Top 10 Teams With Most Wins In Test Cricket

Test matches are considered to be the highest standard and the most pristine form of the game. The first officially recognised Test match took place between 15 and 19 March 1877 and was played between England and Australia at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG), where Australia won by 45 runs.

Currently, there are 12 Test playing nations; the latest entry being Afghanistan and Ireland in May last year. Zimbabwe’s Test status was voluntarily suspended in 2006, because of poor performances; it returned to Test competition in August 2011.

Although the introduction of T20 cricket has curtailed the growth of Test cricket, but ICC is trying various means to revive the purest form of the game. They recently introduced the ICC World Test Championship which will run for two runs to give a context to the bilateral series.

Any sport is about winning or losing and Test cricket is no different. Although there is a scope of a draw, but teams strive for a win which measures their success rate in the game. The top-notch sides like India, Australia, and England have been dominant forces since their entry in the Test foray alongside other teams.

We at Cricket Addictor will take a look at the top ten teams with most win in the history of Test Cricket:

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10. Zimbabwe

Zimbabwe was granted Test status by the ICC in July 1992 and played its first Test match in October that year, against India at Harare Sports Club. They became the ninth country to play Test cricket. However, the start was not at all good as they lost 29 of their first 30 matches.

Meanwhile, due to the worsening political situation and exodus of players, Zimbabwe decided to stop playing Test cricket. They returned to Test cricket on 4 August 2011 after a six-year exile, hosting Bangladesh in a one-off Test match at Harare. The national team’s re-introduction to Test cricket was successful, as they won by 130 runs

So far, they have managed to win only 12 Tests out of 110 matches with 69 losses and 28 draws. As a result, they find themselves in the tenth spot in the list of most wins by a Test-playing nation.

9. Bangladesh

Bangladesh began their journey in Test cricket when they hosted India in Dhaka in 2000. Although India won the match by nine wickets, the debutant surpassed all the expectations by matching their neighbours.

Till now, Bangladesh have played 119 Tests, winning 14 of them to occupy the ninth spot in the list of most Test wins by a team. Their 100th Test came against Sri Lanka in 2017. Their first victory was against team Zimbabwe, and the next two came against the West Indies team.

They hold the record for most consecutive losses in Tests (21, between 2000 and 2002). But results have improved predominantly at home. They have secured draws against New Zealand, Pakistan, India and South Africa and win against England, Sri Lanka and Australia.

8. Sri Lanka

The International Cricket Conference (ICC) granted Sri Lanka Test status in 1981, which made Sri Lanka the eighth Test cricket playing nation. They played their first Test match against England in Colombo in 1982. Sri Lanka had to wait for three long years to register their first win beating India.

They won their first overseas Test match when Sri Lanka defeated New Zealand in 1995 in Napier under the leadership of Arjuna Ranatunga. The victory also helped them secure their first overseas series win.

Since then, the Islanders have played 292 games till now winning 92 of them and securing 88 draws. Sri Lanka has registered more wins against Pakistan and Bangladesh than any other team. Sri Lanka had whitewashed Zimbabwe three times, Bangladesh once and Australia once in Test cricket.

7. New Zealand

New Zealand, also known as the Black Caps played their first Test in 193 against England in Christchurch, becoming the fifth country to play Test cricket. The beginning; however, was not at all smooth for them.

The Kiwis had to wait until 1956, more than 26 years, for its first Test victory, against the West Indies at Eden Park in Auckland. They recorded seven more victories in the next 20 years but gradually picked up. Since then, New Zealand have been one of the consistent sides in the world.

The Black Caps have featured in as many as 446 Test matches and have won only 105 of those. As a result, they occupy the seventh spot in the list of most Test wins by a country.

6. Pakistan

Pakistan have produced some of the talented cricketers the cricketing world have ever witnessed. They earned the Test status on 28 July 1952, following a recommendation by India, and made its Test debut against India at Feroz Shah Kotla Ground, Delhi, in October 1952.

The beginning was not at all good as they went down in their first match. They gradually made footholds post-1970 giving tough fights to top-notch sides. Notably, in the 1930s and 40s, several Pakistani Test players had played Test cricket for the Indian cricket team before the creation of Pakistan in 1947.

So far, Pakistan have played 433 Test matches, winning 138, losing 133 and drawing 162. They are currently in the sixth spot in the list of most Test wins.

5. India

India made their entry into the Test foray on 25 June 1932 at Lord’s, becoming the sixth team to be granted Test cricket status. In its first fifty years of international cricket, India was one of the weaker teams, winning only 35 of the first 196 Test matches it played.

From 1932 India had to wait until 1952, almost 20 years for its first Test victory. The team, however, gained strength in the 1970s with the emergence of some world-class players. Since then, they have gone from strength to strength and is currently the top-ranked Test team.

So far, India have played 546 Test matches winning 159 of those games. On the other hand, they have lost 168 and managed to secure 218 draws. They have played the most against England.

4. South Africa

In 1889, South Africa became the third test-playing nation when it played against England at Port Elizabeth, led by Owen Robert Dunnell. Their record in the early stages of their Test cricket remains the worst among all current Test-playing nations with ten defeats and just a solitary draw from their first eleven Tests.

The Proteas recorded their first Test win against England in 1906, which took them 17 years. But the team grew in strength and played to their potential after the apartheid period. South Africa have recorded most wins against England followed by Australia.

Until now, they have played 441 games winning 167 Tests while losing 150 matches out of them. South Africa will hope to better their record in the coming days considering the team they possess.

3. West Indies

From the mid-late 1970s to the early 1990s, the West Indies team was the strongest in the world across the formats. The Caribbeans registered their first Test victory in 1950 against England. The gradually picked mileage and was a force to reckon with post-1970.

West Indies set a then-record streak of 11 consecutive Test victories in 1984 and inflict two 5–0 clean sweeps against England. However, throughout the 1990s and 2000s, however, West Indian cricket declined, largely owing to the failure of the West Indian Cricket Board.

But solely based on their dominance in the early days, West Indies occupy the third spot in the list of most wins by a Test-playing nation. They have won 175 of the 550 matches alongside 175 draws.

2. England

England and Australia were the first teams to play a Test match (15–19 March 1877). They were always a force to reckon with and their rivalry with the Aussies is one of the fiercest battles in Test cricket.

The Three Lions have always produced some of the brilliant players in the longer formats of the game. England have so far played 1029 Test matches winning 375 of those while they finished on the losing side in 305 occasions.

England are the only team in the history of Test cricket to have secured 100 victories by an innings. They are currently in second place in the list of most Test wins by a team after Australia. England will hope to better their records and go past their arch-rivals in the near future.

1. Australia

The Australian cricket team participated in the first Test match at the Melbourne Cricket Ground in 1877, defeating an English team by 45 runs. Since then, they didn’t have to look back and marched to be the most successful Test team.

The so-called ‘Golden Age’ of Australian Test cricket occurred around the end of the 19th century and the beginning of the 20th century. The Aussies also presented arguably the best batsman to play the game – Sir Don Bradman.

Australia has played 834 Test matches, winning 394, losing 226, drawing 212 and tying 2. They are the most successful team in Test cricket history, in terms of overall wins, win-loss ratio and wins percentage.

(All Stats Updated Till 19th January, 2021)