The series against Bangladesh followed, and although Bangladesh had become a much-improved side following a stellar display in the 2007 World Cup in the West Indies, they were no match to Pakistans steady batsmen and menacing spin attack, which included Shahid Afridi. Ben Stokes felt "blessed" to have taken part in one of the all-time great Test finishes and has no r. Ben Stokes felt "blessed" to have taken part in one of the all-time great Test finishes and has no r. Watch. West Indies domination in the 70s and 80s, Australia's domination in both test and ODIs, Sri Lanka's destructive opening pairs, India's rise in the Sourav Ganguly and Mahendra Singh Dhoni era, all these remind us of the times when the respective nations were the best at what they did. Of the 22 Tests, they drew just two and won 20 and went on a world record 16-game winning run in Tests that hasn't come close to being broken since then. Can the WPL make women's cricket in India mainstream? The second Test in contrast, was an easy win but would never be forgotten for Jason Gillespies double hundred batting at No.3. It is one of the greatest modern streaks in cricket history and the unique thing about Australia's unbeaten streak at the Gabba is that it is still in progress. They beat South Africa 3-0 at home, West Indies 2-0 away and New Zealand 3-0 at home before this 4-0 series win. In beating Malaysia in the final of the ACC Women's T20 Championship in Kuala Lumpur, they levelled the record for 20 matches without a loss previously set by England a decade ago. Published Date. Short's super streak continues with unbeaten 81 in Albury Short came to the wicket with the Vics at a shaky 4-108, but struck nine boundaries in a watchful 150-ball knock. Pakistan were also to play 2 Tests in South Africa since the countries needed to focus on the upcoming World Cup, incidentally in South Africa. Teams with longest unbeaten streaks at home in ODIs. The amazing all-rounder Keith Mill operator was the only one to highlight in all 25 matches. If they played extremely well, they could easily beat the best in the business. By winning the third match of the series, India won the three-match series 1-0 and made history. What's extraordinary about Australia is that they hold the second position or the join-most position as well because they repeated the feat between 26 December 2005 to 2 January 2008. Cricwizz lets you have Content-in-your-hands (not only in-your-eyes unlike traditional cricket websites), Copyright 2020 Cricwizz. They are not just first but they also hold the second spot with 12 and 11 successive T20I wins respectively. But at Kolkata, fate contrived Australia as VVS Laxman scored 281 while Dravid scored 180 to win India a match after following on in the second innings. While Kane Williamson played an inspiring knock to save the home team, he surpassed Ross Taylor on top of the list of most Test runs for New Zealand. READ MORE Any guesses how far they are? Today we will dive deep into the winning streaks of teams in every format of the game. The longest winning streak in Test cricket - Twice: Australia toured India in 2001 for a 3-match Test series after winning 15 successive Tests. Athletics Ed Moses, 122 races American 400 metre hurdles Ed Moses won 122 consecutive races between 1977 and. WPL FAQs - How many overseas players per XI? Their fine run started in 2017. The current sequence started off with a 278-run win in Colombo (SSC) to which they added 13 more wins. Umpires need to call a dead ball if a batsman tries to switch-hit, How many boundaries should a T20 team attempt in an innings? Ponting and co. were given not much of a chance to win the championship after losing 2 finals of the home tri-series against England and whitewashed 0-3 in New Zealand. It involved wins against Ireland five times, Bangladesh four times, and Zimbabwe three times. Great cricket teams are famous for winning anywhere in the world but at the same time, those teams almost always have a mythical fortress of sorts where it is incredibly difficult to beat them and over the years, certain teams went through some stunning unbeaten streaks at particular venues. Find Out, VIDEO: Will You Go To The IPL? Ben Stokes Answers The Burning Question, IPL 2023: 3 Highest Individual Scores In IPL History, IPL 2023: Delhi Capitals Suffer Another Big Blow After Rishabh Pant, IPL 2023: 3 Best Options For Mumbai Indians To Replace Jasprit Bumrah, Best Funny Memes After Jasprit