2021 - A year to forget for England in Tests

England succumbed to a new low when they lost the third Ashes Test against Australia. This was their ninth Test defeat in 2021 equaling Bangladesh’s record which they registered in the year 2003. England and Bangladesh are now joint-top for most losses by a team in a calendar year. Joe Root and his team played 15 Tests this year with victories coming in only four of them while they managed to draw two matches.

Bangladesh and West Indies are joint-second for suffering five defeats this year. Zimbabwe lost four Tests while Asian teams India and Sri Lanka faced defeats on three occasions. Pakistan and South Africa lost two Tests while Afghanistan, Australia, and New Zealand all lost a Test each.

The four wins which the English side achieved were all against the Asian teams Sri Lanka and India. England won two Tests at the start of the year against Lankan Lions at their own backyard while they beat India twice, once each in home and away.

They lost a total of five Tests against India (3 away and 2 at home), one against the Kiwis at home and three in the ongoing Ashes series. It has been an appalling year for the 2019 World Cup Champions as their batting continues to struggle in the longest format of the game.

England equaled their tally of most Test ducks in a calendar year

With 54 ducks in Tests in 2021, England equaled their own record of registering as many ducks which they listed way back in the year 1998. They are now at the joint-top position for most ducks by a team in a calendar year. Their batters from positions 1 to 7 alone have accumulated 34 ducks which goes to show their struggle with the bat notably on this Ashes tour.

Except for captain Joe Root, no other player has looked like scoring runs as the skipper has amassed record 1708 runs this year with the second batter behind him being Rory Burns with just 530 runs. Such was the poor state of affairs in the batting department that the third most source of runs in the year for England were Extras (412).

The West Indies registered 44 ducks in the year 2000 and are second in the list. Australia and India occupy the third and fourth spot as they listed 40 and 39 ducks in the year 1999 and 2018 respectively. In 2021, team India is second behind England with 35 ducks to their name.

Most ducks for a team in a calendar year

England has lost eight Tests each in four different years as they recorded all those losses in the years 1984, 1986, 1993 and 2016. With just one series victory this year against Sri Lanka and notably losing the Ashes to rivals Australia, 2021 has certainly not been a great year for the England side as fingers will raised on Joe Root’s captaincy with the team looking down and out in the ongoing Ashes series.

Most losses in Tests in a calendar year:

Most ducks by teams in 2021