Australia's season in the sun

So much for Australia's waning aura. It did anything but wane during their home season in 2009-10. Apart from their batsmen showing an unusual distaste for scoring hundreds, visiting teams were given regular Australian hospitality - they were soundly thrashed. Australia did not lose a single game - Test, ODI, or Twenty20 - at home between November and February. They even won all the dead rubbers. So this week we've looked at where Australia's summer of 2009-10 ranks among the best seasons for a team. We've also checked out the worst as well.

Australia's run of 19 games is the most a team has played at home in a season without being defeated. They beat West Indies 2-0 in the Tests, 4-0 in the ODIs and 2-0 in the Twenty20s. The slips which ended the chance of a 100% win record were a draw in Adelaide and a wash-out in an ODI at the SCG. There were no such hurdles against Pakistan, however, and three whitewashes ensued - 3-0 in the Tests, 5-0 in the ODIs and 1-0 in the solitary Twenty20.

Australia's last home season of the decade was remarkable similar to the first. West Indies visited in 2000-01 for five Tests and suffered the first ever whitewash in series between these two countries. The fifth Test in Sydney extended Australia's winning streak to 15 - they would add one more before losing in Kolkata. Zimbabwe then joined West Indies and Australia for a tri-series, in which the hosts won four games each against the visitors before beating West Indies in the first two out of the best-of-three finals. No other team has ever played so many matches in a home season - 15 - and won all of them.

All internationals without a loss at home in a season

Team	Opposition	Season	Total		Tests	ODIs	T20Is		Won	Draw	Tied	NR	Lost
Australia	Pak,WI	2009/10	19		6	10	3		17	1	0	1	0
Australia	WI,Zim	2000/01	15		5	10	0		15	0	0	0	0
India	Aus,Eng	2008/09	11		6	5	0		8	3	0	0	0
England	NZ,Pak	1978	10		6	4	0		9	1	0	0	0
Sri Lanka	Ban,India,Pak	1997	10		2	8	0		7	2	0	1	0
West Indies	NZ	1984/85	9		4	5	0		7	2	0	0	0
West Indies	India	1988/89	9		4	5	0		8	1	0	0	0
New Zealand	Eng,SL	1982/83	8		2	6	0		8	0	0	0	0
Sri Lanka	Eng,NZ	1992/93	8		3	5	0		6	1	0	1	0
Pakistan	Ban	2003	8		3	5	0		8	0	0	0	0
Bangladesh	Scot,Zim	2006/07	8		0	7	1		8	0	0	0	0
New Zealand	Pak	1984/85	7		3	4	0		5	1	0	1	0
Pakistan	India	1989/90	7		4	3	0		2	4	0	1	0

Bangladesh and Zimbabwe hold the record for most home internationals in a season without a single victory - 10 matches each in 2001-02. Bangladesh hosted Zimbabwe and Pakistan for two Tests and three ODIs each. They drew the first Test against Zimbabwe, avoiding certain defeat thanks to rain on days four and five, but lost the next and the three ODIs that followed. They were beaten in everything by Pakistan, ending the season with nine defeats and a draw.

Before making their trip to Bangladesh, Zimbabwe had a suffered similar fate at home in September. They lost a Test series to South Africa 1-0 after playing a rain-affected draw and then lost eight ODIs: three to South Africa and five to England. That, though, isn't Zimbabwe's worst home season. In 2004, they were beaten 0-5 in ODIs and 0-2 in Tests by Sri Lanka, and 0-3 by Australia in another ODI series, losing all ten of their matches.

Winning all matches, or going without defeat, overseas in a season is a pretty hard ask and the best performances are by the West Indies side of the 1970s and 1980s. Their unbeaten World Cup campaigns in 1975 and 1979 - five and four ODIs - are the top two seasons in which a visiting team has won all their matches. They also won three ODIs, three Tests and drew two on the tour of England in 1976 - finishing unbeaten in eight games. They repeated the feat in 1980-81 in Pakistan, where they won all three ODIs, one Test and drew the other three Tests.

The table for worst seasons away from home for a team is headed by forgettable World Cup years by Bangladesh and Zimbabwe. However, West Indies' torrid travels in 2009-10 break into the top five. They began at the ICC Champions Trophy in South Africa and lost all three games after which they made the trip to Australia and won nothing.

