History of the Australian cricket team

The History of the Australian cricket team began when eleven cricketers from the colonies of New South Wales (NSW) and Victoria formed an eleven to play a touring team of professional English cricketers at Melbourne in March 1877. Billed as the "Grand Combination match", the game is now known as the first Test match. Encouraged by a 45-run victory, the colonists believed that they had enough cricketing talent to take on the English on their own soil. A team organised and managed by John Conway, a former Victorian player, toured England during the 1878 season. After a discouraging loss to Nottinghamshire in the opening match of the tour, the Australians met a Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) team at Lord's on 26 May 1878. Australia's upset win by nine wickets was "the commencement of the modern era of cricket", according to Lord Hawke.

The 1860s

In 1865, a match was arranged between a team of Aboriginal cricketers and European settlers from various pastoral stations; the indigenous team won. The playing of cricket by indigenous people of the Western District reflected their changing circumstances. At this time there were no formal associations.

The European population gave Aboriginal players nicknames; for example, Johnny Mullagh worked at the Mullagh station. Others were referred to by names like Bullocky, Dick-a-Dick, Sundown, and Red Cap. In 1878, the Aboriginal number two was nicknamed Jim Crow and another one was called Mosquito (see photos in Georges Goulvent Le Cam, Australie naissance d'une nation (Australia, Birth of a Nation), Presses universitaires de Rennes, France, 2000).

Thomas Wentworth Wills was a key figure in the development of colonial cricket and Australian rules football. In November 1866, Wills became the Captain and Coach of the indigenous cricket team. The very first Australian cricket team that played overseas was the 1868 Aboriginal cricket tour of England.

The 1870s

1878 team
1878 team
Season Opponent Venue Played Won Lost Drawn
1876–77 England Australia 2 1 1 0
1878–79 England Australia 1 1 0 0
Totals 3 2 1 0

The 1870s saw the first official matches between English and Australian teams. Due to the amount of time that it took teams to travel from England to Australia (and vice versa), these teams were generally not a true representation of the best players for each country. At the time, there was no significance placed on these matches – statisticians later called them "test matches" between England and Australia.

James Lillywhite's English side toured Australia in between January and April 1877 and played the first two test matches after a drawn match against a New South Wales side.

England in Australia 1876/77. Match length: Timeless. Balls per over: 4. Series result: Drawn 1–1.

No. Date Home captain Away captain Venue Result
1 15,16,17,19 Mar 1877 Dave Gregory (AUS) James Lillywhite (ENG) Melbourne Cricket Ground (AUS) AUS by 45 runs
2 31 Mar,2,3,4 Apr 1877 Dave Gregory (AUS) James Lillywhite (ENG) Melbourne Cricket Ground (AUS) ENG by 4 wkts

Just over a year later, an Australian side visited England and played a match against the MCC. In what turned out to be a match that was completed in one day, only 105 runs were scored with the Australian side emerging the victors by nine wickets. This match however was not granted test status.

In 1879, Lord Harris led an English side down under between January and March. This tour schedule involved a single test match followed by two series of two matches against Victorian and New South Wales sides.

England in Australia 1878/79. Match length: Timeless. Balls per over: 4. Series result: Australia, 1–0.

No. Date Home captain Away captain Venue Result
3 2,3,4 Jan 1879 Dave Gregory (AUS) Lord Harris (ENG) Melbourne Cricket Ground (AUS) AUS by 10 wkts

The 1880s

1882 team
See also: History of Test cricket (to 1883), History of Test cricket (1884 to 1889)
Season Opponent Venue Played Won Lost Drawn
1880 England England 1 0 1 0
1881–82 England Australia 4 2 0 2
1882 England England 1 1 0 0
1882–83 England Australia 4 2 2 0
1884 England England 3 0 1 2
1884-5 England Australia 5 2 3 0
1886 England England 3 0 3 0
1886–87 England Australia 2 0 2 0
1887–88 England Australia 1 0 1 0
1888 England England 3 1 2 0
Totals 27 8 15 4

Australia toured England 5 times during the 1880s and played 27 Test matches. One of these matches was played in 1880, 1 in 1882 and 3 in 1884, 1886 and 1888 respectively. Losing a total of 15 matches. Note: Balls per over: 4. 16 of them were timeless matches while 11 were 3 day Test matches. During this time Percy McDonnell led the Australian scoring with 950 runs. Closely followed by Billy Murdoch on 860 and Alec Bannerman on 745. during this time Spofforth was the most prolific wicket taker with 94 wickets at an average of 18.41 runs per wicket. Palmer closely followed with 78 wickets at an average of 21.51 per wicket.

