Australia has won the most Test matches in cricket history. It’s won nearly half of its Test matches, with a win rate of almost 47%. South Africa came in second with a 37% score. The only two Tied Tests that have been played have involved Australia. The first was against the West Indies in Brisbane in December 1960. The second occurred in Madras (Chennai), India, in September 1986. On February 24, 2002, Australia achieved its most fantastic victory in a Test match. With 16 wins in a row, Australia holds the record for the most consecutive victories.
1. Don Bradman
He was the only one who had done it! It had to be him at the very top. Sir Don, who made his debut at the age of 20, was the most feared batsman of the 1930s and 1940s. His constant and prolific hitting made Australia a formidable squad and cemented his status as a sporting legend. A very adaptable batter, Bradman was one of the best players for extra bounce deliveries, favoring hook and pull strokes to play such deliveries. His position allowed him to play the deliveries without jeopardizing his defense effectively. In a nutshell, he was unique. Bradman batted 6996 times for a fantastic average of 99.94, with 13 fifties and 29 centuries in a two-decade career. Honestly, Don was the greatest cricketer Australia ever had.
2. Ricky Ponting
Ricky Ponting's career is showered with awards. He is the most outstanding skipper of all time and one of the greatest batsmen in the game's history. Ponting debuted in 1995 and quickly established himself as a regular on the national team before launching himself as a solid batsman. Ponting could play any stroke in the book and was a master of the hook and pull shots. Ponting was a valuable player for Australia during his career, and as captain, he helped them become a near-invincible team for a long time. Ponting was also a fantastic fielder, with 196 catches, the fourth most of any fielder in history.
3. Allan Border
Allan Border, another famous Australian captain, was the best batsman in the world during his playing days and, in addition to being their skipper, was Australia's talisman during the 1980s. Allan was a great spin bowler. He was a batsman who consistently batted intelligently rather than aggressively. Allan's leadership transformed an underperforming Australian squad into a formidable force, laying the groundwork for players like Steve Waugh and Ricky Ponting to lead the team to more glory. Allan had the record for the most Test runs with 11,174 from 156 Tests at an average of 50.56, with 63 fifties and 27 hundred when he retired. Allan also took 39 wickets; his best bowling numbers being 7/46 against the West Indies in his 100th Test, which was better than Dennis Lillee's. Allan also holds the record for playing the most consecutive Tests (153).
4. Shane Warne
Richie Benaud, Lance Gibbs, and BS Chandrasekhar were all great spinners with their style in cricket, but Shane Warne was instrumental in modernizing spin bowling during an era when fast bowling reigned. Warne continuously fired for Australia, helping them to many huge triumphs throughout his career, with his ability to turn the ball in any condition and a range of deliveries in his arsenal. Warne was also a capable lower-order batsman, scoring 3145 runs and 12 fifties, with his highest Test performance of 99 against New Zealand. Warne was also a decent fielder, with 125 catches to his name, the seventh-highest total by an Australian fielder.
5. Glenn McGrath
Glenn McGrath, the all-time leading wicket-taker, is, without a doubt, Australia's best fast bowler. McGrath's accurate line and length made him a dangerous wicket-taker, and he was an essential member of the Australian squad that dominated cricket from the mid-1990s to the mid-2000s.McGrath is one of the few bowlers in history to have bowled two eight-wicket periods against Pakistan in 2004 and England in 1997. McGrath grabbed 563 wickets in 124 Tests for an average of 21.64 in an almost 14-year career. Mcgrath had 29 five-wicket hauls and three ten-wicket hauls in Tests, with his best performance of 8/24 against Pakistan. McGrath has also scored a fifty, a 61 against New Zealand at the Gabba in 2004.
6. Steve Waugh
One of Australia's greatest captains is also one of the best Test batsmen of all time. Waugh made his debut in 1987 and became one of Australia's most talismanic cricketers for most of his career, leading them to a record of 16 consecutive Test victories.
Waugh began his career as an all-rounder but was unable to bowl due to a back ailment, which proved to be an asset as his batting dramatically improved. Waugh could bat for lengthy periods, and his very presence on the field was a nightmare for bowlers.
