Home Advantage in Tests - A myth or reality, most talked-about term explained in numbers

India's Rishabh Pant (Left) and England Captain Ben Stokes (Right) (Source:AFP)

In the last couple of years, the term ‘home advantage’ or in other words, ‘home dominance’ has been one of the most discussed and debated topics in the context of Test Cricket. A lot of former cricketers, commentators, active captains, and coaches have spoken a lot about this subject of taking ‘home advantage’ to dominate the visiting teams at the home turf. 

A couple of cricket experts have also opined that the teams are mostly building their system and the mix of players, keeping ‘home dominance’ as their top priority to excel in the game and improve the numbers in the longest format of the game. Meanwhile, they further argue that these kinds of ‘system-built’ teams are prone to failure when it comes to winning the matches away from home. 

With that said, here we’ll understand the psychology behind this famous and most-talked about term in Test cricket. By focusing on the numbers, the analysis will take us to the answer of our primary question if anything like ‘home advantage’ really exists in the longest format of the game or it’s just a ‘myth of mindset’. 

Pitch Preparation - The initiation point of this entire discourse

The ‘profit of pitch preparation’ mindset is something that has raised controversies in the cricketing fraternity on several occasions. The duality of teams’ responses while reacting to a pitch has also been something which has never been on the same page. It also reflects the attitude and response of any team while talking about a pitch of their home ground and an away surface or pitch that belongs to any other country. 

In the recent couple of days, the Kolkata Test between India and South Africa ending in three days and the Perth Test of the Ashes 2025 ending in two days, can be considered as the fresh case studies to take as a sample in this discussion. After the conclusion of the Kolkata Test between India and South Africa, some analysts named it as ‘awful’ and a ‘disappointment’ for Test cricket. 

But on the contrary, the same analysts were found delivering completely different analyses while talking about the first Ashes Test between England and Australia in Perth; interestingly, the Perth Test concluded within just two days in which there were very little talks about the pitch. 

So, this dual analytical approach also raises a question on the psyche behind analyzing the pitches of the subcontinent compared to the SENA surfaces. Who will decide if a pitch is ‘perfect’ or ‘poor’ for a Test match. In a broader frame, there will be a completely different answer if we talk about the level of cricket played by all the top four teams, Australia, England, South Africa, and India at the surfaces of the Eden Gardens and the Perth Stadium. 

The teams collapsed on the same turf, which seemed to be easier to play for the opposite side, and the move to take ‘home advantage’ backfired for India in the Kolkata Test. Speaking of the Perth Test, star Australia opener Travis Head smashed a 123-run knock off just 86 balls in the fourth innings of the same game, which saw his side getting bundled at 132 in the first innings. 

Most of the time, it's about the skill-set of the players, experience and their knack for adapting to the tougher conditions rather than throwing a surface under the bus after a horrific performance. 

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‘Dominance at Home’ vs ‘Away Miseries’ - The numbers narrate the narrative 

While taking this discussion deep and diving into the numbers, we’ll take the top-five ranked Test teams as our sample size and look at their performance, both away and home. While all the SENA countries are there in the top five rankings of the Test teams, the number-four India is there to represent the subcontinent in this debate about the ‘home advantage’ or ‘home dominance’. 

SENA Countries at home

SENA countries have good numbers and a commendable track record at home, while their numbers, even collectively, are below ‘average’ in India. At home, Australia have won 263 games while losing 103, alongside 84 drawn games and a tied game in the 451 games they have played. England have played 558 Tests in their backyard, winning 241 games and losing 132 games, with 185 games ending in a ‘draw’. 

Speaking of New Zealand, they have almost an equal record of wins and losses at home, with 76 wins and 71 losses, alongside 88 ‘drawn’ games in their 235 Tests so far. Last but not least, South Africa have played 254 games at home, registering 121 wins and getting defeated in 77 games, with 56 ‘drawn’ games. So, it can be said undoubtedly that SENA countries have a strong hold at their home surfaces, which is visible in their performances. 

SENA Countries (Combined) in India 

But the SENA countries, collectively, have very poor numbers in India, as they have won just 41 games while losing 77 games, alongside a tied game and 64 ‘drawn’ games in India. This shows a clear difference in their ‘home dominance’ and ‘struggle in subcontinent. 

Apart from the basic numbers discussed, let’s get a bit more into the details as there is a belief in Test cricket that, ‘you have to pick 20 wickets to win a Test match’. So, now we’ll analyze the home away performances of the bowlers of the SENA countries and the Indian bowlers. The most common and famous perception about the SENA pitches is that they are mostly the pacers’ paradise. 

Leading wicket-takers for SENA Countries in SENA since Jan 1, 2005

In the almost last 21 years since Jan 1, 2025, The two former legendary English pacers, James Anderson and Stuart Broad dominating the list of top five bowlers with most wickets in SENA countries with 542 and 529 wickets, is enough to get the term “pacers’ paradise” justified for these pitches. 

While the third ranked-bowler in this list, Nathan Lyon (378 wickets in SENA) has a difference of 151 wickets with the number-two Board, which states how rarely the spinners dominate in the SENA countries. Lyon is again followed by two pacers, his teammate Mitchell Starc (327 wickets) and former Proteas legend Dale Steyn (318). 

Leading wicket-takers for SENA Countries in India since Jan 1, 2025

On the contrary, the numbers of SENA bowlers in India in almost the last 21 years narrates a story which is completely south to their numbers in SENA countries.

Lyon topping the list with 56 wickets, followed by the only pacer in the list, James Anderson (44 wickets) reflects the spin-dominant nature of the Indian pitches. It is further justified in the same list of top five by the three spinners, Ajaz Patel (32 wickets), Greame Swann (28 wickets), and Monty Panesar (28), following Anderson. 

Leading wicket-takers for India in India Since Jan 1, 2025

Speaking from the other perspective, the same kind of difference is visible in the performances of Indian bowlers, at home and in SENA countries in the same time span. 

The top five leading wicket-takers for India in India is another testimonial to declare the CV of Indian pitches as ‘spin-friendly’. It is clearly visible with four spinners in the list, including only one pacer, Ishant Sharma on the fourth spot with 104 wickets. The former off-spin legend Ravichandran Ashwin tops this list with 383 wickets, followed by Ravindra Jadeja (252 wickets). Furthermore, Harbhajan Singh is placed on the third spot with 134 wickets. The fourth spinner in this list is the former left-arm off spinner Pragyan Ojha (101 wickets). 

Leading wicket-takers for India in SENA Countries since Jan 1, 2005 

Once again, what proves the point of ‘home dominance’ in the context of Indian bowlers as well, is the list of top five leading wicket-takers for India in the SENA countries. The top-five in this list includes all the pacers, who have registered the most number of wickets for India in the SENA countries. 

It includes Jasprit Bumrah at top with 159 wickets, followed by Ishant Sharma (130 wickets) at second. Furthermore, Mohammed Shami (123 wickets), Zaheer Khan (92 wickets), and Mohammed Siraj (91 wickets) are there in the list. 

Conclusion - The answer to the ultimate question 

The above-discussed numbers and data analysis clearly concludes the answer to the question if ‘home advantage in Tests’ is just a myth or a reality on the ground. Furthermore, it also gives an analyzed statistical justification for the answer that, “yes, the ‘home dominance’ or ‘home advantage’ is a reality in Test Cricket, that holds a strong impact in the result of the games and the position of the teams in the Test rankings.” 

Besides that, the numbers explained in this analysis also tell that the teams are mostly ‘system-built’ for home dominance, which sometimes backfires in a horrific manner. 

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