Cricket is a team sport. To be successful in the gentleman’s game, a team should gel well together and not play for personal goals. Individual brilliance might win you certain games in the sport, but team bonding and camaraderie is what is necessary to lift trophies.
However, like a ship can’t function without an anchor, a cricket team, for all of its unity and bonding, cannot be successful without a good leader. When we speak of renowned teams who have achieved great things, we always remember who led the side to its shimmering glory.
So, let us have a look at the 5 captains with most wins in international cricket:
1. Ricky Ponting – 220
Without the shadow of the doubt, Australia is the most successful cricket team in the world. They have won everything that they possibly could, and have repeated their feat time and time again. Over the years, they have had some great captains to lead them.
But the greatest of all those greats is Ricky Ponting. Punter has led his side 324 times in international cricket. He has won 220 of those games, which means he has an astonishing win percentage of 67.90%.
2. Mahendra Singh Dhoni – 178
What Ponting has done for Australia, Mahendra Singh Dhoni has done for India. He has not only lifted the ICC Cricket World Cup, ICC World T20 and ICC Champions Trophy for the men in blues, but also changed Indian cricket to a great degree.
Dhoni holds another special record. He has led India 332 times in international cricket, which is the most number of matches anyone has ever played as a captain. He has won 178 of those games, meaning he has a win percentage of 53.61%. Interestingly, India’s current skipper Virat Kohli hasn’ won as many games but he has a brilliant win percentage of 64.64%.
3. Graeme Smith – 163
Unlike the previous two legends on this list, Graeme Smith is not an ICC Cricket World Cup winning skipper. However, that does not reduce his glory one bit.
The left-handed batsman is undoubtedly the best captain his country has ever produced. He has led the Proteas side 286 times in international cricket. South Africa ended up winning 163 of those games, giving Smith a win percentage of 56.99% – more than Dhoni’s.
4. Allan Border – 139
Given their global dominance in international cricket for decades, it is completely understandable how two Aussies feature is such a prestigious list. Allan Border was not as successful as Ponting, but he still was one of the best.
He led the Kangaroos 271 times in international cricket. Australia ended up winning 139 games out of those. Border boasts of a win percentage of 51.29%. While this number might not look brilliant, it must be stated that Australia drew as many as 38 games under him. It subsequently means Border lost only 32.84% of the games, which is less than Dhoni.
5. Stephen Fleming – 128
After Smith, Stephen Fleming is another captain on this list who was not lucky enough to get his hands on the ICC Cricket World Cup. New Zealand have produced a lot of great skippers throughout their history, including their current skipper Kane Williamson.
However, none of the rest were as successful as Stephen Fleming. He was the leader of the Blackcaps in 303 matches in international cricket. New Zealand won 128 of those games. Fleming has a win percentage of 44.55%, which is more than Kiwi legends like Geoff Howarth, Daniel Vettori, Brendon McCullum and Kane Williamson.
