Famous ODI whitewashes in England's history

Ajit Vijaykumar 08:17 24/06/2018
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Mail
  • Pinterest
  • LinkedIn
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • WhatsApp
  • Pinterest
  • LinkedIn
  • England are on the brink of making it 5-0 against the Aussies.

    England are on the verge of history as they aim for a 5-0 ODI series sweep against Australia, which will be their first ever against their Ashes rivals in any format.

    The Three Lions have been at the receiving end of a few cleansweeps against their old enemy over the years but the tables have been turned this time with a rampant English batting line-up making a mockery of the Aussie bowling attack.

    If Eoin Morgan’s team do defeat Australia in the fifth ODI at Old Trafford on Sunday, it will be their second ever 5-0 ODI series win in history.

    Also, it will be just the fourth time England have won all matches of a bilateral ODI series of four matches or more.

    Here are England’s ODI series whitewashes involving four matches or more.

    DEFEAT ZIMBABWE 5-0 IN 2001

    Andy Flower was part of a strong Zimbabwe team in 2001.

    Andy Flower was part of a strong Zimbabwe team in 2001.

    The Zimbabwe side of early the 2000s was a fine unit and had world-class batsmen like Andy Flower, Grant Flower and Alastair Campbell, plus a spirited bowling attack. In the end, it was a walk in the park for England as they registered wins by five wickets, eight wickets, four wickets, 70 runs and seven wickets in Harare and Bulawayo.

    For the Englishmen, Nick Knight was the top-scorer with 302 runs and Matthew Hoggard picked up 10 scalps.

    DEFEAT ZIMBABWE 4-0 IN 2004

    Zimbabwe had weakened considerably by 2004.

    Zimbabwe had weakened considerably by 2004.

    A substantially weakened Zimbabwe outfit following the exodus of established players following political turmoil in the country. Zimbabwe captain Tatenda Taibu had a thankless job as England cruised to wins by five wickets, 161 runs, eight wickets and 74 runs without even trying that hard.

    For the record, Michael Vaughan scored more than 200 runs and Darren Gough took seven wickets.

    DEFEAT PAKISTAN 4-0 IN 2012

    Steven Finn was in fine form in 2012.

    Steven Finn was in fine form six years ago.

    One of the most stunning performances by a ‘visiting’ team in the UAE. Pakistan are a tough nut to crack on the slow surfaces in Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Sharjah but England, led by Alastair Cook at the time, defeated a strong Pakistan line-up that had Misbah ul Haq, Shahid Afridi and Saeed Ajmal, by 130 runs, 20 runs, nine wickets and four wickets.

    Cook smashed 323 runs from four matches while pacer Steven Finn picked up 13 wickets. What’s even more commendable is that it came after England’s shock 3-0 defeat in the preceding Test series.

    Note: England registered 4-0 wins over South Africa (2008), Australia (2012) and West Indies (2017) but they were originally five-match series.

    Recommended