Australia has been one of the strongest teams in Test Cricket so far, with so many dominating runs in cricket history. They have the highest win to lose ratio among all test playing nations and leads by a significant amount over all of them. Australia has won 394 out of its 834 tests and has a win to lose ratio of 1.743. England, having the second-highest of 1.224, is still nowhere near them. This dominant test run has been the courtesy of the great cricketers which Australia has produced time and again. So we picked some of the greatest Australian players from different eras and brought them together to form an ultimate all-time XI of Australia in test cricket.
Best all-time XI of Australia in Test Cricket:
#1 Matthew Hayden:
It won’t be wrong to call Matthew Hayden the best Australian test opener of all time. He has stacked the most number of runs for Australia in tests as an opener.
Hayden has accumulated 8625 runs in 103 test matches at an average of 50.73. He didn’t shy away from punishing freebies from bowlers, even in test cricket. That is why he has an average strike rate of over 60 in his test career. No other Australian batter could be a better opener in this all-time playing XI of Australia in Test Cricket.
#2 David Warner:
Similar to Matthew Hayden in various aspects, David Warner is the third-highest run-getter among all Australia openers. He has scored 7272 runs in 86 Tests at an average of 48.8.
Warner emulates Hayden’s fearlessness to some extent but plays a responsible and defensive role if the bowlers are hitting good areas. That is why he is the perfect partner to accompany Hayden to open for this all-time XI of Australia in tests.
#3 Sir Donald Bradman:
I don’t think there is any doubt over the inclusion of the greatest batter of all time, Sir Donald Bradman, in this XI. He still sits at the pinnacle of test cricket, with the highest batting average in tests (99.94) at the end of his career. No player to have played a sufficient number of tests even remotely nears his test average.
Bradman stacked 6996 runs in his career in just 52 matches. In just 80 innings, he hit 13 half-centuries and 29 centuries. Considering these stats, he fits perfectly as Australia’s number three in this XI.
#4 Steve Smith:
Steve Smith is considered the greatest test batter of the 21st century and one of the fab fours of modern-day cricket. In just 77 matches, he has already become the 8th highest run-scorer for Australia in tests.
Smith has scored 7540 runs in his 77 tests at an average of 61.8. His unique technique and resilience qualify him as a perfect number four for the all-time XI of Australia in Test Cricket.
#5 Ricky Ponting:
Apart from being Australia’s best, Ricky Ponting is also one of the greatest cricketers the world has ever seen. He is still the highest run-scorer for Australia and also the second-highest run-scorer of all time in tests. Only the great Sachin Tendulkar exceeds his 13,378 runs in Test cricket.
Ponting also has 41 test centuries under his name, which is the highest for any Australian in test cricket. Apart from being one of the best batters in test cricket, Ponting was also a great leader. So, this XI will be a lot stronger with his batting expertise and leadership skills as a vice-captain.
#6 Steve Waugh(c):
Steve Waugh has the highest success rate in test cricket as a captain. Australia won 41 out of their 57 tests under his leadership and lost only 9. Australia showed utter domination under him, and that makes him the captain of this XI as well.
Apart from being a good leader, Waugh was also one of the best Australian batters. He ended his career with an average of over 51 and is still the third-highest run-getter for Australia in tests.
#7 Adam Gilchrist(wk):
Adam Gilchrist is the best wicketkeeper-batsman Australia has ever produced. Gilchrist’s give work has dismissed the second most number of players in the history of test cricket after South Africa’s Mark Boucher.
Apart from being the best wicketkeeper for Australia, he was also an attacking lower order test batter in tests. He averaged over 47 and scored 5570 runs at a strike rate over 80 at the end of his Test career. There is not a better contender for the wicketkeeper spot than him.
#8 Pat Cummins:
Pat Cummins is the current test ace for the Australian Cricket Team. He has taken 164 wickets for Australia in just 34 tests, and he has done it with a bowling average of 21.59 and a strike rate of 47.1. It means that Cummins takes a wicket after every 21 runs or 47 balls in tests which is better than many of Australia’s greatest test bowlers.
Cummins addition to this XI also provides the lower-order depth as he is also decent with the bat.
#9 Shane Warne:
Apart from being Australia’s best spinner, Shane Warne is also one of the greatest spinners the world has ever seen in the history of cricket. He is not just the highest wicket-taker for Australia but also the overall second-highest wicket-taker in tests.
Warne has taken 708 test wickets in his career. Warne’s leg-spin deliveries were no less than a magic trick, and it was evident in his ball of the century to Mike Gatting.
#10 Dennis Lillee:
Dennis Lillee is the 4th highest wicket-taker for Australia in tests. He took 355 wickets in just 70 matches in his Test career with a bowling average of 23.92. These figures are better than that of great players like Mitchell Johnson and Brett Lee.
Lillee was equally good as Glenn McGrath, who is probably the best pace bowler to play for Australia. So his inclusion in Australia’s all-time XI along with McGrath and Pat Cummins will form one of the best pace attacks in test cricket ever.
#11 Glenn McGrath:
This name doesn’t require any introduction. Glenn McGrath is among the only two pacers to have taken more than 550 wickets in tests. Apart from being the 5th highest wicket-taker of all-time, McGrath is also the second-highest wicket-taker for Australia in tests. His deadly pace bowling terrorizes even the best in the business.
A legendary bowler like him will be a cherry on top of the cake in this XI, making its bowling a hundred times deadlier than it already is.
