New Zealand one win short of entering an elite club of 10 successive ODI wins

New Zealand have won 9 ODIs on the trot after defeating West Indies in Wellington on Saturday. (Source: Reuters)

New Zealand has won nine straight ODIs since they defeated Pakistan 2-0 at home in a two-match bilateral series. During the World Cup too New Zealand remained unbeaten in the league stage of the tournament and with the 143-run win over West Indies in the quarter-final, the dream run has continued.
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New Zealand has lost just four of the last 21 ODIs that they have played since December 2014. This included two losses in United Arab Emirates (UAE) against Pakistan and two losses at home to Sri Lanka in a seven-match series in January 2015.

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But things changed since the two-match series against Pakistan.

During the league stage of the World Cup, New Zealand struggled with a narrow win over Australia by one wicket. They were also stretched by Scotland and Bangladesh, as the Black Caps won by three wickets. The rest of the four wins were flawless as New Zealand almost always romped home in style.

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Now, New Zealand needs one more win to join consistent ODI sides of the past who have posted more than 10 consecutive ODI wins in a row.

The most successful sides have been Ricky Ponting’s Australia with 21 wins from January 2003 to May 2003. The next best sides have been South Africa (February 2005-October 2005) and Pakistan (November 2007-June 2008) with 12 successive wins.

The original trendsetters were Clive Lloyd’s West Indies who won 11 ODI wins in a row from June 1984 to February 1985. Australia also won 11 matches successively from March 2007 to April 2007.

West Indies (January 1988-March 1988), Australia (February 1990-May 1990, January 2001-February 2001, October 2006-January 2007, November 2009-February 2010), Pakistan (April 1990-November 1990), South Africa (January 1996-March 1996, October 2000-January 2001 and February 2010-October 2010), England (February 2012-July 2012) and Sri Lanka (December 2013-May 2014) have registered 10 consecutive wins in a row.

Two sides entered a World Cup with successive wins South Africa during the 1996 edition and Australia in 2003. Unfortunately, South Africa’s unbeaten run was ended by a Brian Lara-inspired West Indies in the 1996 quarter-final, whereas Australia’s run continued unabated even much after the 2003 edition.

Australia’s 11 successive wins came during the 2007 World Cup when they won without losing a single match during the tournament.

Source:: Indian Express