Australia's all-time greatest Test XI

Australia is the most successful cricketing nation of all time and won the highest number of Test matches among all Test playing nations. They played their first Test against England in 1877 and have won around 50% of their matches since then. They have also produced some outstanding cricketers over the decades and dominated the world cricket across different phases.

Therefore, it is not very easy to pick an all-time Australian Test eleven as there are many potential candidates to choose from. Quite naturally, one would have to omit a lot of great cricketers while arriving at the final eleven.

Here is Australia's all-time greatest Test XI.

#1 Matthew Hayden

Matthew Hayden

The big and burly Hayden looked like a fearsome fast bowler and was nicknamed “Robocop” because of his large frame. However, he actually was a menace to the bowlers worldwide with his aggressive strokeplay. He started his Test career in 1994 but was soon dropped because of his indifferent form. Hayden then worked hard at the domestic level and forced his way back to the Test team in 1999.

The second phase of Hayden’s Test career was a lot more successful and spanned nearly a decade. He rose to prominence after a great showing in the 2000-01 series against India in India. He handled the Indian spinners really well with his sweep shots. Hayden also used to often advance down the pitch to hit the fast bowlers over the mid-on and mid-off. He also hit the cover-drive and extra cover-drive extremely well.

The left-handed Hayden formed a legendary opening partnership with fellow southpaw Justin Langer and those two had 4 opening partnerships over 200, which still remains a record. Hayden played in 103 Tests and scored 8625 runs at 50.7. He also made 30 centuries and 29 half-centuries.

Hayden’s 380 against Zimbabwe remains the highest score by an Australian in Test matches. He was an indispensable part of the all-conquering Australian teams from 1999 to 2007. He retired from Test cricket in 2009 as the most successful Test opener for Australia. He definitely deserves his place in the all-time Australian Test eleven.

#2 Justin Langer

Justin Langer

Langer made his debut for the Australian team in the early 1990s and also kept wickets for the one-day team in a few matches. However, he was dropped from the Test side soon after and gradually started concentrating on the longer version of the game before cementing his place in the Australian Test team in the late 1990s.

The opening batsman made his Test debut as the no. 3 batsman of the side, but gradually made his mark as an opener as Michael Slater retired from Test cricket.

Langer was more comfortable with his back-foot and played some stupendous cuts and pulls. He also remained a good player of fast bowling and scored a lot of runs behind the wicket. Langer combined very well with Hayden and gave Australia many flying starts in the course of his career.

He scored 7696 runs from 105 Tests at an average of 45.3. He also scored 23 centuries and 30 half-centuries. Langer retired from cricket in 2007 and is now the coach of the Australian team.

#3 Sir Donald Bradman

Sir Don Bradman

Bradman remained a cricketer whose name and fame transcended the game of cricket itself. We can easily conclude that his Test batting average of 99.94 would not be eclipsed ever. Bradman made 6996 runs in only 52 Test matches with 29 centuries. He also made 12 double hundreds in the 80 innings he played in Test cricket.

Most of Bradman’s batting statistics defy belief and have given him a mythical status in cricket. The strategy of “leg theory” in the infamous Bodyline series was devised for him only, but could not stop him from averaging 56 in that series, which is more than the career average of many great batsmen.

He also remains one of the very few batsmen to have scored 300 runs on a single day of a Test match. He also made two triple hundreds in his career. He needed to score only 4 runs in his last test inning to end up with a career average over 100, but could not score any run before being dismissed. That quite possibly was the only blemish in his otherwise unparalleled career.

#4 Ricky Ponting

Ricky Ponting

Ponting remains one of few Tasmanians to have played Test cricket for Australia. He also remains Australia’s highest run-getter in Test cricket and was one of the premier batsmen in the world for the majority of his 17-year long career. He was very strong off his back foot and the best player in the world on the leg side. His pulls and hooks against the fast bowlers were as audacious as they were effective.

Ponting was, however, not very comfortable while dealing with top-quality spin bowling and this explains his relatively ordinary record in the sub-continent. Still, he gradually got over those weaknesses and made a century against India in India at the age of 35.

Ponting also scored runs against all Test-playing nations in all types of conditions. He finished with 13378 runs in 168 tests at 51.90 and 41 centuries and 62 half-centuries. He also remains the 2nd highest run-getter in the history of Test cricket.

#5 Greg Chappell

Greg Chappell

Very few batsmen in the history of Test cricket have played fast bowling as well as Chappell. His 24 centuries and 7110 runs in 87 Tests at an average of 53.9 remain a testimony to his enviable batting prowess. He also made 31 half-centuries.

He was one of the best middle-order batsmen in the world during his prime. His stupendous batting against the much-vaunted West Indian pace attack was an inspiration to many of his teammates.

Chappell had an erect batting stance and played glorious flicks, pull and cuts. He was particularly strong off his legs and an excellent timer of the ball. He also could score very quickly when needed and won a few matches for Australia with his exceptional batting abilities.

