When does a cricket match officially start? When the bowler delivers the first ball of the match.
Not really!
The match officially starts when a coin toss happens. It’s a ritual linked with almost every sport.
While the toss doesn’t impact the outcome much, teams can choose if they want to bat first or bowl first. A few teams, though, didn’t get the opportunity to choose, as they lost the toss in back-to-back games.
This article will look at the teams that lost the most consecutive tosses in international cricket.
3. England | 11 Tosses Lost
England met with their bad luck in late 2022. And it stretched till mid-March 2023.
The Englishmen were up against Pakistan in the third Test when they lost their first toss of the streak. Then they lost three tosses against South Africa, two against New Zealand, and five against Bangladesh.
England’s 11-toss losing streak ended on March 14, 2023, though it didn’t save them from a T20I series clean sweep against Bangladesh. During the streak, England won five matches and lost six across all formats.
2. West Indies | 12 Tosses Lost
The West Indies were a step ahead of England back in 1999. The luck wasn’t on their side for 12 straight games.
It was in the fifth ODI against South Africa that their poor toss run started. They lost the toss in the next two ODIs as well.
Then the Caribbean side saw Australia win the toss in nine back-to-back matches – four Tests and five ODIs. The West Indies managed to win only four games, while they lost seven and pulled off a tie.
1. India | 15 Tosses Lost
India’s luck was even worse than England’s and the West Indies’. The Indian team lost a world record of 15 tosses in a row.
Their streak began against England in the fourth T20I on January 31, 2025. And from then the toss didn’t land in India’s favour in 15 consecutive international matches till July 31, 2025.
The toss, though, didn’t impact India’s results much. They won the first 10 games in a row, which included the 2025 Champions Trophy victory.
The streak ended in India’s first fixture against the UAE in the 2025 Asia Cup on September 10, 2025.
All Stats as of September 10, 2025.
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