All internationals without a win away from home in a season

Team	Opposition	Host Country	Season	Total		Tests	ODIs	T20Is		Won	Draw	Tied	NR	Lost
Zimbabwe	(6 teams)	Ban,India,SA,WI	2006/07	15		0	14	1		0	0	1	0	14
Bangladesh	(7 teams)	SA,SL	2002/03	13		2	11	0		0	0	0	1	12
Bangladesh	Aus,Pak	Aus,Pak	2003	13		5	8	0		0	0	0	0	13
West Indies	Aus,India,Pak	Aus,SA	2009/10	13		3	8	2		0	1	0	1	11
Zimbabwe	India,Pak,SA,SL,WI	India,Pak	1993/94	10		3	7	0		0	1	1	1	7
Zimbabwe	Aus,India	Aus	2003/04	10		2	8	0		0	0	0	1	9
Australia	India,Pak	India,Pak	1979/80	9		9	0	0		0	6	0	0	3
Sri Lanka	India,NZ	India,NZ	1982/83	9		3	6	0		0	1	0	0	8
New Zealand	India,Pak	India,Pak	1955/56	8		8	0	0		0	4	0	0	4
Sri Lanka	India,Pak	Pak,UAE	1985/86	8		3	5	0		0	1	0	0	7
New Zealand	India,Pak	India,Pak	1964/65	7		7	0	0		0	4	0	0	3
India	Eng,NZ,SL,WI	Eng	1979	7		4	3	0		0	3	0	0	4

Australia's awesome 2009-10 season isn't restricted to results at home. They've been special overseas as well. They won 26 matches - five Tests, 17 one-dayers and four Twenty20s - lost only two - ODIs in Nagpur and Delhi - and tied one Twenty20 against New Zealand in Christchurch. Had it not been for those defeats against India, Australia would have been unbeaten in 32 matches this season, by far the most for any team in any season. They still have the remainder of the tour of New Zealand to get through though.

All internationals without a loss overall in a season

Team	Opposition	Host Country	Season	Total		Tests	ODIs	T20Is		Won	Draw	Tied	NR	Lost
West Indies	Eng,Pak	Pak,WI	1980/81	13		8	5	0		8	5	0	0	0
England	NZ,Pak	Eng	1978	10		6	4	0		9	1	0	0	0
Pakistan	Aus,NZ	Aus,NZ,Pak	1964/65	8		8	0	0		2	6	0	0	0
Australia	Pak,WI	Aus,WI	1972/73	8		8	0	0		5	3	0	0	0
West Indies	Eng	Eng	1976	8		5	3	0		6	2	0	0	0
England	Aus,SA	Eng	1912	6		6	0	0		4	2	0	0	0
England	India,Pak	Eng	1967	6		6	0	0		5	1	0	0	0
England	NZ,WI	Eng	1969	6		6	0	0		4	2	0	0	0
Sri Lanka	Aus,India,Zim	SL	1996	6		2	4	0		6	0	0	0	0

The worst season for a team is the run Bangladesh endured in 2003 - 19 matches, 19 defeats. They lost an ODI to India by 200 runs, suffered four consecutive innings defeats, and came within a wicket of beating Pakistan in Multan.

All internationals without a win overall in a season

Team	Opposition	Host Country	Season	Total		Tests	ODIs	T20Is		Won	Draw	Tied	NR	Lost
Bangladesh	Aus,India,Pak,SA	Aus,Ban,Pak	2003	19		7	12	0		0	0	0	0	19
Bangladesh	(7 teams)	Ban,SA,SL	2002/03	18		4	14	0		0	0	0	2	16
Bangladesh	NZ,Pak,SL,Zim	Ban,NZ,Pak,SL	2001/02	14		8	6	0		0	1	0	0	13
West Indies	Aus,India,Pak,Zim	Aus,SA,WI	2009/10	14		3	8	3		0	1	0	1	12
Zimbabwe	India,NZ,Pak,SL	India,UAE,Zim	1992/93	13		4	9	0		0	2	0	0	11
Zimbabwe	Aus,Eng,SL	Eng,Zim	2004	12		2	10	0		0	0	0	0	12
New Zealand	India,Pak	India,NZ,Pak	1964/65	10		10	0	0		0	7	0	0	3
Zimbabwe	India,Pak,SA,SL,WI	India,Pak	1993/94	10		3	7	0		0	1	1	1	7
Bangladesh	India,SL	Ban,SL	2007	10		5	5	0		0	1	0	0	9
England	WI	Eng	1976	8		5	3	0		0	2	0	0	6
India	Eng,NZ,SL,WI	Eng	1979	7		4	3	0		0	3	0	0	4
Pakistan	WI	Pak	1980/81	7		4	3	0		0	3	0	0	4
Bangladesh	Eng,India,Zim	Ban,Kenya,Zim	2000/01	7		3	4	0		0	0	0	0	7