Rating the Australian ODI captains in the last two decades

Australia have been the most dominant side in one-day international cricket for the last two decades. They won four out of the last five World Cups and for a long time during the past two decades, the ODI team simply looked unbeatable.

Although many argue that some of the Australian teams were so strong that anybody could have led them to glory, it needs to be pointed out that it is a pretty blithe assertion. To lead a bunch of gifted cricketers, you need a gifted captain and great cricketers won’t just listen to ‘anyone’. So here is an evaluation of the principal Australian ODI skippers of the past 20 years.

#1 Steve Waugh (1997-2002) - 8/10

Steve Waugh took over the ODI captaincy from Mark Taylor in 1997 and was responsible for laying the foundation of unchallenged Australian dominance in ODI cricket over the greater part of the next decade.

Waugh had to rebuild the team after Taylor and Ian Healy were dropped from the side. However, in Adam Gilchrist, he found a player who replaced both and formed a devastating opening partnership with Mark Waugh.

His greatest triumph was the lifting the 1999 World Cup in England. Waugh shone in the tournament both as a batsman and captain and played one of the greatest World Cup innings, against South Africa, to take his side to the semi-final.

Waugh lost the captaincy after he was dropped following the team’s poor show in the home tri-series involving New Zealand and South Africa in 2001-02. He captained Australia in 106 ODIs and won 67 of them, with an excellent win rate of 65.23%.

#2 Ricky Ponting (2002-2011) - 7/10

Ponting and his teammates celebrate Australia's 2003 World Cup triumph

Under Steve Waugh, Australia were just beginning to show glimpses of the side that they could become in ODIs but it was under Ricky Ponting that they truly came into their own and swatted away everything in sight for around half a decade. Ponting is among the greatest batsmen to have ever played for Australia and his ultra attacking batting style became the template for his team-mates.

Australia used to dismantle opponents ruthlessly all over the world and during that run, they won the World Cup in 2003 and 2007, in addition to the ICC Champions Trophy in 2006. Throughout that period, Ponting was also Australia’s best batsman.

He captained in 230 games in a stint spanning around a decade and won 165 games, with an eye-popping win rate of 76.14%. The win percentage remains the highest among Australia's ODI captains and Ponting is, without a doubt, one of the greatest among them all.

#3 Michael Clarke (2011-2015) - 7/10

Clarke was a brilliant tactician

Under Ricky Ponting, Australia had failed to reach the semi-final of the 2011 World Cup and that prompted a change in captaincy. Star batsman Michael Clarke was made the captain, at a time when Australia were transitioning. Big names had retired and it was time for them to build a team that could compete hard at the 2015 World Cup to be held in Australia and New Zealand.

Although Australia did not scale the heights of the teams led by Steve Waugh and his predecessor Ponting, they played out of their skins in the home World Cup to become the first nation to win the global event five times.

Clarke retired from ODIs following the World Cup and recorded a win percentage of 67.57% in 74 games. His stint as captain was also littered with plenty of injury-related absences and it might be argued that, while he did lead Australia to a World Cup win, he could have achieved much more had he been able to play more ODI games.

As a tactician, Clarke was probably better than both Steve Waugh and Ponting, but his record does not reflect that, unfortunately.

#4 Steve Smith (2015-present) - 5/10

Steve Smith does not have a great record as captain

Australia have always made their best batsman their captain and hence it was not a surprise when Steve Smith was made captain following Michael Clarke’s retirement from ODI cricket. Smith’s tenure as the captain has not seen the Australian ODI side dominate to the same degree as some of his illustrious predecessors but perhaps it is a bit too early to judge him, considering the fact that he has only captained in 41 games so far.

He has won 23 of them, which is a rather modest return.

A 5-0 blanking at the hands of South Africa would have been an unthinkable result for any of Australia’s previous captains and that particular series remains a blot on Smith’s captaincy tenure so far. On the other hand, the 4-1 win against India at home was a high point.

Australia have invested in Smith and a few poor results will not pose any great danger to his captaincy. However, the team’s showing in the 2019 World Cup might go a long way in deciding Smith’s legacy as Australia’s ODI captain. As of now, he is nowhere near the other three on this list.