The 1890s

Season Opponent Venue Played Won Lost Drawn Result
1890 England England 3 0 3 0 Lost
1891–92 England Australia 3 2 1 0 Won
1893 England England 3 0 1 2 Lost
1894–95 England Australia 5 2 3 0 Lost
1896 England England 3 1 2 0 Lost
1897–98 England Australia 5 4 1 0 Won
1899 England England 5 1 0 4 Won
Totals 27 10 11 6

Australia toured England 4 times during the 1890s and played 26 Test matches against them. (won 10, lost 10)

Note: Half the Tests had 5 balls per over and half had 6 balls per over. Half of them were 3 day Test matches and half were timeless Test matches.

List of Australian Test captains in the 1890s

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List of top Australian Test run scorers in the 1890s

  1. Darling 1139

List of top Australian Test wicket takers in the 1890s

  1. Giffen 74
  2. Trumble 63
  3. Jones 56
  4. Turner 51

1900s

Season Opponent Venue Played Won Lost Drawn Result
1901–02 England Australia 5 4 1 0 Won
1902 England England 5 2 1 2 Won
1902–03 South Africa South Africa 3 2 0 1 Won
1903–04 England Australia 5 2 3 0 Lost
1905 England England 5 0 2 3 Lost
1907–08 England Australia 5 4 1 0 Won
1909 England England 5 2 1 2 Won
Totals 33 16 9 8

Australian team started touring other countries such as South Africa which had Test status (first tour in 1903) and New Zealand for the first time in 1905.

Test tours

Australia toured England 3 times between 1900–1909 and toured South Africa for the first time in 1903. Australia played 33 Test matches in this decade winning 16 of them and losing 9. Most of them were against England and only 3 of them were against South Africa. Test cricket had for the first time gone to Africa. All the Test matches had 6 balls per over. Most of them were 3 day Test matches while 15 of them were timeless Test matches.

Australian Test captains

The two main Australian Test team captains during this period were Darling and Noble. Both of them had a good captaincy record. Yay

List of top Australian wicket takers of the period

  1. Noble 89
  2. Saunders 79
  3. Trumble 78

The 1910s

Season Opponent Venue Played Won Lost Drawn Result
1910–11 South Africa Australia 5 4 1 0 Won
1911–12 England Australia 5 1 4 0 Lost
1912 South Africa England 3 2 0 1 Won
1912 England England 3 0 1 2 Lost
Totals 16 7 6 3

Australia were visited in the first two summers of this decade by South Africa and England respectively. In 1912 the Australian team toured England and played in the 1912 Triangular Tournament with their hosts and South Africa.

Australia toured USA and Canada in June to August 1913, playing five matches, four in Philadelphia and one in Toronto.

Needless to say, this was the decade of World War I. After the last match of the Triangular series in August 1912, Australia did not play another Test match until December 1920 when England, as the Marylebone Cricket Club toured Australia in a five Test series.

The 1920s

Test tours

Season Opponent Venue Played Won Lost Drawn Result
1920–21 England Australia 5 5 0 0 Won
1921 England England 5 3 0 2 Won
1921–22 South Africa South Africa 3 1 0 2 Won
1924–25 England Australia 5 4 1 0 Won
1926 England England 5 0 1 4 Lost
1928–29 England Australia 5 1 4 0 Lost
Totals 28 14 6 8

Australia toured England twice and South Africa once during this decade. Australia played 28 Test matches during this decade, winning 14 and losing 6. Most of them were against England and only 3 against South Africa. 5 of the Test matches had 8 ball overs. Most of the Test matches were timeless whereas there were 9 three day Test matches and 3 four day Test matches.

