Spain has achieved something few would have expected when Ricky Ponting and Steve Waugh’s Australia set the benchmark more than two decades ago. The European side now holds the record for the longest winning streak in international cricket after extending their run to 24 consecutive victories.
Spain surpassed Australia’s previous mark of 20 wins when they beat Finland in their opening match of the Men’s T20 World Cup Sub Regional Europe Qualifiers on August 14. They have since continued their remarkable run, defeating the Isle of Man, Luxembourg and Bulgaria in Southern Finland.
Their latest victory was arguably the most emphatic. Chasing just 60 against Bulgaria on August 18, Spain reached the target in only 29 deliveries, winning by nine wickets.
The 24-match streak has been built largely through T20Is, including series victories over the Isle of Man and Jersey and two separate series against Croatia. The Croatia contests were split by Spain’s campaign in the 2024 ICC Men’s T20 World Cup Sub Regional Europe Qualifier, where they finished runners-up after one match was abandoned.
The scale of Spain’s achievement becomes clearer when compared with the Australian record they have replaced.
Australia’s previous record was established across Tests and ODIs during one of the strongest periods in their history.
The streak began on January 11, 2003, when Australia defeated England in Hobart. Steve Waugh’s Test side then continued winning, while Ponting led the team through the ODI leg of the run.
Australia won every match they played in the 2003 ODI World Cup and also went unbeaten in the preceding tri-series involving England and Sri Lanka. They then carried that momentum into the Caribbean, winning three Tests against the West Indies.
Their winning run finally ended in May 2003 when Waugh’s Australia lost the fourth Test against the West Indies in Bridgetown.
Australia played 17 ODIs and three Tests during the 20-match streak.
Spain has now gone four victories further. The achievement also highlights how much the global cricket landscape has expanded since Australia’s record was set. Spain is not a traditional cricket power and is still working their way through the qualification pathway for major ICC events.
Yet their consistency has been extraordinary. From August 14 onwards, every match has brought another victory and another extension of a record that stood untouched for 23 years.
Australia’s dominance defined an era of international cricket. Spain’s remarkable run offers a very different kind of record: proof of how far the game has spread beyond its established centres.