Chappell was a useful medium-pace bowler and a great fielder too. He definitely deserves his place in this all-time eleven as there have not been too many Australian batsmen like him.

#6 Keith Miller

Keith Miller

Miller was one of the first pin-up boys of cricket and a very popular figure worldwide. He was a brilliant all-rounder as well and very few could actually match him in terms of cricketing abilities. He was a very good fast bowler capable of troubling batsmen with his short-pitched stuff. He also remained a good middle-order batsman and played many memorable knocks for Australia.

The Australian played 55 Tests and scored 2958 runs at 37. He also took 170 wickets at an average of 23. His batting and bowling averages are still enviable by any standard. He also possessed a great cricketing brain and was an indispensable part of Bradman’s invincibles, who did not lose any match in their 1948 tour to England. Miller is definitely among the greatest all-rounders in the history of the game and there can not be any all-time Australian team without him.

#7 Adam Gilchrist

Adam Gilchrist

The great wicket-keeper batsman from Australia also remains the greatest no. 7 the game has ever seen. It is almost unheard of a no. 7 batsman to average around 50 in Tests, but Gilchrist managed precisely that apart from handling the duties of a wicket-keeper. He also won almost 75% of the Tests he played in and was a titan of Australian Cricket for around a decade.

Gilchrist could have made his debut even earlier had it not been for the presence of another great wicket-keeper in Ian Healy. He replaced Healy in the Australian test team 1999 and continued his golden run for a decade. He scored 5570 runs in 96 tests at an average of 47.60 and also effected 416 dismissals.

His match-winning century against India in Mumbai or the pugnacious double hundred against South Africa in their own backyard were breathtakingly good. He also kept reliably against the spin of Shane Warne.

#8 Shane Warne

Shane Warne

Warne remains the greatest spinner the game has ever seen and also the greatest match-winner of all time. He played in 145 test matches for Australia and took 708 wickets with 37 5-wicket hauls. He ruled over the English, the Kiwis, and the South Africans alike and was the talismanic player in the great Australian team of the 1990s and 2000s. Warne also took a career-best 8/71 including a hat-trick against England.

Warne was a great turner of the ball, had tremendous control over line and length and could bowl great flipper and googlies. His last great performance was the in the Ashes series of 2005 when he took 40 wickets in 5 tests.

Warne’s career bowling average was 25.41 and he was also very difficult to score off because of his control over line and length. Wisden rightly selected him as one of the five greatest cricketers of the 20th century.

#9 Dennis Lillee

Dennis Lillee

Dennis Lillee continues to be the benchmark for fast-bowling excellence in cricket. Contemporaries like Malcolm Marshall and Imran Khan considered him to be the best in the business while Sir Richard Hadlee idolized him. He easily remains as one of the greatest fast bowlers in the history of the game.

Lillee took 355 test wickets in only 70 matches at an average below 24 and a phenomenal strike rate of 48. He was also the first fast bowler to cross the 350 wickets mark. He and his new ball partner Jeff Thompson tormented most of the leading batsmen in world cricket and won a lot of test matches for Australia.

Lillee could swing the ball both ways and generate seam movement as well. He also had a deadly bouncer. He was an express fast bowler in the initial days of his career but developed great accuracy and versatility as his career progressed and became a supremely crafty bowler gradually.

Lillee could also bowl a very nice cutter which made him very effective with the old ball. He was especially good against old enemies England and usually performed exceptionally well against them.

#10 Ray Lindwall

Ray Lindwall

Lindwall was a terrific sight to behold for the spectators and a menace to the batsmen all over the world. He had a very smooth bowling action and could generate fearsome pace. He also formed a great bowling partnership with Keith Miller and those two tormented the English batsmen especially in the late 1940s and early 1950s. Lindwall also had great control over line and length and remained very difficult to score off.

He played 61 Tests for Australia and took 228 wickets at an average of 23. His strike rate of 59.87 was also quite impressive and many of his contemporaries have described him as one of the finest fast bowlers of all time. Lindwall also won quite a few matches for Australia with his lethal bowling. He hung up his boots in 1960 before ensuring his place in Australian cricket’s hall of fame. His best bowling figures of 7/38 came against India.

#11 Glenn McGrath

Glenn McGrath

Glenn McGrath was a fierce competitor who always thrived on big occasions. He put the ball in the right area and waited for the batsmen to make mistakes. He got a lot of batsmen caught in the slip-cordon with a nagging line just outside the off-stump.

McGrath remains almost unparalleled in terms of statistics also. He took 563 wickets in 124 test matches and became the highest wicket-taking fast bowler. He also had an amazing average of 21.64 and a great strike rate of 51.90.

McGrath did not rely too much on pace as his bowling speed was usually around the 85 mph mark. He was 6 feet 5 inches tall and therefore, could generate good bounce off the surface. He formed a great alliance with fellow great Shane Warne and the pair won Australia numerous Test matches.

He was one of the primary reasons behind Australia's dominance in the 1990s and 2000s. McGrath’s metronomic accuracy and winning mentality have few parallels in the history of cricket.