Understanding the Whitewash: Criteria and Significance
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.
Most Whitewashes by Teams in Tests
| Teams | No. of Whitewash Wins |
|---|---|
| Australia | 24 |
| England | 17 |
| India | 6 |
| South Africa | 5 |
| Pakistan | 5 |
| Sri Lanka | 4 |
| West Indies | 3 |
| Bangladesh | 1 |
| New Zealand | 1 |
List of All Whitewashes in Test Cricket
| Team | Mat | Opposition | Series |
|---|---|---|---|
| England | 3 | v Australia | The Ashes (Australia in England) 1886 |
| England | 3 | v South Africa | England in South Africa Test Series 1895/96 |
| England | 3 | v South Africa | South Africa in England Test Series 1912 |
| Australia | 5 | v England | The Ashes (England in Australia) 1920/21 |
| England | 3 | v West Indies | West Indies in England Test Series 1928 |
| Australia | 5 | v South Africa | South Africa in Australia Test Series 1931/32 |
| England | 5 | v India | India in England Test Series 1959 |
| West Indies | 5 | v India | India in West Indies Test Series 1961/62 |
| England | 3 | v New Zealand | England in New Zealand Test Series 1962/63 |
| England | 3 | v New Zealand | New Zealand in England Test Series 1965 |
| England | 3 | v India | India in England Test Series 1967 |
| Australia | 4 | v India | India in Australia Test Series 1967/68 |
| South Africa | 4 | v Australia | Australia in South Africa Test Series 1969/70 |
| Australia | 3 | v Pakistan | Pakistan in Australia Test Series 1972/73 |
| England | 3 | v India | India in England Test Series 1974 |
| England | 3 | v New Zealand | New Zealand in England Test Series 1978 |
| Australia | 3 | v England | England in Australia Test Series 1979/80 |
| Pakistan | 3 | v Australia | Australia in Pakistan Test Series 1982/83 |
| West Indies | 5 | v England | The Wisden Trophy (West Indies in England) 1984 |
| West Indies | 5 | v England | The Wisden Trophy (England in West Indies) 1985/86 |
| Pakistan | 3 | v New Zealand | New Zealand in Pakistan Test Series 1990/91 |
| India | 3 | v England | England in India Test Series 1992/93 |
| India | 3 | v Sri Lanka | Sri Lanka in India Test Series 1993/94 |
| Australia | 3 | v Sri Lanka | Sri Lanka in Australia Test Series 1995/96 |
| Pakistan | 3 | v West Indies | West Indies in Pakistan Test Series 1997/98 |
| South Africa | 5 | v West Indies | West Indies in South Africa Test Series 1998/99 |
| Australia | 3 | v Pakistan | Pakistan in Australia Test Series 1999/00 |
| Australia | 3 | v India | Border-Gavaskar Trophy (India in Australia) 1999/00 |
| Australia | 3 | v New Zealand | Trans-Tasman Trophy (Australia in New Zealand) 1999/00 |
| Australia | 5 | v West Indies | The Frank Worrell Trophy (West Indies in Australia) 2000/01 |
| Sri Lanka | 3 | v West Indies | West Indies in Sri Lanka Test Series 2001/02 |
| Australia | 3 | v South Africa | South Africa in Australia Test Series 2001/02 |
| Sri Lanka | 3 | v Zimbabwe | Zimbabwe in Sri Lanka Test Series 2001/02 |
| Australia | 3 | v Pakistan | Australia v Pakistan Test Series 2002/03 |
| Pakistan | 3 | v Bangladesh | Bangladesh in Pakistan Test Series 2003 |
| Australia | 3 | v Sri Lanka | Australia in Sri Lanka Test Series 2003/04 |
| England | 3 | v New Zealand | New Zealand in England Test Series 2004 |
| England | 4 | v West Indies | The Wisden Trophy (West Indies in England) 2004 |
| Australia | 3 | v Pakistan | Pakistan in Australia Test Series 2004/05 |
| Australia | 3 | v West Indies | The Frank Worrell Trophy 2005/06 |
| Australia | 3 | v South Africa | Australia in South Africa Test Series 2005/06 |
| Australia | 5 | v England | The Ashes (England in Australia) 2006/07 |
| Sri Lanka | 3 | v Bangladesh | Bangladesh in Sri Lanka Test Series 2007 |
| Australia | 3 | v Pakistan | Pakistan in Australia Test Series 2009/10 |
| England | 4 | v India | Pataudi Trophy (India in England) 2011 |
| Australia | 4 | v India | Border-Gavaskar Trophy (India in Australia) 2011/12 |
| Pakistan | 3 | v England | Pakistan v England Test Series 2011/12 |
| Australia | 3 | v Sri Lanka | Warne-Muralitharan Trophy 2012/13 |
| South Africa | 3 | v Pakistan | Pakistan in South Africa Test Series 2012/13 |
| India | 4 | v Australia | Border-Gavaskar Trophy (Australia in India) 2012/13 |
| Australia | 5 | v England | The Ashes (England in Australia) 2013/14 |
Key Stats – Analysing the Unrivalled Champion Teams with the Most Clean Sweeps
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, thereby the toughest opponents to whitewash.
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 clean swept 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
