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Michael Clarke — first Australian captain to suffer whitewash in two different Test series

Australia lost 4-0 to India in 2013 and 2-0 to Pakistan in UAE, both under Michael Clarke.

user-circle cricketcountry.com Written by Bharath Seervi
Published: Nov 05, 2014, 07:49 AM (IST)
Edited: Nov 05, 2014, 10:11 AM (IST)

Michael Clarke has © Getty Images
Michael Clarke has suffered consecutive whitewashes in Asia © Getty Images

Australia lost the Test series 2-0 to Pakistan at UAE. This was their second consecutive whitewash in Asia. Bharath Seervi lists some stats regarding the whitewashes suffered by Australia and those achieved by Pakistan.

Australia is not having the greatest time in Asia. Though they whitewashed England in at home, they have been whitewashed in two consecutive Test series in Asia. They lost 4-0 to India in 2013 and now 2-0 to Pakistan in UAE, both under the captaincy of Michael Clarke. Australia have now suffered eight whitewashes in Test series of 2 or more matches.

Whitewashes suffered by Australia in Test cricket (series of 2 or more matches)

Clarke is the only Australian captain to suffer whitewashed in two different test series among the eight whitewashes suffered. The other Australian captains to suffer the ignominy of a whitewash are: Tup Scott, Percy McDonnell, Billy Murdoch, Bill Lawry, Kim Hughes and Ricky Ponting. The table below shows the whitewashes suffered by Australia in Test cricket.

Margin Against Country Captain Year
3-0 England England Tup Scott 1886
2-0 England Australia Percy McDonnell 1887
2-0 England England Billy Murdoch 1890
4-0 South Africa South Africa Bill Lawry 1970
3-0 Pakistan Pakistan Kim Hughes 1982
2-0 India India Ricky Ponting 2010
4-0 India India Michael Clarke 2013
2-0 Pakistan UAE Michael Clarke 2014

Australia suffered three whitewashes in the 19th century (1886, 1887 and 1890) within five years, and then only two more in about the next 120 years (from 1891 to 2009, in 1970 and 1982), and now three whitewashes in this decade (in 2010, 2013 and 2014). Seeing their history, it seems this is one of their worst periods. And yet, they whitewashed England 5-0 and defeated South Africa 2-1 in South Africa.

Whitewashes by Pakistan in Test cricket (series of 2 or more matches)

With this series win, Pakistan have now whitewashed the opposition on 11 occasions. Their first whitewash was also against Australia in the 1982. The team under Imran Khan had defeated the Aussies 3-0. Incidentally, Pakistan have whitewashed all teams except India in Test cricket. This whitewash was the third one  under Misbah-ul-Haq’s captaincy. Under him Pakistan whitewashed Bangladesh (2-0) in Bangladesh in 2011 and England (3-0) in UAE in 2012 as well. The only other Pakistan captain to whitewash the opposition in more than one Test series is Waqar Younis, who led Pakistan to whitewashes against Bangladesh, West Indies and Zimbabwe, all 2-0, in 2002. Below the table shows the whitewashes by Pakistan:

Margin Against Country Captain Year
3-0 Australia Pakistan Imran Khan 1982
3-0 New Zealand Pakistan Javed Miandad 1990
2-0 Sri Lanka Sri Lanka Saleem Malik 1994
3-0 West Indies Pakistan Wasim Akram 1997
2-0 Bangladesh Bangladesh Waqar Younis 2002
2-0 West Indies UAE Waqar Younis 2002
2-0 Zimbabwe Zimbabwe Waqar Younis 2002
3-0 Bangladesh Pakistan Rashid Latif 2003
2-0 Bangladesh Bangladesh Misbah-ul-Haq 2011
3-0 England UAE Misbah-ul-Haq 2012
2-0 Australia UAE Misbah-ul-Haq 2014

Number of whitewashes by each team in Test cricket (series of 2 or more matches)

The series was 11th washout win for Pakistan. Australia have whitewashed their opposition a record 28 times. England are not too far behind though, they have did it 25 times. South Africa 16, Sri Lanka 15, India and New Zealand 10 each and West Indies 9 washout victories. Zimbabwe and Bangladesh have done it once. The table below has the first and last such victories for all the teams.

Team Number of times First Last
Australia 28 5-0 vs England in Australia, 1921 5-0 vs England in Australia, 2014
Bangladesh 1 2-0 vs West Indies in West Indies, 2009 2-0 vs West Indies in West Indies , 2009
England 25 3-0 vs Australia in England, 1886 2-0 vs New Zealand in England, 2013
India 10 3-0 vs England in India, 1993 2-0 vs West Indies in India, 2013
New Zealand 10 2-0 vs Sri Lanka in New Zealand, 1983 2-0 vs Bangladesh in New Zealand, 2008
Pakistan 11 3-0 vs Australia in Pakistan, 1982 2-0 vs Australia in UAE, 2014
South Africa 16 2-0 vs New Zealand in New Zealand, 1932 3-0 vs Pakistan in South Africa, 2013
Sri Lanka 15 2-0 vs Zimbabwe in Sri Lanka, 1996 2-0 vs Pakistan in Sri Lanka, 2014
West Indies 9 5-0 vs India in West Indies, 1962 2-0 vs Bangladesh in West Indies, 2014
Zimbabwe 1 2-0 vs Bangladesh in Zimbabwe, 2001 2-0 vs Bangladesh in Zimbabwe, 2001

Number of whitewashes in a test series of 3 or more matches

Considering 3 match test series’, Australia have whitewashed their opposition 21 times and England 13.

21 – Australia

13 – England

5 – Pakistan

3 – India, South Africa, Sri Lanka, West Indies

Number of whitewashes suffered by each team in Test cricket (series of 2 or more matches)

The series loss was Australia’s eighth whitewash loss in Test cricket.  Bangladesh have suffered 28 whitewashes in their history of Test cricket since 2001. Australia, England, Pakistan and South Africa have suffered 8 whitewashes, which is the least.

Team Number of times First Last
Australia 8 3-0 vs England in England, 1886 2-0 vs Pakistan in UAE, 2014
Bangladesh 28 2-0 vs Zimbabwe in Zimbabwe, 2001 2-0 vs West Indies in West Indies, 2014
England 8 5-0 vs Australia in Australia, 1921 5-0 vs Australia in Australia, 2014
India 10 5-0 vs England in England, 1959 4-0 vs Australia in Australia, 2012
New Zealand 17 2-0 vs South Africa in New Zealand, 1932 2-0 vs England in England, 2013
Pakistan 8 3-0 vs Australia in Australia, 1973 2-0 vs Sri Lanka in Sri Lanka, 2014
South Africa 8 2-0 vs England in South Africa, 1889 2-0 vs Sri Lanka in Sri Lanka, 2006
Sri Lanka 10 2-0 vs New Zealand in New Zealand, 1983 3-0 vs Australia in Australia, 2013
West Indies 13 3-0 vs England in England, 1928 2-0 vs India in India, 2013
Zimbabwe 16 2-0 vs Sri Lanka in Zimbabwe, 1996 2-0 vs West Indies in West Indies, 2013

Number of whitewashes suffered in a test series of 3 or more matches

England and India have suffered eight whitewashes in test series’ of 3 or more matches which is the highest among all teams.

8 – England, India

7 – West Indies

6 – New Zealand, Pakistan

5 – South Africa

4 – Australia, Sri Lanka

2 – Bangladesh

1 – Zimbabwe

Complete coverage of Pakistan vs Australia in UAE

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(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)