealand toured to Pakistan they were defeated 0-3 in both ODIs, resulting in a 0-6 defeat.
There have been several tour sweeps of 5-0, most of them involving a single format of series. For example, India defeated Sri Lanka 5-0 in the recent ODI series, a tour of Sri Lanka to India.
Bonus entry:
Earlier this year, during South Africa’s tour of Zimbabwe, South Africa had won the solitary test match and the three-match ODI series 3-0. There was a tri-series afterwards which involved Australia as the third team. South Africa won the two matches against Zimbabwe in the tri-series as well. Though not included in the above table, this is also technically a 6-0 whitewash.
(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 www.twitter.com/SeerviBharath and on Facebook at www.facebook.com/SeerviCricket)