Waugh scored 10,927 runs from 168 matches in a career that lasted nearly two decades, averaging 51.06 and including 50 half-centuries and 32 centuries. He also took 92 wickets, including three 5-wicket hauls.
7. Adam Gilchrist
Gilchrist, widely regarded as the best wicket-keeper batsman in history, didn’t start his Test career until he was 28 years old due to the presence of Ian Healy. Despite Healy's poor record and the selectors' desire to give him a farewell match against Pakistan at Gabba, Gilly was allowed to make his Test debut. Gilchrist had a harsh reception at the Gabba due to this, but that didn’t stop him from taking six dismissals (5 catches and a stumping) and scoring a quick 81. In his second Test, Gilchrist scored 149 runs to help Australia recover from a 126/5 deficit to chase down 369 runs. Gilchrist became a fixture in Australia's Test team, and although batting at No.7 in ODI’s rather than beginning the innings, he continued to score large for the Aussies.
Gilchrist's aggressive batting helped Australia on numerous occasions. Despite starting in his late 20s, he managed to score 5570 runs in 96 Tests (the most by any keeper-batsman) at an incredible strike rate of 81.95. It is the second-highest strike rate for any Test batsman who scored more than 5000 runs. With 416 Test dismissals, Gilly is second only to Mark Boucher in the all-time list (379 catches and 37 stumpings).
8. Dennis Lillee
One of the best fast bowlers of all time, Dennis Lille, didn’t have an easy time with the Australian squad at the start of his career due to back problems in the early 1970s. Lillee's fighting spirit, on the other hand, helped him regain full fitness, and he went on to become one of Australia's most influential figures in the 1970s and early 1980s. Lillee was a lightning-quick bowler who opponents feared during his playing days. In 1981, he passed Richie Benaud as the highest Australian Test wicket-taker before giving Lance Gibbs the highest wicket-taker in Tests. He even beat Gibbs's record against the West Indies. Lillee and Rodney Marsh created a fantastic bowling/wicket-keeping/fielding combo, with Marsh catching and Lillee dismissing each other 95 times in 69 Tests, a record that has yet to be surpassed. Lillee had an excellent career, taking 355 wickets in 70 Tests, including 23 five-wicket hauls, the third most by an Australian. Lillee also scored 905 runs with the bat, his most outstanding score in Tests being 73 against England at Lord's.
9. Greg Chappell
Greg Chappell has had his share of issues, including underarm bowling on the final ball of an ODI (One Day International), a disagreement with one of India's best skippers, and not being recognized by the Indian players he coached. We cannot deny that he was one of the best batsmen in the world in his heyday. Chappell made his Test debut against England and became one of their most important players in the format. Chappell pioneered a stroke-playing method in which he hit the ball in a slight arc between mid-off and mid-on. In a Test against New Zealand in Wellington in 1974, Chappell scored 247 and 133 runs, maintaining the record for the most runs scored in a Test match until Graham Gooch beat it in 1990.
Chappell scored 7110 runs at an average of 53.86 in 87 Test matches over a 14-year career, scoring 31 fifties and 24 hundred.
Chappell was also a capable part-time bowler, taking 46 wickets in 46 innings, with his best Test bowling figures of 5/61 against Pakistan in Sydney in 1972. Chappell also held the record for the most catches in Test cricket, with 122 at the time of his retirement.
10. Matthew Hayden
One of Australia's best openers, Matthew Hayden, made his Test debut in 1994 but was not regular until the 2000 tour of New Zealand, where he struck fifty in both innings of the final Test at Hamilton. Hayden became one of Australia's best Test batters, and he and Justin Langer created a deadly opening duo. Hayden's 380 against Zimbabwe in 2003 was the best score in Test cricket, surpassing Brian Lara's 375. His record was beaten the following year by Lara, although it still stands as the most fantastic score by an Australian in Test cricket. Matthew Hayden is the only cricketer to achieve over 1000 Test runs in a single season.