Bumrah Ruled Out Of IPL 2023 For MI. But then one of the most epic Test matches was witnessed at Hobart, where Adam Gilchrist hit an unbeaten 149 not out in only his second Test match, to win Australia a lost game. The only longer sequence came between January 1977 and January 1980, when India played 20 Tests at home, winning six and drawing 14. The Brendon McCullum-led side won only three matches in the entire tournament, finishing at the bottom of the table. Not many would have anticipated South Africa bouncing back, but that is what happened as an inspired display of cricket saw them winning the 7 match series, 4-1 despite Kevin Pietersens three hundreds. In the final Test at Sydney, Australia won by 10 wickets to give a fitting farewell to legends such as Justin Langer, Glenn McGrath and Shane Warne. Ashwin went past Harbhajan Singh's tally of 417 when he dismissed Latham on the fifth day. Pakistan is one of the world's great cricketing nations and for 45 years, the National Stadium at Karachi served as their fortress against visiting sides. In ODI cricket, Australia are first on the list with the longest winning streak of 21. In 87 matches, India won 65 matches and lost only 22, with a win percentage of 75.82%. All rights reserved |. Their run of, The Perth defeat to India also prevented Australia from equalling Pakistan's run of 26 Tests without a defeat (draws included). The glorious streak came to an end in February 1990, when they unexpectedly lost to England by 9 wickets at Sabina Park. Will a team ever manage to do so or will this record be untouched? They drew their first match there, at Lord's in June 1931, and endured 10 more draws and, South Africa suffered a winless period at home between January 1931 and March 1950. In March 2002, South Africa were devastated to lose a home series against Australia but achieved a consolation win in the final Test of the 3 match series, at Durban. Right from the time that the West Indies beat Pakistan by an innings and 174 runs at Sabina Park back in February 1958, they went through 19 Test matches and 31 years without defeat at the venue. Come the deciders and West Indies proved that although they were unsuccessful in defending their World Cup title, they were very much the Worlds No.1 ODI team. However, there were not many draws to be had for visiting teams as the hosts won 21 out of the 28 Tests played at the Gabba. This has equalled Indias longest streak at home without a defeat in Test cricket. Is England's use of signals from the balcony a big deal? Records / Test matches / Team records / Most consecutive series without defeat, The Wisden Trophy (West Indies in England), 1980, West Indies in Pakistan Test Series, 1980/81, The Wisden Trophy (England in West Indies), 1980/81, The Frank Worrell Trophy (West Indies in Australia), 1981/82, India in West Indies Test Series, 1982/83, West Indies in India Test Series, 1983/84, The Frank Worrell Trophy (Australia in West Indies), 1983/84, The Wisden Trophy (West Indies in England), 1984, The Frank Worrell Trophy (West Indies in Australia), 1984/85, New Zealand in West Indies Test Series, 1984/85, The Wisden Trophy (England in West Indies), 1985/86, West Indies in Pakistan Test Series, 1986/87, West Indies in New Zealand Test Series, 1986/87, West Indies in India Test Series, 1987/88, Pakistan in West Indies Test Series, 1987/88, The Wisden Trophy (West Indies in England), 1988, The Frank Worrell Trophy (West Indies in Australia), 1988/89, India in West Indies Test Series, 1988/89, The Wisden Trophy (England in West Indies), 1989/90, West Indies in Pakistan Test Series, 1990/91, The Frank Worrell Trophy (Australia in West Indies), 1990/91, The Wisden Trophy (West Indies in England), 1991, South Africa in West Indies Test Match, 1991/92, The Frank Worrell Trophy (West Indies in Australia), 1992/93, Pakistan in West Indies Test Series, 1992/93, West Indies in Sri Lanka Test Match, 1993/94, The Wisden Trophy (England in West Indies), 1993/94, West Indies in India Test Series, 1994/95, West Indies in New Zealand Test Series, 1994/95, Trans-Tasman Trophy (New Zealand in Australia), 2001/02, South Africa in Australia Test Series, 2001/02, Australia in South Africa Test Series, 2001/02, Australia v Pakistan Test Series (in Sri Lanka/United Arab Emirates), 2002/03, The Ashes (England in Australia), 2002/03, The Frank Worrell Trophy (Australia in West Indies), 2003, Bangladesh in Australia Test Series, 2003, Southern