West Indies used to be a force to reckon with at home -- even in their worst of times. But not any more now!
When Pakistan blanked West Indies 3-0 in the ODI series, not only this gave West Indies their longest losing streak in ODIs, but this also proved the fact that this Caribbean side has lost its touch even in its home territory.
| |||||||||||
A peep into the performances of all other major countries reveals some interesting facts.
Sri Lanka and South Africa, for instance, have never lost more than 3 consecutive games at home soil. Their performance is better than Australia, England and Pakistan who suffered defeats in five consecutive home matches, twice in case of Pakistan.
The worst losing streak for India at home is of six matches. New Zealand, whose record West Indies have 'bettered', had one sequence of seven losses on a trot.
The accompanying table lists the worst losing streaks in one-day internationals at home soil:
| Matches | Home side | From | To |
| 8* | West Indies | 7th May 2005 | 22nd May 2005 |
| 7 | New Zealand | 26th Mar 1986 | 16th Mar 1988 |
| 6 | India | 13th Oct 1983 | 1st Oct 1984 |
| 5 | Australia | 15th Dec 1996 | 16th Jan 1997 |
| 5 | England | 7th June 2001 | 27th June 2002 |
| 5 | India | 5th Jan 1988 | 10th Dec 1988 |
| 5 | India | 5th Oct 1984 | 23rd Jan 1985 |
| 5 | New Zealand | 7th Jan 2001 | 11th Feb 2001 |
| 5* | New Zealand | 19th Jan 2005 | 5th Mar 2005 |
| 5 | Pakistan | 6th Dec 1985 | 18th Nov 1986 |
| 5 | Pakistan | 30th Oct 1987 | 14th Oct 1988 |
| 5 | West Indies | 2nd May 2001 | 16th May 2001 |
* unbroken sequences
Note: The worst ever losing streak at home soil for any side in ODIs is of 21 matches by Bangladesh from October 1988 to November 2002, followed by 17 by Zimbabwe from June 2001 to December 2002.
More from rediff