Australia has produced top cricket players and has achieved stardom across all formats. Australia is a versatile team with players who are among the best at batting, bowling, and fielding. Cricket Australia always looks to establish record after record and win every single match. Australia has achieved some remarkable feats and is one of the world’s powerhouse teams with England, India, and South Africa. Here in this article, we view the Top 10 Moments which defined Cricket Australia’s Dominance.
1. Australia Winning The 2021 T20 World Cup
Australia's chances of qualifying for the Knockouts were very slim. After a disastrous start to the World Cup with a defeat and considering the horrible pitch conditions, there was less hope for top teams to qualify. But Australia managed to get to the World Cup Final by knocking out Pakistan and, in the final, defeated New Zealand to become the 2nd Nation to win all ICC titles.
2. Australia’s World Cup Titles
Australia has five World Cup victories, which cements the legacy of Cricket Australia as a great squad; The last World Cup win came in 2015 under Aussie Captain Michael Clarke, who won against New Zealand and clinched the World Trophy. It was a remarkable achievement in cricketing history.
3. 16 Consecutive Test Wins
Ricky Ponting, an Australian Captain, led his side successfully to 16 Consecutive Test Wins between December 2005 till January 2008, with wins against all other top teams except New Zealand. It is a remarkable achievement that showed the dominance of Australian Cricket over many test sides at the time. Many key players starred in this record run, including Matthew Hayden, Michael Hussey, Brett Lee, Stuart Clark and Andrew Symonds.
4. 700 Test Wickets
Shane Warne, the leg-spin maestro, is Australia’s highest wicket-taker across all formats. He has 700 wickets and is a terror to face in tests. Many formidable batters have fallen to the magic of Shane Warne, prominent of them being Andrew Strauss, Mike Gatting, and Sachin Tendulkar.
5. Ashes 2006-07 Whitewash
The ashes series of 2006-07 was a dominant victory for Australia as they whitewashed England 5-0. It was a strong side that included the likes of Matthew Hayden, Ricky Ponting, Shane Warne, Adam Gilchrist, and others. This series was special as many of Australia’s legends within the line-up bid farewell to Cricket.
6. Ball Of The Century
Shane Warne’s famous ‘Ball of the Century’ is widely spoken across all over the cricketing world. It is one of the most memorable moments in Cricket Australia’s history. Warne in, his first ever ashes series, bowled an odd leg-spinner, which went across then-England Opener Mike Gatting and spun back to hit the leg-stump across Gattings’ legs. The ball, was a remarkable achievement that put Shane Warne in the highest echelons of spin bowling history and made him a legend among spinners.
7. Smith’s Comeback Test
Steve Smith’s comeback test was in the 2019 Edgbaston Test against England, where he scored a blistering 144 and 149 runs in both innings and set up an 88-run partnership with Peter Siddle to rescue the team from 122 for 8. Though injured, Smith was determined to lead his team and clear his name after the match-fixing scandal. Smith became the 5th Australian to score two centuries in both innings. Australia won the match by an inning and 255 runs. This match marked the comeback of Australian cricket following the departures of Smith and Warner.
8. Highest Test Score By An Australian
Matthew Hayden has the highest individual score by an Australian in Tests. He smashed a triple century against Zimbabwe in 2003. Hayden scored 380 runs in a single match against Zimbabwe, the highest score in Tests by an Australian Batsman, breaking Sir Don Bradman’s record of 334 runs. He also surpassed Brian Lara’s record of 375 runs. He smashed 38 fours and 11 sixes as Australia posted a massive total of 734.
9. Fastest Double Century In Tests
Adam Gilchrist in 2002, smashed the fastest double-century in Tests, against South Africa. He hit 203 runs off 213 balls, the fastest double-hundred in test cricket. Gilchrist changed the wicketkeepers’ role in international cricket by being an attacking batter, and after taking on the mantle after Ian Healy’s retirement, his attacking style of batting, and antics behind the stump became very popular in international cricket, especially after T20 cricket was introduced in 2007. He revolutionized the role of a wicketkeeper, which stays on to date.
10. Most Successful Captain
Australia’s Ricky Ponting has been the most successful captain in international cricket history. Following Steve Waugh’s retirement, Ricky Ponting took over a side filled with some of the best Australian players and led them to two World Cup Wins, one in 2003, where he smashed the Indian pace attack by scoring 140 runs in the final, for Australia to post a mammoth total of 359. The knock was one of the best innings by a captain in a World Cup final. It cemented Ponting’s reputation as a great captain and an incredible batsman, who can score at crucial times. In 2007, he led his team to a 2nd World Cup Victory, with Gilchrist scoring 149 to get the team to their 2nd World Cup, thus achieving a hattrick of World Cup Victories from 1999 to 2007. This team was the most dominating side any cricketing fan could have seen.