Cross Trophy (Zimbabwe in Australia), 2003/04, Border-Gavaskar Trophy (India in Australia), 2003/04, Australia in Sri Lanka Test Series, 2003/04, Border-Gavaskar Trophy (Australia in India), 2004/05, Trans-Tasman Trophy (New Zealand in Australia), 2004/05, Pakistan in Australia Test Series, 2004/05, Trans-Tasman Trophy (Australia in New Zealand), 2004/05, England in New Zealand Test Series, 1950/51, South Africa in England Test Series, 1951, England in West Indies Test Series, 1953/54, The Ashes (England in Australia), 1954/55, England in New Zealand Test Series, 1954/55, South Africa in England Test Series, 1955, England in South Africa Test Series, 1956/57, Basil D'Oliveira Trophy (England in South Africa), 2009/10, South Africa in India Test Series, 2009/10, Sir Vivian Richards Trophy (South Africa in West Indies), 2010, Pakistan v South Africa Test Series (in United Arab Emirates), 2010/11, India in South Africa Test Series, 2010/11, Australia in South Africa Test Series, 2011/12, Sri Lanka in South Africa Test Series, 2011/12, South Africa in New Zealand Test Series, 2011/12, Basil D'Oliveira Trophy (South Africa in England), 2012, South Africa in Australia Test Series, 2012/13, New Zealand in South Africa Test Series, 2012/13, Pakistan in South Africa Test Series, 2012/13, Pakistan v South Africa Test Series (in United Arab Emirates), 2013/14, India in South Africa Test Series, 2013/14, Australia in South Africa Test Series, 1957/58, The Ashes (England in Australia), 1958/59, Australia in Pakistan Test Series, 1959/60, The Frank Worrell Trophy (West Indies in Australia), 1960/61, The Ashes (England in Australia), 1962/63, South Africa in Australia Test Series, 1963/64, Australia in Pakistan Test Match, 1964/65, Pakistan in Australia Test Match, 1964/65, Australia in South Africa Test Series, 1935/36, The Ashes (England in Australia), 1936/37, Australia in New Zealand Test Match, 1945/46, The Ashes (England in Australia), 1946/47, Australia in South Africa Test Series, 1949/50, The Ashes (England in Australia), 1950/51, West Indies in Australia Test Series, 1951/52, South Africa in Australia Test Series, 1952/53, Pakistan in Australia Test Series, 1972/73, The Frank Worrell Trophy (Australia in West Indies), 1972/73, New Zealand in Australia Test Series, 1973/74, Australia in New Zealand Test Series, 1973/74, The Ashes (England in Australia), 1974/75, The Frank Worrell Trophy (West Indies in Australia), 1975/76, Pakistan in Australia Test Series, 1976/77, Australia in New Zealand Test Series, 1976/77, Centenary Test (England in Australia), 1976/77, West Indies in South Africa Test Series, 1998/99, South Africa in New Zealand Test Series, 1998/99, South Africa v Zimbabwe Test Series (in South Africa/Zimbabwe), 1999/00, England in South Africa Test Series, 1999/00, South Africa in India Test Series, 1999/00, South Africa in Sri Lanka Test Series, 2000, New Zealand in South Africa Test Series, 2000/01, Sri Lanka in South Africa Test Series, 2000/01, Sir Vivian Richards Trophy (South Africa in West Indies), 2000/01, South Africa in Zimbabwe Test Series, 2001/02, India in South Africa Test Series, 2001/02, Border-Gavaskar Trophy (Australia in India), 2008/09, India in New Zealand Test Series, 2008/09, Border-Gavaskar Trophy (Australia in India), 2010/11, New Zealand in India Test Series, 2010/11, The Wisden Trophy (England in West Indies), 1967/68, The Wisden Trophy (West Indies in England), 1969, The Ashes (England in Australia), 1970/71, England in New Zealand Test Series, 1970/71, Sri Lanka in Pakistan Test Series, 1985/86, Pakistan in Sri Lanka Test Series, 1985/86, Australia in Pakistan Test Series, 1988/89, Pakistan in New Zealand Test Series, 1988/89, India in South Africa Test Series, 1992/93, South Africa in Sri Lanka Test Series, 1993, South Africa in Australia Test Series, 1993/94, Australia in South Africa Test Series, 1993/94, South Africa in England Test Series, 1994, New Zealand in South Africa Test Series, 1994/95, Pakistan in South Africa Test Match, 1994/95, Centenary Test (South Africa in New Zealand), 1994/95, South Africa in Zimbabwe Test Match, 1995/96, England in South Africa Test Series, 1995/96, India in South Africa Test Series, 2006/07, Pakistan in South Africa Test Series, 2006/07, South Africa in Pakistan Test Series, 2007/08, New Zealand in South Africa Test Series, 2007/08, Sir Vivian Richards Trophy (West Indies in South Africa), 2007/08, South Africa in Bangladesh Test