Australian Test captains

The two main Australian Test captains during this decade were Armstrong and Collins. Both of them had a good record.

List of top Australian Test run scorers of the 1920s

  1. Ryder 1394
  2. Collins 1352
  3. Macartney 1252
  4. Gregory 1146

List of top Australian wicket takers of the 1920s

  1. Mailey 99
  2. Gregory 85

The 1930s

Season Opponent Venue Played Won Lost Drawn Result
1930 England England 5 2 1 2 Won
1930–31 West Indies Australia 5 4 1 0 Won
1931–32 South Africa Australia 5 5 0 0 Won
1932–33 England Australia 5 1 4 0 Lost
1934 England England 5 2 1 2 Won
1935–36 South Africa South Africa 5 4 0 1 Won
1936–37 England Australia 5 3 2 0 Won
1938 England England 4 1 1 2 Drawn
Totals 39 22 10 7

Australia toured England thrice and had the first 5 Test tour of South Africa. Australia played 39 Tests in this decade winning 22 and losing 10. Australia also toured India and Ceylon in 1935 but no official international match was played although India got Test status in 1932.

Test tours

Australian Test captains

The leading Australian Test captain in this decade was Woodfull. Don Bradman led the Australian team in 9 Test matches in this decade.

Australian Test batsmen

Don Bradman, regarded by most followers of the game as the greatest batsman to have played the game scored 4625 Test runs in this decade at an average of 102.77 runs per innings with 19 centuries.

Sir Donald eclipsed other performances which would have otherwise had been noticed such as Stan McCabe's 2748 runs at an average of 48.2 runs per innings.

List of top Australian wickettakers in the 1930s

The 1940s

Test tours

Season Opponent Venue Played Won Lost Drawn Result
1945–46 New Zealand New Zealand 1 1 0 0 Won
1946–47 England Australia 5 3 0 2 Won
1947–48 India Australia 5 4 0 1 Won
1948 England England 5 4 0 1 Won
1949–50 South Africa South Africa 5 4 0 1 Won
Totals 21 16 0 5

This decade was affected by World War II. Due to this Australia played only 17 Test matches. Their performance was impressive perhaps due to the Don Bradman factor as they won 13 of them and did not lose a single Test match. Most of the victories were against England. Australia were led by Sir Donald Bradman during this period. He scored 1903 runs at an average of 105.72 runs per innings.

Australian Test bowlers

The 1950s

Season Opponent Venue Played Won Lost Drawn Result
1950–51 England Australia 5 4 1 0 Won
1951–52 West Indies Australia 5 4 1 0 Won
1952–53 South Africa Australia 5 2 2 1 Drawn
1953 England England 5 0 1 4 Lost
1954–55 England Australia 5 1 4 0 Lost
1954–55 West Indies West Indies 5 3 0 2 Won
1956 England England 5 1 2 2 Lost
1956–57 Pakistan Pakistan 1 0 1 0 Lost
1956–57 India India 3 2 0 1 Won
1957–58 South Africa South Africa 5 3 0 2 Won
1958–59 England Australia 5 4 1 0 Won
1959–60 Pakistan Pakistan 3 2 0 1 Won
1959–60 India India 5 2 1 2 Won
Totals 57 28 14 15

England was no longer the prime opponent. Australia played 13 Test matches against South Africa and 10 against West Indies. Most of the Tests during this period were played with 8 ball overs and 5 day Test matches although Australia also played 22 six day Test matches. Australian Test captains were Hassett, Johnson and the popular Richie Benaud who had an exceptional record during this period. Australia's leading runscorer in this decade was Harvey with 4573 runs at an average of 50.25 runs per innings while the leading wickettaker was Richie Benaud with 165 wickets at an average of 23.95.

