Team Records

Test Stats: Most Whitewashes by a Team in Test (3+ Games Series)

Whitewashing a series in any format is a sign of the thorough dominance of one team over the other. This means a team has had considerable upper hand over their opponents through the course of the entire series and they have exhibited ruthlessness throughout the tourney. A team that has won all their games most likely should have produced a clinical performance and never allowed their opponents an inch to make a comeback.

Hence, that is why these types of performances are rare as there is always room for a team to make a comeback, especially in Test cricket. So, a whitewash in a Test series is a special feat achieved by a team and should be celebrated, even more so when the series is long. We will look at the number of times, each Test side has inflicted a series whitewash over their opponents in the longest format.

TEAMSNO. OF WHITEWASHES
Australia24
England17
India6
South Africa5
Pakistan5
Sri Lanka4
West Indies 3
Bangladesh1
New Zealand1

Key Stats

There have been 66 instances of a team whitewashing an opponent in a Test series that had at least 3 games. Here’s a list of rare occurrences of home team getting whitewashed in a Test series.

24 – Australia has inflicted the most Test series whitewashes on its opponents, meaning it has won all Tests in a series 24 times. While its first whitewash came in the form of a 5-0 drubbing against England in the Ashes 1920/21 held in Australia, the latest was against Pakistan in the latter’s 2023/24 tour of the country.
On the contrary, Australia has been on the receiving end of the whitewash 5 times.

16 – England comes second having inflicted whitewash 16 times in Tests. They are the ones who started a trend of whitewashing in Tests and it came against Australia in the 1886 Ashes held in England.

10 – They have on the receiving side of a Test series whitewash, 8 times. Pakistan has been whitewashed 10 times, the most by any side followed by India 9.

1 – New Zealand and Bangladesh have whitewashed their opponents in Tests, once each. The Kiwis are the latest to join the club, courtesy of their series win over India in a 3-match series held in India.

3 – New Zealand’s entry leaves Ireland, Afghanistan, and Zimbabwe as the only Test-playing nations to not effect a Test series whitewash.

10 – Out of the 66 whitewashes in the Test series with 5 or more games, 10 of them came in a series that had 5 Tests. This means a side has won all 5 Tests of a series, the last of which came in the 2014/15 Ashes where Australia inflicted a 5-0 drubbing on England. There are 6 instances of a team winning all Tests in a series involving 4 Tests.

CHECK: Teams that have won 2 or more Tests in a series in India