Series, 2007/08, South Africa in India Test Series, 2007/08, Basil D'Oliveira Trophy (South Africa in England), 2008, Bangladesh in South Africa Test Series, 2008/09, South Africa in Australia Test Series, 2008/09, Freedom Trophy (South Africa in India), 2015/16, New Zealand in India Test Series, 2016/17, Border-Gavaskar Trophy (Australia in India), 2016/17, The Ashes (England in Australia), 1884/85, The Ashes (England in Australia), 1886/87, The Ashes (England in Australia), 1887/88, England in South Africa Test Series, 1888/89, England in South Africa Test Match, 1891/92, ICC Super Series Test Match (ICC World XI in Australia), 2005/06, The Frank Worrell Trophy (West Indies in Australia), 2005/06, South Africa in Australia Test Series, 2005/06, Australia in South Africa Test Series, 2005/06, Australia in Bangladesh Test Series, 2005/06, The Ashes (England in Australia), 2006/07, Warne-Muralitharan Trophy (Sri Lanka in Australia), 2007/08, Border-Gavaskar Trophy (India in Australia), 2007/08, The Frank Worrell Trophy (Australia in West Indies), 2008, The Wisden Trophy (West Indies in England), 2009, England in Bangladesh Test Series, 2009/10, The Ashes (England in Australia), 2010/11, England in South Africa Test Series, 1927/28, The Ashes (England in Australia), 1928/29, South Africa in England Test Series, 1929, England in New Zealand Test Series, 1929/30, England in West Indies Test Series, 1929/30, England in New Zealand Test Series, 1977/78, The Ashes (England in Australia), 1978/79, New Zealand in India Test Series, 1995/96, England in Sri Lanka Test Series, 2007/08, Sri Lanka in West Indies Test Series, 2007/08, Sri Lanka in Bangladesh Test Series, 2008/09, Sri Lanka in Pakistan Test Series, 2008/09, New Zealand in Sri Lanka Test Series, 2009, Pakistan in New Zealand Test Series, 2010/11, Pakistan in West Indies Test Series, 2011, Pakistan v Sri Lanka Test Series (in United Arab Emirates), 2011/12, Pakistan in Bangladesh Test Series, 2011/12, Pakistan v England Test Series (in United Arab Emirates), 2011/12, New Zealand in Bangladesh Test Series, 2013/14, West Indies in New Zealand Test Series, 2013/14, India in New Zealand Test Series, 2013/14, New Zealand in West Indies Test Series, 2014, Pakistan v New Zealand Test Series (in United Arab Emirates), 2014/15, Sri Lanka in New Zealand Test Series, 2014/15, Pakistan v Australia Test Series (in United Arab Emirates), 2014/15, Pakistan v England Test Series (in United Arab Emirates), 2015/16, Pakistan v West Indies Test Series (in United Arab Emirates), 2016/17, West Indies in New Zealand Test Series, 2017/18, England in New Zealand Test Series, 2017/18, Pakistan v New Zealand Test Series (in United Arab Emirates), 2018/19, Sri Lanka in New Zealand Test Series, 2018/19, Bangladesh in New Zealand Test Series, 2018/19, New Zealand in Sri Lanka Test Series, 2019, England in New Zealand Test Series, 2019/20, Readers recommend - Curated tweets by ESPNcricinfo. * indicates that the sequence is ongoing United won by 6 wickets (with 4 balls remaining), Nepal won by 3 wickets (with 12 balls remaining), The longest winning and losing streaks, at home and abroad, Australia's victory against India at the SCG in 2008 was their 11th in a row at homeGetty Images, George Binoy is a senior sub-editor at Cricinfo. What is Australia's longest winning streak at home? List of the longest individual losing streaks of all time in each sport: . Edgbaston, Birmingham, (England 16 matches, 1902-1974) Edgbaston, Birmingham . WPL - a league long overdue, and already making dreams come true. Bangladesh played a one-off Test in Colombo as a part of the Asian Test Championship. 2023 Cricbuzz.com, Times Internet Limited . Top 6 fastest players to score 5000 runs in test cricket history, Top 5 Batsmen with most nineties in Test Cricket career. Australian Cricket Team of 2003 hold the record of longest winning streak in Cricket The team was on a low with Shane Warne banned due to drugs hours before their first game against Pakistan. Nathan Astle and Craig McMillan recorded this feat during the Ahmedabad Test in 2003. Ravichandran Ashwin: 2nd Fastest To Complete 450 Test Wickets. As much as it is hard to win a Test, whether home or away, it is even harder to remain unbeaten for any amount of time. 7 - Players, including Shreyas Iyer, to win the Player-of-the-Match award on men's Test debut for India. Your login session has expired. India Outperformed Australia in 2nd T20 Match, England gains advantage on the bowlers day, Top 10 Highest Run Scorers Against India in Test Cricket. However, that was the end of their joyous ride as they had drawn the first Test on the tour of England soon after, going on to lose the next two. Two months later, Australia had to cross over the border to play New Zealand in a 3-Test series. Victoria batted with increasing confidence at Lavington Sports Ground to end the day at 6-264 in response to NSW's 203. The current sequence started off with a 278-run win in Colombo (SSC) to . It was their longest unbeaten streak in Tests at home, a run that started after losing to South Africa in 2017. Zimbabwe were worse than West Indies, as Sri Lanka achieved another series whitewash with two Tests being innings victories. The previous most by an Indian captain was seven, under MS Dhoni in 2010. Today, however, we shall look at some teams that have had great home-runs in 50 overs cricket. Grow your visibility across sports enthusiasts and fans. Due to all these factors we have seen these streaks, The Longest Unbeaten streak at venues in test cricket. That streak ended in the first Test at Pune, where they lost to Australia by 333 runs. The Blues may have struggled to cross the thirty-game streak in the 2007-08 season, but they beat the record by 10 games in the 2004-05 season. Be the first one to comment on this story. Jadejas return to the international arena in 2023 will provide a much-needed boost to the Indian team. Edgbaston, Birmingham, (England 16 matches, 1902-1974). Australia won all the 3 Tests to humiliate their Trans-Tasman archrivals at home and that made it 9 in a row with no Tests to play until thegruellinghome summer against the declining West Indies, which involved 5 Tests. Out of those 25 Tests, England won 8 of them and almost all of them were big wins. Ravindra Jadeja was the wrecker-in-chief with career-best figures of 7 for 48 as India comlpeted a remarkable turnaround in Chennai on Tuesday (December 20) to complete a 4-0 series win over England. Cricket. Comeback of Ravindra Jadeja in 2023 in Border Gavaskar trophy against Australia. When it comes to the talk about the most noteworthy Test sides of all time, consistency over a period of time is the conclusive marker to compare. England had three diverse captains amid this stage: Colin Cowdrey (6 Tests), Tom Graveney (1 Test), and Beam Illingworth (19 Tests). But for that one defeat in Pune, Kohlis side might have actually been the holders of the world record now. Even though the streak came to an end in 1955, when South Africa handed England their first defeat at the venue in 50 years, Old Trafford remained one of the team's happy hunting grounds. According to the BBC, it's the longest winning streak by any professional athlete. Here are the most number of Test and ODI wins on the trot ever. England's domination of visiting teams at Old Trafford is one of the most famous unbeaten streaks and considering the fact that it spanned over a period of 49 years makes it a truly superb achievement. Ben Stokes just broke former New Zealand cricketer Brendon McCullums record of most Test sixes during the pink-ball Mount Maunganui Test against the hosts New Zealand. Bangladesh were the first to play the Proteas and were expectedly thrashed in both the Tests by innings defeats. The Nuggets have won 27 games in a row when Jokic has a triple-double . Sri Lanka, Australia and West Indies were involved in a tri-series but it was only looking evident that West Indies would win the tournament with the flawless cricket they were playing. And it comes as no surprise that with a 25-game unbeaten run that spread over nearly five years, it is Don Bradman's Invincibles team that takes the third spot. South Africa were given a proper pounding by Australia in Australia with the most memorable being a 7-wkt win at Sydney as Ponting became the first man to hit hundreds in both the innings of his 100th Test match, despite a brave declaration from Graeme Smith. And even in ODIs, with the number of matches increasing as ever in the calendar year, it is not easy for teams to dominate this format of the game as well. This is their joint-second longest streak of Test wins at home and another win (or even a draw) in the next Test on Friday will equal their longest . 18 This is India's longest unbeaten streak in Tests, going past their 17 match streak between September 1985 and March 1987. West Indies arrived soon after two months of the Bangladesh Test, but the team had already declined following the retirements of Courtney Walsh and Curtley Ambrose. Although they were unbeaten in 26 Tests, of those matches they won only nine and just three of them came away from home. They achieved 6 wins on the trot, coming at the fag end of the series which included beating England 2-0 in the best of 3 finals. (Photo Source: Getty Images). 2444, Top 5 longest unbeaten streaks in test cricket history. The lightning-quick pitch at Brisbane is probably the reason why Australia have been so dominant and over the years, plenty of teams have been blown away. But do you know which team has the highest number of consecutive wins in test matches? It goes to show their dominance in both the formats of the game then. Posted on May 31, 2021 in Uncategorized. Teams enjoy home advantage the most in test cricket as the pitch is laid out according to the home team and captains liking. 2. With an emphasis on not losing first and only then going for the win, this England side which had the likes of Geoffrey Boycott, Colin Cowdrey Derek Underwood, they didn't lose games but lost quite a few hearts. KKR's unbeaten run stretched from May 7, 2014, to April 8, 2015, as they won 10 games on a trot. 58 - Test wickets for Ashwin against New Zealand, the most for India, surpassing Bishen Bedi's 57. Still, being unbeaten for three years is an achievement that shouldn't be taken lightly. The time the Windies achieved 11 Test wins consecutively, was also incidentally marked by the same team winning 11 ODIs on the trot as well. Don't forget to share. His two losses in first 22 games as captain is also the joint-fewest for India, along with Sunil Gavaskar. The last two instances were against West Indies in Mohali in 1994 and against New Zealand in Kanpur in 2016. Duration 1:29. . Marsh Sheffield Shield 2022-23. Australia incidentally have won 16 Tests consecutively twice in cricket history. India had to suffer the same misery, as they played Australia next. Pakistan were unbeaten at home for six years between December 1980 and 1986, winning 14 and drawing 12 Tests. West Indies vs India: T20I series: Stats & Records broken, West Indies vs India: 4th T20I: Fantasy tips and predictions. Indian national cricket team AP Agarwal, Rohit Sharma, or someone out of the box? The team that tops this chart is the Sialkot Stallions of the National T20 Cup that takes place in Pakistan. At the Birmingham in the Edgbaston stadium in England the home team continued a long streak for 72 years ranging from 1902 to 1974 and it lasted for 16 test matches. The national team beat the host nation by five wickets in Saturday's final in Kuala Lumpur. It all started against their toughest competitors, Australia at home. The hosts did show some fight in the last Test at the Oval, but the other four matches had two innings victories and one was a 9-wicket win, followed by an 8-wicket win. Then there are a few venues which the team loves to play at, consider them lucky. The domination was so malignant that there were some two ten-wicket wins, on four occasions they won the match with an innings in hand, while on three occasions they managed to outplay their opponents by 180 or more than 180 runs. From October 2016 to May 2020, India achieved its longest streak - 42 months - as the World no.1 Test team. History (and analysts) includes an inclination of recollecting overwhelming Test teams the foremost: Clive Lloyds West Indies. Rohit Sharma Trolled Pakistan Cricket Team Like A Boss, VIDEO: Rohit Sharma Sent A Subtle Warning To Virat Kohli, Will Ben Stokes Be Available For Play-Offs In IPL 2023? Get the Latest Updates, Trends, Blogs, Stories, and News about Cricket and Bollywood A sizzling affair indeed! The West Indies were one of the most dominant sides in Test cricket history from the mid-1970s through to the early 1990s, but one venue where they were unbeatable for 31 years was at Sabina Park in Kingston, Jamaica. Australia have been the most dominant team in Test cricket over the past three decades and even though they have tailed off a bit in the recent years, their record at the Gabba remains as awe-inspiring as ever. India's win in the one-off Test against Bangladesh was not only Virat Kohli's sixth series since being appointed full-time time or India's 19th consecutive Test match without defeat but also elevated them into an elite list that comprises of some of the best sides to have ever played the game.