5 great Australian captains who never won an Ashes series in England

The Ashes is one of the most decorated trophies in world cricket. It is also regarded as the historically richest and most important Test series in the cricketing calendar. And winning an Ashes series is one of the key highlights for any captain.

Right from Dave Gregory (Australia’s first ever captain) to Bill Lawry (Australia’s first ODI captain), Allan Border, Steve Waugh, Ricky Ponting and now Steve Smith, Australia have always had excellent captains who have led from the front.

But there have been a few great leaders who’ve not been able to win an Ashes series in England. So, let’s have a look at 5 such Australian skippers who failed to make a mark in England as captains.

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#5 Richie Benaud

Richie Benaud, who was also known as the 'Voice of Cricket' for his outstanding commentary, was one of the most influential cricketers of his time. Australia were in the middle of a mini-slump after Sir Don Bradman’s retirement and it was Benaud who pulled them out of that slump and helped them to become the top team once again.

As captain, Benaud had a very good record. Under his captaincy, Australia won 12 and lost only 4 Tests out of the 28 games he was captain. If there was one regret the legendary commentator had, it would certainly be not winning a Test series in England.

He first captained Australia in the 1958/59 Ashes at home where he led the hosts to a 4-0 victory, regaining the urn for the first time since 1950/51. But the following Ashes series were not great for him both as a player and captain.

In the 1961 Ashes in England, Australia drew 1-1 in the 4-match series. After losing the second Test, Australia came back to win the third Test but failed to win the series in the fourth and final Test even after having England on the back foot right from the start of the Test match. This was the only series in England where Benaud was captain.

Benaud retired in 1964 after which he took up commentary and later died in April 2015 after battling skin cancer.

#4 Lindsay Hassett

Lindsay Hassett

Lindsay Hassett was one of the most successful batsmen of his era. Few cricketers have matched Hassett’s skills as a batsman. He was one of those batsmen who made strokeplay look incredibly easy - his timing was superb and his nimble footwork and strong wrists enabled him to make batting look very simple.

The Victoria-born batsman made his debut in 1938 and played for about 15 years (in which 10 years he played alongside Sir Don Bradman). It was only after Bradman retired, Hassett was given captaincy. He was one of the shrewdest captains to have played for Australia. He was typically expressionless with the faintest hint of smile, and the opposition never had any idea of what was going through his mind.

Under him, Australia never lost a series before the Ashes in 1953. In his first 19 Tests as captain, Australia won 14 of them. But the Ashes in 1953 in England was his last series (both as player and captain). England won the series 1-0 (where they regained the Ashes for the first time since 1933). Hassett’s performance wasn’t affected as he finished as the second highest run-getter in the series.

The 1953 Ashes in England was Australia’s only series loss under him. Hassett's captaincy record of 14 wins and 4 losses in 24 Tests puts him among one of the best captains to have played for Australia (he had a win-loss ratio of 3.5).

#3 Greg Chappell

Greg Chappell

Born in Adelaide, Greg Chappell was probably the greatest batsman to ever play for Australia after Don Bradman. One of the few cricketers to score a hundred in his first and last Test innings, Chappell was one of the batting pillars through the 1970s and early 1980s. He played 87 Tests and ended his career with 7110 runs at an outstanding average of 53.86.

A master tactician, shrewd thinker and a fierce competitor, Greg Chappell took over the captaincy reins from brother Ian Chappell. His stint began very well as Australia won 8 out of 12 Tests. But the charge came to a halt when Australia were in England in 1977 for the Ashes.

The hosts regained the urn with a 3-0 series win against an under-par Chappell-led Australia who failed to put up substantial performances. After the draw in the first Test, Australia lost the next three Tests (by 9 wickets, 7 wickets and innings and 85 runs respectively) to surrender the Ashes.

Chappell continued to captain Australia till April 1983 and ended with 48 games as captain. He has 21 wins and 13 losses as skipper, becoming the 5th most successful captain for Australia.

#2 Michael Clarke

Michael Clarke

Michael Clarke was a batsman of great talent and enormous ambition. He was also an inspirational leader and the architect of some of Australia’s most famous wins. His batting also improved by leaps and bounds after he took over as captain. In 2012, he became the only player to have scored four Test double hundreds in a calendar year.

Clarke took over the reins of the Australian team after Ricky Ponting stepped down after they lost the 2010/11 Ashes at home. After enjoying a good start to his captaincy stint (where Australia lost just one series between 2011 and January 2013), his captaincy was questioned as Australia were whitewashed in India 4-0.

Though he continued as captain for the Ashes in England in 2013, Australia lost 3-0. But, Clarke came back strong and led to an incredible turnaround as Australia white-washed England 5-0 at home to regain the Ashes. In the 2015 Ashes in England, Clarke was Australia’s captain again when they lost the series 3-2 as the travelling batsmen were found wanting while facing up to the moving ball.

It meant that Clarke wasn't part of an Ashes-winning side in England.

However, despite his lack of success in England, Clarke will go down as one of the most successful Australian captains (24 wins from 47 Tests as captain).

#1 Ricky Ponting

Ricky Ponting

Ricky Ponting Was one of the most uncompromising players of his era. He is one of the finest batsmen Australia have ever produced. ‘Punter’ (as he was commonly known) has also been regarded as one of the best thinkers in the game. Having led Australia to back-to-back World Cup titles (in 2003 and 2007) and with a brilliant Test record as skipper, Ponting is one of the best captains to have played the game.

With 48 wins in 77 Test matches as captain, he achieved almost everything. But there are a couple of things he hasn’t won. A Test series in India and an Ashes series in England. The famous 2005 Ashes was Ponting’s first Ashes as captain. After winning the first Test at Lord’s, Australia failed to drive home the early advantage and lost a hard-fought series 2-1 as England regained the urn after 19 years.

In the Ashes 2006/07 at home, Ponting led Australia to a memorable whitewash, helping the Aussies regain the urn. In 2009, he was back in England (this time without his talismanic players – Warne, McGrath, Hayden and Gilchrist). And again Australia lost a hard-fought 2-1.

And thus a Test series win in England eluded Australia’s most successful skipper.