Once blown away, touring sides now strike big blows
India and England have dominated as touring teams over the last five years and overseas conditions do not intimidate them anymore. But England will be up against India’s nearly impeccable home record too
NEW DELHI: Over a fairly long time in its history, Test cricket was used to home advantage compensating for overseas defeats. Subcontinent teams dished out dustbowls that conspired with heat and humidity to subdue tourists, knowing well they would be greeted with green tops or rock-hard pitches and overcast skies on away tours.
There were some exceptional travelling teams to be sure, the most dominant teams of their eras like the West Indies in the 1980s and Australia in the next two decades. Even Pakistan, throughout the 1980s and 90s, were better tourists than India (both played 78 Tests between 1 Jan 1980 and 31 Dec 1999; India won 4 and lost 27 while Pakistan won 23 and lost 25).
Yet, the truth was easy to see— results mostly favoured home teams.
We are witnessing something new now. In just the past few weeks, India won in Australia, West Indies in Bangladesh, England in Sri Lanka and now in India. In 2019, Australia drew England 2-2 away, the first time since 1972 that an Ashes series had failed to produce a winner. Between 2008 and 2017, South Africa won three back-to-back Test series in Australia. India too have won two consecutive series in Australia now.
Statistically, the success rate of touring teams (in terms of number of wins) has increased significantly if you compare the two most recent five-year periods—from 24.73% in 2011-2016 to 29.44% in 2016-21.
Within this, there are some who have managed to maintain their home advantage—like India, losing only their fourth Test in a decade with the most recent loss to England in Chennai—and some whose touring credentials are in tatters—like Australia, who have lost in South Africa, India, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh in the last five years. Their only salvation was the drawn Ashes series and the 2-0 win in New Zealand in 2016.
England, on the other hand, with their focus on home-grown spinners of Asian descent like Monty Panesar, Moeen Ali and Adil Rashid, have risen to the challenge of touring the subcontinent. Winning against India and Sri Lanka early in the last decade only spurred them to plan better with the next generation of spinners.
England are, no doubt, a very good team away from home. But they could be easily one of the best had they not lost to West Indies in 2019.
By comparison, India are the best and the most improved team away from home in the last five years, winning Tests in West Indies, Sri Lanka, England, South Africa and Australia. Armed with inarguably their best-ever pace attack, the assuring batting of Cheteshwar Pujara, Virat Kohli and Ajinkya Rahane, India’s dominance of Test cricket has been built on their ability to conquer all manner of overseas conditions. From being the worst touring team between 2011-16 with a 14.28 winning percentage, they have gone to the top of the pile in 2016-21 winning nearly half of their overseas fixtures. This phenomenal touring form all but overshadows India’s sustained home dominance, something that has been taken almost for granted over the years. With the expanding Indian Premier League bringing into its fold more overseas players, you expect touring teams to stand a better chance in India. But that has been not the case.
The defeat in Chennai was India’s fourth loss in 44 Tests at home in 10 years, two others coming in 2012 against England and one to Australia in 2017. India have an astonishing win percentage of 75% at home in the last 10 years, better than Australia’s
67.9%, South Africa’s 64.5% and England’s 58.2%. New Zealand don’t tour enough but have a fantastic home record as well, winning 25 out of 41 Tests.
There is no doubt India have dominated Test cricket for some years now; over the last decade or so, the task of upholding the subcontinent’s infamy as the final barrier for South Africa, England and Australia has fallen squarely on India’s shoulders. There are broadly two reasons engineering this shift in focus— Pakistan’s prolonged isolation as cricket hosts in the aftermath of the Lahore terrorist attack on the Sri Lankan team in 2009 and Sri Lanka’s sharply dipping fortunes post the retirements of Muttiah Muralitharan, Mahela Jayawardene, Kumar Sangakkara and Rangana Herath. Bangladesh, despite their strides in the shorter formats, are still a work in progress when it comes to Test cricket. Pakistan comprehensively defeated South Africa 2-0 in the recently concluded Test series at Rawalpindi but it was only their fifth Test at home since 2009. Unless England and Australia too visit in quick succession, Pakistan can’t complete the transition from the bland pitches of their adopted home in the UAE to the livelier tracks of Lahore or Rawalpindi. And Sri Lanka, for all their vaunted history of home dominance, have taken longer to cope with the loss of their legends. But India have gone from strength to strength, both home and away.