Compiling an all-time XI is never the most straightforward of tasks, especially for a country which has a rich cricket history like Australia.
As such, we have enlisted the help of our social media followers to pick an all-time XI. More than 30 players were taken into consideration as we threw open the voting floor.
Follow our Instagram account to get more involved as we try to compile all-time Test XIs for the major cricketing nations around the world.
Here is the all-time Australia Test XI based on the choices of our followers, along with the choices considered.
PLAYERS CONSIDERED
Openers: Matthew Hayden, Justin Langer, Michael Slater, Bill Lawry, Mark Taylor
Middle-order (3-6): Sir Don Bradman, Steve Smith, Ricky Ponting, Steve Waugh, Michael Clarke, Michael Hussey, Allan Border, Greg Chappell, Neil Harvey
Wicketkeepers: Adam Gilchrist, Ian Healy, Rodney Marsh, Brad Haddin
Spinners: Shane Warne, Nathan Lyon, Richie Benaud, Clarrie Grimmett, Hugh Trumble
Pacers: Glenn McGrath, Brett Lee, Mitchell Johnson, Dennis Lillee, Craig McDermott, Graham McKenzie, Jeff Thompson, Jason Gillespie, Ray Lindwall
FINAL XI
Matthew Hayden – Opener
Despite making his Test debut in 1994, Australia would not see the best of Matthew Hayden until the tour of India in 2001.
An imperious tally of 549 in the three-Test series against India proved to be the catalyst for Hayden’s rise as one of the best openers in history.
By the time he retired in 2009, Hayden had racked up nearly 9,000 runs at an impressive average of 50.73.
A towering presence at the crease with powerful shoulders, the left-hander amassed 30 Test tons over his career, including a memorable 380 in a single innings against Zimbabwe.
Only England’s Alastair Cook has scored more Test runs than Hayden in an opening position.
David Warner – Opener
While Hayden forged a stellar opening partnership with Justin Langer, it is David Warner who gets the vote to take the slot in the all-time XI.
The first Australian in over a century to make his international debut without playing first-class cricket, Warner’s initial reputation was that of a T20 specialist.
However, the southpaw has wasted no time in establishing himself as one of the best all-format batsmen in the world. Remarkably, his greatest success has come in the Test arena, where he has accumulated 24 tons and 30 half-centuries in just 145 innings.
Hot on the heels of Hayden’s tally, Warner looks destined to surpass his predecessor despite losing a year of cricket to suspension.
Sir Don Bradman – Middle-order
As arguably the greatest Test batsman of all-time, Sir Don Bradman needs no introduction.
A batsman who registered a staggering 29 centuries in just 80 innings, Bradman retired with a surreal Test average of 99.94.
Thirty seven of his 52 Test appearances came against England, and Australia lost the Ashes series just once over the course of his career. That loss came about in the infamous ‘Bodyline’ series where England devised the negative tactic for the sole purpose of subduing Bradman. Such was his genius, that the Aussie still managed to average an impressive 56 in the series.
A true colossal of the game, Bradman is a statistical anomaly in the game due to his incredulous numbers.
Steve Smith – Middle-order
If any batsman has managed to even get near Bradman’s lofty standards since his retirement, it is fellow Aussie Steve Smith.
With a Test average of nearly 63 after 73 appearances, the right-hander is arguably the greatest red-ball batsman of his generation.
Armed with the most unorthodox of techniques, Smith has scripted a remarkable career so far after initially being picked as a leg-spinner.
With a bowling action very similar to that of Shane Warne, Smith has ended up emulating Bradman instead with the sheer consistency of his displays.
His transformation into the No1 ranked Test batsman in the world has been a journey to behold and there’s plenty more to come from his locker in the years to come.
Ricky Ponting – Middle-order
Australia have been blessed with some really great captains over the course of history, and Ricky Ponting’s name perhaps burns the brightest among them all. The fact that he is also Australia’s leading Test run-scorer and most prolific century maker further cements his place in the all-time XI.
For long, Ponting was the closest rival to Sachin Tendulkar in the debate for the best batsmen of their respective generation.
Despite undergoing slight decline towards the end of his career, the right-hander bowed out of the game with 13,378 runs and 41 centuries to his name.
Steve Waugh (Captain) – Middle-order
With 168 Test appearances to his name, