The first Test between West Indies and South Africa in Trinidad ended in a draw on Sunday, breaking a streak of 28 consecutive wins/losses in Test cricket.
South African captain Temba Bavuma won the toss and chose to bat first. Only 15 overs of play were possible on day one due to rain, which saw the Proteas score 45-1. They then batted for the whole of day two and the early part of day three, posting 357.
West Indies then went in to bat, scoring 53-1 by lunch on day three, which was also affected by rain post-lunch. Only 71.4 overs were bowled, and at the end of the day the hosts were 145-4. Day four saw more rain, and only 29.5 overs of play in all, but it was a fast-moving one as South Africa managed to bowl West Indies out and get to 30-0 in five overs, a lead of 154 runs.
On the final day, South Africa moved fast, declaring at 173-3, setting up a target of 298 for the hosts in just over two sessions of play. When captain Kraigg Brathwaite fell in the first over, it signalled the start of a potential collapse for West Indies, but aided by a bit of rain and some courageous batting by Alick Athanaze (92 off 116), they managed to save the game, finishing at 201-5 before the match was officially declared as drawn.
Test cricket's all-time longest result streak now stands at 28 matches
On the face of it, this result may be a bore draw, considering the significant influence of the rain. Had it not affected the match, there would almost certainly have been a winner.
However, the weather has helped bring about a historic result as there have been 28 matches between this draw and the previous one in Test cricket, between West Indies and India at this very venue from July 20-24, 2023*. This is an all-time record.
The previous record for most number of Test matches between draws was 23, which took place in just over seven months between Bangladesh v Sri Lanka in Chattogram (May 15-19, 2022) and Pakistan v New Zealand in Karachi (December 26-30, 2022).
There was a close instance of 23 Tests between draws happening in the nineteenth century after England and Australia drew at The Oval in August 1884. Following this, there were 22 Tests with a result, and one match abandoned without a toss due to bad weather in Manchester in 1890 (the first in history). The next draw came between these two sides at Lord's in July 1893, nearly a decade after the previous one.
Read more: 'I believe in a higher purpose' – Sanju Samson on ODI snub after scoring century
There have been two other instances of 20-plus matches between draws; November 2016-March 2017 (20 matches) and March 2017 to October 2017 (22 matches).
(*For the more trivia-inclined: It is just the second time ever that consecutive draws in Test cricket have come at the same venue, between a different pair of teams. The last time this happened was England v Pakistan at Lord's in June 1971, followed by England v India at Lord's in July 1971.)
Sanju Samson has reacted to his ODI snub despite scoring a century in his last match, saying he prefers to stay positive and focus on the things he can control.
— Wisden (@WisdenCricket) August 11, 2024
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First draw in over a year: The longest gap in more than half a century
The length of time between draws is also significant here, even though it may not be an all-time record. Measured between start days of matches, it had been over a year – 384 days to be precise – since Test cricket's last draw.
The last time there was a gap of more than one year between draws in Test matches, it came between India v Australia in Kanpur (November 15, 1969) and Australia v England in Brisbane (November 27, 1970). This was 377 days long, but only seven Tests were played between these results.
The last gap of more than 384 days was 400 days, between South Africa v Australia in Johannesburg (February 10, 1950) and New Zealand v England in Christchurch (March 17, 1951). This period saw 10 Test matches between the results.
There have been several longer gaps in terms of time between them – the World Wars mark two significant ones, and the reduced number of Test teams during the late 19th and early 20th centuries means there are a few from that era as well.
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