5 great England captains who never won an Ashes in Australia

Captaining a team requires a special set of skills, especially captaining against and in Australia. The crowds are hostile and Australia is a very difficult team to beat in its own den.

Let's look at five great England captains who never managed to win an Ashes Down Under.

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#5 Peter May

Peter May made his first-class debut in 1950 and in a year’s time, he was in the international reckoning with some solid performances for Surrey.

A decent performance in the 1953 Ashes secured him a permanent place in the Test team. He was a part of a successful England team that didn't lose a single Test series between 1952 and 1958.

In the same period, he was also appointed captain of the England team. In his six-year long captaincy, England lost only one series, the Ashes in 1958-59 in Australia. England was thrashed 4-0 as Australia regained the urn for the first time since 1950-51.

Peter May still remains one of the most successful captains, winning 20 out of his 41 Tests.

#4 Graham Gooch

Graham Gooch

Graham Gooch scored 67,057 runs in first-class and List A cricket combined, including a staggering 172 centuries.

But, for some reason, he could never perform in big pressure games like the Ashes. He failed to win a single game in the Ashes as captain, out of the eight that he played.

The Ashes in 1990-91 Down Under was his first Ashes as captain. He had already captained England for about three years but England crashed to a 2-0 defeat.

Gooch's performances dipped along with England’s performance in the early 1990s, leading to him stepping down from captaincy and eventually retiring in 1995.

#3 Michael Atherton

Michael Atherton

Mike Atherton was a very gutsy opener. Steve Waugh nicknamed him the ‘cockroach’ because it was very hard to dismiss him.

Atherton, who was named captain after Gooch stepped down mid-way through the 1993 Ashes, played 54 Test matches as captain – the second highest by any England captain.

But 20 of those Tests were drawn - the most drawn games under any England captain. In the 1994-95 Ashes Down Under that he led, England lost the series 3-1.

In 1997 at home, England lost narrowly 3-2, failing to regain the Ashes for the fifth consecutive time.

Under Atherton, England won only 13 out of 54 Tests, putting him on the list of one of the lowest win percentages by an England captain.

#2 Nasser Hussain

Nasser Hussain

Nasser Hussain overcame quite a few technical glitches to become a quality Test batsman.

More than his batting skills, it was his captaincy that had a major impact. He became the first England captain since Mike Brearley to win four Test series on the trot.

There was one place where he struggled as captain and that was Australia. When England toured Australia for the Ashes in 2002-03, England was thrashed 4-1.

Even after receiving a drubbing in the Ashes down under, Hussain didn't lose his captaincy. However, after results didn't go England's way in the following year, he stepped down as captain in 2003 and retired in 2004.

#1 Alastair Cook

Alastair Cook

Few cricketers have been as gifted as the stylish left-handed opener Alastair Cook. Nothing describes Cook’s ability to score runs more than his high scores in Test cricket. He has more Test centuries and Test runs than any other English batsman.

Cook took over the reins from Andrew Strauss and began with a bang as England trounced India with a 2-1 Test series win. England remained unbeaten for four consecutive series that included an Ashes in 2013 at home.

However, when Cook led his team in Australia in 2013-14, England was blanked 5-0. This Ashes series was one of the lowest points of Cook’s captaincy.

He retained his captaincy even after the disastrous tour and went on to become the most capped England captain in Tests, playing 59 Tests as skipper.