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Certain teams have dominated international limited overs cricket since it was first played in 1971, but who holds the record for the most consecutive wins in ODIs?
Which Team Holds the Record of Most Consecutive Wins in ODIs?
The team with the most consecutive wins in the history of One Day Internationals is Australia. Between 11th January 2003 and 24th of May 2003, the side recorded 21 victories in succession.
The run started with a win over England in Hobart while the final victory in that sequence was a 67-run win over the West Indies.
Top 5 Consecutive Wins in ODIs
Australia – 21 wins
It shouldn’t be surprising to learn that Australia hold the record for most consecutive ODI wins. They are the most successful team in the history of this format and a number of those 21 games include their triumphant 2003 World Cup campaign.
The run also underlines just how much cricket is played in the modern day. In less than five months, the Aussies crammed all of those matches into their schedule.
South Africa – 12 wins
Three countries sit in second place on this list with 12 consecutive ODI wins each. The first side to do this were South Africa who completed their run of 12 victories in 2005.
Under Graeme Smith, the team defeated England by three wickets on the 13th of February. More than eight months later on the 30th of October, South Africa had beaten New Zealand by four wickets.
That winning run includes three wins over the Kiwis, five against the West Indies, three against Zimbabwe and one against England.
Pakistan – 12 wins
Pakistan also completed 12 consecutive One Day International wins and their run of success ran from the end of 2007 and into 2008. In November 2007, Pakistan began the sequence by beating India by 31 runs in Jaipur.
In the New Year, the team took on Zimbabwe and won each game in the five-match series. Next up were Bangladesh and, in a lengthy ODI series, Pakistan won six games on the bounce. The final victory in this 12-game sequence came in Mirpur on June 8th 2008 when Pakistan won by 70 runs.
South Africa – 12 wins
South Africa matched their own national record of 12 consecutive ODI wins when they went on a streak that lasted for almost six months across 2016 and 2017. The run of victories began in September 2016 when the South Africans beat Ireland by a big margin of 206 runs.
Stronger opponents arrived in the shape of Australia but South Africa eased past their opponents in a five-match series. Moving into 2017, the team recorded another five home wins against the visiting Sri Lankans.
The run concluded in Hamilton in February 2017 when South Africa beat New Zealand by four wickets.
West Indies – 11 wins
In the 1980s, the great West Indian team set a record that would last for 20 years. This was the team of Viv Richards, Joel Garner, Gordon Greenidge, Malcolm Marshall and others, so we shouldn’t be surprised that they were so successful.
The run of 11 ODI wins started with an eight wicket victory over England at Lord’s in June 1984. At the start of 1985, the Windies embarked on a Benson and Hedges tri series with Australia and Sri Lanka. A further ten wins followed and the final game in this sequence saw an 82-run victory over the Sri Lankans in Perth.
Conclusion
All of these runs are impressive: It could be argued that some sequences involve games against weaker opposition, but it’s a real test of quality and endurance to come through so many games without defeat.
It’s also worth noting that any of those fixtures could have been curtailed by the weather. An abandoned match would have been enough to end the run of wins as far as the statisticians are concerned.
Finally, when I talk about records, I often ask whether certain milestones will ever be overtaken. Could any team in the future ever match Australia’s incredible run of 21 consecutive wins in ODIs?