Test tours

The 1960s

Season Opponent Venue Played Won Lost Drawn Result
1960–61 West Indies Australia 5 2 1 1a Won
1961 England England 5 2 1 2 Won
1962–63 England Australia 5 1 1 3 Drawn
1963–64 South Africa Australia 5 1 1 3 Drawn
1964 England England 5 1 0 4 Won
1964–65 India India 3 1 1 1 Drawn
1964–65 Pakistan Pakistan 1 0 0 1 Drawn
1964–65 Pakistan Australia 1 0 0 1 Drawn
1964–65 West Indies West Indies 5 1 2 2 Lost
1965–66 England Australia 5 1 1 3 Drawn
1966–67 South Africa South Africa 5 1 3 1 Lost
1967–68 India Australia 4 4 0 0 Won
1968 England England 5 1 1 3 Drawn
1968–69 West Indies Australia 5 3 1 1 Won
1969–70 India India 5 3 1 1 Won
Totals 64 22 14 27a

Richie Benaud captained Australia in 18 Test matches, Bob Simpson in 29 and Bill Lawry in 16. Lawry was the leading Test batsman. He scored 4717 Test runs at an average of 49.65 runs per innings while McKenzie was the leading Test wicket taker with 238 Test wickets.

Test tours

The 1970s

Australia's Record in Test Match Cricket 1970–1979

Season Opponent Venue Played Won Lost Drawn Result
1970 South Africa South Africa 4 0 4 0 Lost
1970–71 England Australia 7 0 2 5 Lost
1972 England England 5 2 2 1 Drawn
1972–73 Pakistan Australia 3 3 0 0 Won
1972–73 West Indies West Indies 5 3 0 2 Won
1973–74 New Zealand Australia 3 2 0 1 Won
1973–74 New Zealand New Zealand 3 1 1 1 Drawn
1974–75 England Australia 6 4 1 1 Won
1975 England England 4 1 0 3 Won
1975–76 West Indies Australia 6 5 1 0 Won
1976–77 Pakistan Australia 3 1 1 1 Drawn
1976–77 New Zealand New Zealand 2 1 0 1 Won
1976–77 England Australia 1 1 0 0 Won
1977 England England 5 0 3 2 Lost
1977–78 India Australia 5 3 2 0 Won
1977–78 West Indies West Indies 5 1 3 1 Lost
1978–79 England Australia 6 1 5 0 Lost
1978–79 Pakistan Australia 2 1 1 0 Drawn
1979–80 India India 6 0 2 4 Lost
1979–80 West Indies Australia 3 0 2 1 Lost
1979–80 England Australia 3 3 0 0 Won
Totals 87 33 30 24

Australia's Record in ODI Cricket 1970–1979

Year Tournament Venue Played Won Lost Tied N/R Result
1971 v England Australia 1 1 0 0 0 Won
1972 Prudential Trophy England 3 1 2 0 0 Lost
1974 v New Zealand New Zealand 2 2 0 0 0 Won
1975 v England Australia 1 0 1 0 0 Lost
1975 1st World CupT England 5 4 1 0 0 Runner-up
1975 v West Indies Australia 1 1 0 0 0 Won
1977 Prudential Trophy England 3 1 2 0 0 Lost
1978 v West Indies West Indies 2 1 1 0 0 Drawn
1979 v England Australia 4 2 1 0 1 Won
1979 2nd World CupT England 3 1 2 0 0 Eliminated
1979–80 World SeriesT Australia 6 2 4 0 0 Completed 1980
Totals 31 16 14 0 1

T: denotes tournament played between three or more teams

The 1980s

1988 team

Australia's Record in Test Match Cricket 1980–1989

Season Opponent Venue Played Won Lost Drawn Result
1980 Pakistan Pakistan 3 0 1 2 Lost
1980 England England 1 0 0 1 Drawn
1980–81 New Zealand Australia 3 2 0 1 Won
1980–81 India Australia 3 1 1 1 Drawn
1981 England England 6 1 3 2 Lost
1981–82 Pakistan Australia 3 2 1 0 Won
1981–82 West Indies Australia 3 1 1 1 Drawn
1981–82 New Zealand New Zealand 3 1 1 1 Drawn
1982–83 Pakistan Pakistan 3 0 3 0 Lost
1982–83 England Australia 5 2 1 2 Won
1982–83 Sri Lanka Sri Lanka 1 1 0 0 Won
1983–84 Pakistan Australia 5 2 0 3 Won
1983–84 West Indies West Indies 5 0 3 2 Lost
1984–85 West Indies Australia 5 1 3 1 Lost
1985 England England 6 1 3 2 Lost
1985–86 New Zealand Australia 3 1 2 0 Lost
1985–86 India Australia 3 0 0 3 Drawn
1986–87 India India 3 0 0 2# Drawn
1986–87 England Australia 5 1 2 2 Lost
1987–88 New Zealand Australia 3 1 0 2 Won
1987–88 England Australia 1 0 0 1 Drawn
1987–88 Sri Lanka Australia 1 1 0 0 Won
1988–89 Pakistan Pakistan 3 0 1 2 Lost
1988–89 West Indies Australia 5 1 3 1 Lost
1989 England England 6 4 0 2 Won
1989–90 New Zealand Australia 1 0 0 1 Drawn
1989–90 Sri Lanka Australia 2 1 0 1 Won
Totals 91 25 29 36#

# plus one tied result

Australia's Record in ODI Cricket 1980–1989

Year Tournament Venue Played Won Lost Tied N/R Result
1979–80 World SeriesT Australia 2 1 1 0 0 Eliminated
1980 Prudential Trophy England 2 0 2 0 0 Lost
1980–81 World SeriesT Australia 14 9 4 0 1 Won
1981 Prudential Trophy England 3 2 1 0 0 Won
1981–82 World SeriesT Australia 14 5 9 0 0 Runner-up
1982 v New Zealand New Zealand 3 2 1 0 0 Won
1982 v Pakistan Pakistan 3 0 2 0 1 Lost
1983 World SeriesT Australia 12 7 5 0 0 Won
1983 v New Zealand Australia 1 0 1 0 0 Lost
1983 v Sri Lanka Sri Lanka 4 0 2 0 2 Lost
1983 3rd World CupT England 6 2 4 0 0 Eliminated
1984 World SeriesT Australia 13 5 6 1 1 Runner-up
1984 v West Indies West Indies 4 1 3 0 0 Lost
1984 v India India 5 3 0 0 2 Won
1985 World SeriesT Australia 13 5 8 0 0 Runner-up
1985 World Champ. CupT Australia 3 1 2 0 0 Eliminated
1985 Rothmans CupT Sharjah 2 1 1 0 0 Runner-up
1985 Texaco Trophy England 3 2 1 0 0 Won
1986 World SeriesT Australia 12 8 3 0 1 Won
1986 v New Zealand New Zealand 4 2 2 0 0 Drawn
1986 Australasia CupT Sharjah 1 0 1 0 0 Eliminated
1986 v India India 6 2 3 0 1 Lost
1987 B&H ChallengeT Australia 3 0 3 0 0 Eliminated
1987 World SeriesT Australia 10 5 5 0 0 Runner-up
1987 Sharjah CupT Sharjah 3 0 3 0 0 Eliminated
1987 4th World CupT India/Pakistan 8 7 1 0 0 Won
1988 World SeriesT Australia 10 9 1 0 0 Won
1988 v England Australia 1 1 0 0 0 Won
1988 v Pakistan Pakistan 1 0 1 0 0 Lost
1988–89 World SeriesT Australia 11 6 5 0 0 Runner-up
1989 Texaco Trophy England 3 1 1 1 0 Lost
1989 Nehru CupT India 5 2 3 0 0 Eliminated
1989–90 World SeriesT Australia 2 2 0 0 0 Completed in 1990
Totals 187 91 85 2 9
Home 121 64 53 1 3
Away 45 17 21 1 6
Neutral 21 10 11 0 0

T: denotes tournament between three or more teams.

Australian cricket during the 1980s was comparatively unsuccessful, particularly following the retirement of players such as Marsh and Lillee. Queenslander Allan Border, rated as one of the finest middle-order players in history, took over as captain and attempted a re-building process. For quite some time, the common wisdom was that Australia's score in an innings would be "Border plus 100". Border achieved the feat of scoring more than 150 runs in both innings of a Test during a tour of Pakistan during this decade.

As the decade continued, a number of talented players made their debuts and established themselves in the team. Among these were fast bowler Craig McDermott, wicket keeper Ian Healy, Steve Waugh and batsman Dean Jones. Cult heroes such as overweight Tasmanian batsman David Boon and Victorian bowler Merv Hughes also earned places in the team.

