5 longest losing streaks of major cricketing nations in ODIs

Winning is a habit but so is losing. Although every new match played is a fresh affair, it is never easy to move on from a loss in the previous game. At times, it turns into an inescapable cycle and the losses just keep adding up.

Almost every team has faced prolonged barren periods, or losing streaks. They have faced days when no matter how hard you try, a win eludes you. Despite the best of your attempts, everything seems to go wrong.

Such has been the fate of the Sri Lankan ODI team of late. After defeating the Pakistani team in the Test series at UAE, they fancied their chances at emulating the same in the ODI series. The hopes, however, were dashed quickly as Pakistan eased to a crushing whitewash of 5-0.

Including the nine-wicket loss on 23rd October, Sri Lanka have now lost 12 consecutive ODI matches. The streak which began with losses in last two ODIs of a bilateral series at home against Zimbabwe continued with the arrival of India. Men in blue thrashed Sri Lanka with a 5-0 scoreline and the last five matches in UAE complete 12 consecutive losses for the Lankans.

In the past, major cricketing nations have undergone similar traumatic periods. Australia and India have never lost 10 consecutive ODIs, so don't feature on this list. Here’s looking back at the teams who went on similar losing streaks.

*Sri Lanka's losing streak in 1987 (when they lost 14 ODIs) is not considered as it came in formative years of Lankan cricket in ODI.

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#1- West Indies (11 losses)

The two-time world champions had to go through the ignominy of 11 consecutive losses in ODI cricket. For a period of six months starting from February 2005, the team was on the wrong side of the results.

Their streak began against Pakistan in the last stage of VB series played in the year of 2005. West Indies lost their last match of the round to Pakistan.

Next assignment for them was to face South Africa at home. Despite having a talented team at hand, West Indies ended up losing the series 0-5. South Africa chased in four of the matches and won all of them without breaking a sweat.

Only time West Indies chased was in the third ODI, which is famously remembered for the dramatic finish courtesy of Charles Langeveldt. West Indies needed only two runs off the last four balls with three wickets remaining. Langeveldt came up with the easiest solution, a hat-trick!

After that series, it was the turn of Pakistan to visit the island nations for a 3-match ODI series. On the back of some incredible all-round performances from Abdul Razzaq, Pakistan defeated West Indies 3-0.

West Indies played in the Indian Oil cup thereafter, another triangular tournament held in Sri Lanka. Due to players’ dispute with WICB, West Indies had no choice but to field an inferior team. The results obviously stayed the same as two more losses added to the tally.

The string finally got broken in a match against Sri Lanka at Dambulla.

#2 England (11 losses)

The England team in the 2000s struggled to cope up with the pace of limited overs cricket. They enjoyed success in the Test matches but struggled to be a force in ODI cricket.

The English team then had a decorated Test unit. Alec Stewart, Michael Vaughan, Andrew Flintoff, Graeme Hick, Graham Thorpe, Darren Gough made for a tough long-format team. However, the same players looked frail in limited over format though.

Their agony started on the tour to Pakistan in October 2000. An all-round performance from Shahid Afridi started the horror ride for England as he tore through half the English batting and then smashed 61 off 69 balls at the top to reach the target of 212 runs.

England lost the succeeding match too, losing the series 1-2. They, then, toured the ruby island nation of Sri Lanka. Here again, England established themselves in the Test series with a 2-1 victory. ODIs were a different story though.

Sri Lanka, which excelled in the ODI format, trounced England by defeating them 3-0. Victories were a comfortable affair as illustrated by the fact that in the 3rd ODI, Sri Lanka chased England’s 166 runs without losing a wicket.

The NatWest series, a long-running triangular tournament in England, hosted Australia & Pakistan in the year 2001. It didn’t turn out to be a very wise choice of visitors as England went on to lose all six matches in the series. Their lowest point came against Australia when England got all out for mere 86 while chasing a modest 209.

The chain broke when England toured Zimbabwe. They found an easy prey and devoured them with a 5-0 victory. In a winless period of 8 months, the English team lost 11 matches on the trot.

#3 South Africa (10 losses)

This is a great example of how victory evades you despite having a plethora of talent and skill. The team possessing the likes of Graeme Smith, Jacques Kallis, Herschelle Gibbs, Shaun Pollock, Lance Klusener, Makhaya Ntini could not register a single win in 10 consecutive matches.

South Africa started their 6-match ODI series against New Zealand with a comfortable win at Auckland in February 2004. New Zealand then came back strong in the 2nd ODI and from there onwards, gave no chance to South Africa.

South Africa lost all the remaining ODIs. However, these were not one-sided defeats. They came close but were unable to cross the line against Kiwis. The series ended with New Zealand being victorious 5-1.

South Africa then had the challenge of facing Sri Lanka, in Sri Lanka. Their traditional weakness against spin was always going to be in the back of their mind, and it showed.

Even without the magic of Muralitharan, Sri Lankan bowling team dominated South Africa. Dilshan and Upul Chandana took 8 wickets in the series; all four Sri Lankan bowlers were more successful than their South African counterparts as the travellers succumbed to 0-5 loss.

#4 New Zealand (10 losses)

The Blackcaps faced a string of losses in the year of 2010. They embarked on an Asian voyage as a lead up to the 2011 World Cup, which was to be played in the subcontinent.

Preparations, however, did not go according to the plan. New Zealand, along with India, played in a triangular series hosted by Sri Lanka where the Kiwis failed to make it to the final.

In the last group match, they crumbled to 118 all out in 30 overs against Indian pace bowlers.

In search of better results, New Zealand then travelled to Bangladesh. What followed shocked the entire cricket fraternity. Bangladesh managed to defeat a full-strength New Zealand 4-0 in the ODI series, this being the first instance of them upsetting a major nation.

The embarrassment was not over yet. New Zealand crossed borders to square up against an in-form Indian team. After losing the Test series 0-1, New Zealand longed to do well in ODIs given their experience of playing in the IPL.

India decimated New Zealand, three of the victories were by the margin of 8 or more wickets. India completed the whitewash of New Zealand with a thumping 5-0 victory. This completed 10 consecutive losses for New Zealand, out of which 6 were inflicted by India.

New Zealand finally registered a win in ODIs when they defeated Pakistan at Wellington in January 2011.

#5 Pakistan (10 losses)

Pakistan’s losing streak began in the 1987 World Cup. They were dominating the group stage with great performances from stalwarts in their ranks. Even though they lost their last group game against West Indies by 29 runs, Pakistan ended up as the toppers of group B.

This scheduled Pakistan to face Australia in the semi-final at Lahore. In the other semi-final, India played England at Mumbai. An India-Pakistan World Cup final at the Eden Gardens looked imminent. However, the cricketing Gods had other plans.

Asked to chase 267 in the semi-final, they started rather shoddily as Imran Khan joined Javed Miandad at 38/3. The two Pakistani legends went to forge a 112-run partnership, but with a World Cup final berth 117 runs away, the former got out and Pakistan's wait was prolonged.

The Men in Green then hosted England right away after the completion of the World Cup. Despite the exhaustion from travelling, England played at their best. They dominated the home team and registered a 3-0 series victory.

Pakistan then travelled to the Caribbean to take on a waning West Indian team. Even with the best of their years behind them, the West Indies was still a strong team in home conditions. They managed to beat Pakistan 5-0 without much of a fuss.

Later Pakistan broke the streak of ODI losses where it had begun for them. In October 1988, they defeated the Australian team at Lahore. By then, Pakistan had lost 10 matches in a row, and it remains their longest losing streak.