In a cricket match series, when one team loses all matches, it is said that the winning team has whitewashed the losing team. Some of the Test series whitewashes are described below.
First whitewash
The first whitewash occurred during the Ashes series in 1886 when Australia toured England. In the 1st Test at Old Trafford, Manchester, England won by 4 wickets. In the 2nd Test at Lord’s, London, England won by an innings and 106 runs. The venue for the 3rd Test was Kennington Oval, London, where England won by an innings and 217 runs.
Latest whitewash
The most recent whitewash took place in 2007 when Bangladesh toured Sri Lanka. Sri Lanka won by an innings and 234 runs in the 1st Test at Sinhalese Sports Club Ground, Colombo. The 2nd Test was played at P Saravanamuttu Stadium, Colombo and Sri Lanka won by an innings and 90 runs. The 3rd Test was played at Asgiriya Stadium, Kandy, where Sri Lanka won by an innings and 193 runs.
Whitewash in 5 match Test series
In the 2006-07 season, when England toured Australia, 5 Test matches were played. Australia won the 1st Test at Brisbane Cricket Ground, Woolloongabba, by 277 runs. The 2nd Test at Adelaide Oval was won by Australia by 6 wickets. The venue for the 3rd Test was Western Australia Cricket Association Ground, Perth, where Australia won by 206 runs. The 4th Test at Melbourne Cricket Ground was won by Australia by an innings and 99 runs. Sydney Cricket Ground was the venue of the 5th Test where Australia won by 10 wickets.
Some other examples of whitewashes are as follows:-
| Year | Host team | Visiting team |
|---|---|---|
| 1959 | England | India |
| 1969-70 | South Africa | Australia |
| 1979-80 | Australia | England |
| 1990-91 | Pakistan | New Zealand |
| 2000-01 | Australia | West Indies |