In the closing years of the 1980s, Australia won back the Ashes from England and began an era of dominance in that series which only ended in 2005. This decade was also notable for Australia's first Cricket World Cup victory, achieved in 1987 when they won against England by 7 runs in the most closely fought World Cup final to date at Eden Gardens in Calcutta. These two aforementioned victories are considered to have signalled the genesis of the team's rise to dominance, though at that point they were still behind the West Indies and failed to win any Tests in India or Pakistan. In 1986, Australia and India played out only the second tie in Test history, with Jones producing a famous double-century innings in sapping heat.

The 1990s

Australia's Record in Test Match Cricket 1990–1999

Season Opponent Venue Played Won Lost Drawn Result
1989–90 Pakistan Australia 3 1 0 2 Won
1989–90 New Zealand New Zealand 1 0 1 0 Lost
1990–91 England Australia 5 3 0 2 Won
1990–91 West Indies West Indies 5 1 3 1 Lost
1991–92 India Australia 5 4 0 1 Won
1991–92 Sri Lanka Sri Lanka 3 1 0 2 Won
1992–93 West Indies Australia 5 1 2 2 Lost
1992–93 New Zealand New Zealand 3 1 1 1 Drawn
1993 England England 6 4 1 1 Won
1993–94 New Zealand Australia 3 2 0 1 Won
1993–94 South Africa Australia 3 1 1 1 Drawn
1993–94 South Africa South Africa 3 1 1 1 Drawn
1994–95 Pakistan Pakistan 3 0 1 2 Lost
1994–95 England Australia 5 3 1 1 Won
1994–95 West Indies West Indies 4 2 1 1 Won
1995–96 Pakistan Australia 3 2 1 0 Won
1995–96 Sri Lanka Australia 3 3 0 0 Won
1996–97 India India 1 0 1 0 Lost
1996–97 West Indies Australia 5 3 2 0 Won
1996–97 South Africa South Africa 3 2 1 0 Won
1997 England England 6 3 2 1 Won
1997–98 New Zealand Australia 3 2 0 1 Won
1997–98 South Africa Australia 3 1 0 2 Won
1997–98 India India 3 1 2 0 Lost
1998–99 Pakistan Pakistan 3 1 0 2 Won
1998–99 England Australia 5 3 1 1 Won
1998–99 West Indies West Indies 4 2 2 0 Drawn
1999-00 Sri Lanka Sri Lanka 3 0 1 2 Lost
1999–00 Zimbabwe Zimbabwe 1 1 0 0 Won
1999–00 Pakistan Australia 3 3 0 0 Won
1999–00 India Australia 2 2 0 0 Completed 2000
Totals 109 55 26 28

Australia's Record in ODI Cricket 1990–1999

Year Tournament Venue Played Won Lost Tied N/R Result
1989–90 World Series Australia 8 6 2 0 0 Won
1990 Rothmans Cup New Zealand 5 5 0 0 0 Won
1990 Austral-Asia Cup Sharjah 4 3 1 0 0 Runner-up
1990–91 World Series Australia 10 9 1 0 0 Won
1991 v West Indies West Indies 5 4 1 0 0 Won
1991–92 World Series Australia 10 7 2 0 1 Won
1992 5th World Cup Aust/NZ 8 4 4 0 0 Eliminated
1992 v Sri Lanka Sri Lanka 3 1 2 0 0 Lost
1992–93 World Series Australia 10 5 4 1 0 Runner-up
1993 v New Zealand New Zealand 5 3 2 0 0 Won
1993 Texaco Trophy England 3 3 0 0 0 Won
1993–94 World Series Australia 11 7 4 0 0 Won
1994 v South Africa South Africa 8 4 4 0 0 Drawn
1994 Austral-Asia Cup Sharjah 3 2 1 0 0 Semi-final
1994 Singer World Series Sri Lanka 3 1 2 0 0 Eliminated
1994 Wills Triangular Series Pakistan 6 5 1 0 0 Won
1994–95 World Series Australia 4 3 1 0 0 Won
1995 NZ Centenary T’ment New Zealand 4 3 1 0 0 Won
1995 v West Indies West Indies 5 1 4 0 0 Lost
1995–96 World Series Australia 10 7 3 0 0 Won
1996 6th World Cup Ind/Pak/SL 7 5 2 0 0 Runner-up
1996 Singer World Series Sri Lanka 4 2 2 0 0 Runner-up
1996 Titan Cup India 5 0 5 0 0 Eliminated
1996–97 CUB Series Australia 8 3 5 0 0 Eliminated
1997 v South Africa South Africa 7 4 3 0 0 Won
1997 Texaco Trophy England 3 0 3 0 0 Lost
1997–98 CUB Series Australia 11 5 6 0 0 Won
1998 v New Zealand Australia 4 2 2 0 0 Drawn
1998 Pepsi Triangular Series India 5 3 2 0 0 Won
1998 Coca-Cola Cup Sharjah 5 4 1 0 0 Runner-up
1998 Wills Cup Bangladesh 1 0 1 0 0 Eliminated
1998 v Pakistan Pakistan 3 3 0 0 0 Won
1999 CUB Series Australia 12 9 3 0 0 Won
1999 v West Indies West Indies 7 3 3 1 0 Drawn
1999 7th World Cup UK/Ire/Neth 10 7 2 1 0 Won
1999 Aiwa Cup Sri Lanka 5 4 1 0 0 Runner-up
1999 v Zimbabwe Zimbabwe 3 3 0 0 0 Won
Totals 225 140 81 3 1

