Although records may not always be the right benchmark to judge the performance of cricket teams and players, they are certainly among the factors that help determine how good or bad they are. Even the best in the game have held some dubious records whereas some less prominent names have come up with unlikely feats.
Talking specifically about team records, there are a number of different nations that have achieved distinctions spanning across various aspects of the game. Out of these, some countries hold a certain record in at least 2 out of the 3 primary formats of international cricket.
Here are 5 teams that hold a particular record across multiple formats:
5. New Zealand - Most sixes in an innings (Tests and ODIs)
It should not come across as a surprise that the land of hard-hitting batsmen like Brendon McCullum and Chris Cairns holds the record for most sixes in an innings, that too in two formats. Incidentally, on both occasions, the Kiwis managed to smash the same number of sixes - 22.
In Test cricket, New Zealand achieved this feat in a match against Pakistan in 2014 at the Sharjah Cricket Stadium. As expected, it was McCullum who led the charge with an epic 202 off just 188 balls, a knock which included 11 sixes. While spinner Mark Craig hit 3 sixes, Ross Taylor, Tim Southee and Corey Anderson contributed with 2 each.
Anderson's 14 sixes during his then fastest ODI century against West Indies early in the same year had helped the Blackcaps claim the record in the 50-over format as well. Left-hander Jesse Ryder hammered 5 whereas Brendon McCullum hit another 3 to take the tally to 22 sixes.
4. Bangladesh - Most consecutive defeats (Tests and ODIs)
Bangladesh may presently be challenging and even beating many of the top sides in world cricket but they have certainly had their share of struggles. Back in the late 1990s and early 2000s, the Bangladeshi had earned the reputation of being the punching bags for stronger teams across both formats that were played at the time.
Their losing streak in Test cricket started off in November 2001 when they were thrashed at home by the Zimbabwean team by 8 wickets. Their disastrous run of 21 successive defeats included as many as 12 by an innings margin. Bangladesh's streak continued until February 2004 when they lost their 21st match, once again against Zimbabwe.
In ODI cricket, too, Bangladesh went through a poor run at quite the same time as their Test debacle. It all started off when they were blanked in a 2-match series by the West Indies team in October 1999. During this phase, the Tigers managed to lose a record 23 ODI matches, the last being the final game of a 3-match series against South Africa.
3. Pakistan - Most ducks in an innings (Tests and ODI)
Ever since they became part of the cricketing world, Pakistan have been making an invaluable contribution to the sport. However, they too hold some records which do not reflect how good they have been over the years. One such record is that of the most ducks in a single innings in Tests as well as ODIs.
In a Test match against the then mighty West Indies in 1980 at Karachi, Pakistan were bowled out for 128 in their first innings. A total of 6 out of the 10 batsmen who got out did not trouble the scorers at all. Shafiq Ahmed, Sadiq Mohammad, Majid Khan, Ijaz Faqih, Iqbal Qasim and Mohammad Nazir were the players that contributed to this dubious feat.
The Pakistani team repeated this feat close to 7 years later; only this time it was in a one-day match. A full strength side could muster just 213 for 9 in the allotted 55 overs and 6 of their batsmen scored ducks. This included Mudassar Nazar, Mansoor Akhtar, Manzoor Elahi, Saleem Yousuf, Tauseef Ahmed and the legendary Wasim Akram.
2. South Africa - Played in match with highest run aggregate (Tests, ODIs and T20Is)
Although they have never won a World Cup in either format of the game, South Africa have easily been one of the most dominant teams in cricket's recent history. Among the various records held by the nation and its players, there is one particular record that stretches across all three formats.
The Proteas have been one of the teams playing in matches that recorded the highest run aggregate in all three formats of the sport. Back in 1939, a timeless Test between South Africa and England produced a phenomenal tally of 1981 runs. While the South Africans were bowled out for 530 and 481 in their 2 innings, England scored 316 and 654 for 5 respectively.
In ODIs, this record came about during one of the greatest matches ever between the African nation and Australia at Johannesburg. The Aussies set an improbable target of 435 runs which the visitors chased down during a record-smashing feat. The match produced an aggregate of 872 runs, the most in an ODI game ever.
What South Africa did to Australia in ODIs, West Indies did to them in T20I cricket. During the 2nd T20I of a 3-match series between the two teams in 2015, the Proteas amassed a total of 231 for 7 in 20 overs with Faf du Plessis scoring a hundred. The men from the Caribbean, led by Chris Gayle, cruised home with 4 balls to spare to ensure a record aggregate of 467 runs.
1. Sri Lanka - Highest team score in an innings (Tests, ODIs and T20Is)
Sri Lanka may not be playing their best cricket at the moment but there have been several phases in the past couple of decades that they have dominated the scene. The Sri Lankans have several records to their name in different formats but the most prominent one is that of registering the highest score in an innings across all three of them.
The Indian team were at the receiving end when the men from the Emerald Isle posted a mammoth 952 for 6 on the board in a Test at the R Premadasa Stadium, Colombo in 1997. The Sri Lankans got this score in response to India's 537 for 8 in their first innings. Sanath Jayasuriya top-scored with 340 and shared a huge 527-run partnership with Roshan Mahanama, who made 225 in the drawn game.
In the year 2006, Sri Lanka also put together the highest ever ODI score of 443 for 9 against the Netherlands at Amstelveen. Jayasuriya led the way here as well with a hard-hitting 157 from just 104 balls. Tillakaratne Dilshan gave him company with an unbeaten 117 in a mere 78 deliveries. The Sri Lankans won the match by a huge margin of 195 runs.
Just a year later, the inaugural edition of the ICC World Twenty20 took place and the Sri Lankan team used it as another opportunity to break some records. In their match against Kenya in Johannesburg, they blasted 260 for 6 in their 20 overs with Sanath Jayasuriya hitting an explosive 88 from 44 balls. Sri Lanka won by 172 runs, which is also a record for the biggest victory by runs in T20I cricket.
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