The 1990s saw the dawn and twilight of many well-known Australian cricketers Shane Warne became a household name during the 1993 Ashes tour, Allan Border retired after playing South Africa at Durban in 1994, Glenn McGrath became famous as a metronome (and as a rabbit) during the 1994–95 tour of the West Indies, Ricky Ponting came onto the scene with 96 against Sri Lanka during 1995–96, Craig McDermott was forced to retire during the 1996–97 season, while Brett Lee appeared at the turn of the century. Meanwhile, Australian cricket was run by three captains, Allan Border, Mark Taylor and Steve Waugh.

Australia continued to assert their dominance over The Ashes during the 1990s, won the unofficial Test 'world championship' prize from West Indies during 1994–95, won a second World Cup in 1999 and began a long winning streak in 1999, both in one-day internationals and Tests. The only venues where Australia struggled were India and Sri Lanka. The 1992–93 Frank Worrell Trophy series against the West Indies was the last Test series Australia lost at home until the 2008–09 series loss to South Africa.

A year after losing to Sri Lanka in the final of the 1996 World Cup, Australia adopted a policy of fielding separate Test and one-day sides. The policy was intended to ensure that players were only chosen for the side for which they were suitable. This resulted in the immediate removal of captain Taylor and his deputy Ian Healy from the ODI team. The move proved successful, and was also adopted by other teams such as England and the West Indies.

The defeat of the then-dominant West Indies on their 1995 tour of the Caribbean is viewed as the moment when Australia became the dominant side in the world. Since then, in spite of a few occasions (specifically the 2005 Ashes series) the Australians have had an extremely high winning rate that compares favourably to the leading teams in history (much like the West Indies for the two decades prior).

The 2000s

Australia's Record in Test Match Cricket 2000–

Season Opponent Venue Played Won Lost Drawn Result
1999-00 India Australia 1 1 0 0 Won
1999–90 New Zealand New Zealand 3 3 0 0 Won
2000–01 West Indies Australia 5 5 0 0 Won
2000–01 India India 3 1 2 0 Lost
2001 England England 5 4 0 1 Won
2001–02 New Zealand New Zealand 3 0 0 3 Drawn
2001–02 South Africa Australia 3 3 0 0 Won
2001–02 South Africa South Africa 3 2 1 0 Won
2002–03 Pakistan SL/Sharjah 3 3 0 0 Won
2002–03 England Australia 5 4 1 0 Won
2002–03 West Indies West Indies 4 3 1 0 Won
2003 Bangladesh Australia 2 2 0 0 Won
2003–04 Zimbabwe Australia 2 2 0 0 Won
2003–04 India Australia 4 1 1 2 Drawn
2003–04 Sri Lanka Sri Lanka 3 3 0 0 Won
2004 Sri Lanka Australia 2 1 0 1 Won
2004–05 India India 4 2 1 1 Won
2004–05 New Zealand Australia 2 2 0 0 Won
2004–05 Pakistan Australia 3 3 0 0 Won
2004–05 New Zealand New Zealand 3 2 0 1 Won
2005 England England 5 1 2 2 Lost
2005–06 ICC World XI Australia 1 1 0 0 Won
2005–06 West Indies Australia 3 3 0 0 Won
2005–06 South Africa Australia 3 2 0 1 Won
2005–06 South Africa South Africa 3 3 0 0 Won
2005–06 Bangladesh Bangladesh 2 2 0 0 Won
2006–07 England Australia 5 5 0 0 Won
2007–08 Sri Lanka Australia 2 2 0 0 Won
2007–08 India Australia 4 2 1 1 Won
2007–08 West Indies Australia 3 2 1 0 Won
2008–09 India India 4 0 2 2 Lost
2008–09 New Zealand Australia 2 2 0 0 Won
2008–09 South Africa Australia 3 1 2 0 Lost
2008–09 South Africa South Africa 3 2 1 0 Won
2009 England England 5 1 2 2 Lost
Totals 111 70 18 18

During this decade, Australia's dominance has continued to the point that they have gone months sometimes even a full calendar year without losing a single match and have racked up many records along the way. Following Steve Waugh's omission in 2002 from One Day International cricket and, in his retirement in 2004 from Test cricket, Ricky Ponting replaced him as Captain and continued the team's international dominance.

The 2005 Ashes series 2–1 loss to England was considered a disaster. The return series in 2006–07, was, however, a resounding success, with the Australians completing a 5–0 whitewash of the English, a feat not witnessed since Warwick Armstrong's side in 1920–21. The 2006–07 season also saw the retirements of Shane Warne, Glenn McGrath and Justin Langer. The Ashes were again lost 2–1 in England in 2009, this result reduced Australia to 4th in the ICC Test Rankings, their lowest ever position. Australia's dominance during this time extended to One-Day Cricket, with the Australians winning a third consecutive Cricket World Cup in 2007, following their successes in 2003 and 1999). Australia's dominance of the tournament during the decade has meant that the team has not suffered a World Cup loss since the group stage of 1999. Australia pulled out of their cricket tour of Pakistan because of Terrorism in Pakistan on 11 March 2008.[1]

Tournament history

World Cup

The Australian cricket team has had a rich history participating in the World Cup. At present, they have won the World Cup five times as well as three titles in a row, the only team to do so. Their dominance of the tournament can be analysed through the winning percentage of all countries which have participated, as Australia hold a 10% higher winning rate over the next best side.

Their dominance of the tournament most recently in particular has been quite phenomenal, and the Australian team currently sit on 23 consecutive victories, a winning streak which dates back to the 1999 world cup tournament. To put this into perspective, the second longest winning streak behind this is nine straight victories by the West Indies team of the 1970s.

ICC Champions Trophy

The Australian cricket team finally captured victory in the ICC Champions Trophy series after beating the West Indies in the final of the 2006 series and backed it up by winning their second straight ICC Champions Trophy by beating New Zealand in the 2009 edition in South Africa.

ICC knockout

The Australian cricket team made it as far as the quarter-finals in the ICC knockout. They have reached the quarter-finals on two different occasions.

Commonwealth Games

Despite topping their pool, Australia lost to South Africa in the gold medal play-off.

Austral-Asia Cup

Australia have entered the Austral-Asia cup three times. The best result came in 1990 in which they were runners-up.

Twenty20 World Cup

They reached the semi-final of the first Twenty20 World Cup in 2007 losing to the eventual champions India, but also lost to Pakistan and Zimbabwe in the group stages.[2] In the 2009 World Cup they were eliminated in the qualification round after losing by six wickets to both the West Indies and Sri Lanka.[3]

History of Australia's One-Day International Shirts

.

References

  1. ↑ http://edition.cnn.com/2008/SPORT/03/11/australia.tour/index.html
  2. ↑ Guardian Sports
  3. ↑ Twenty20 World Cup Standings www.cricket20.com
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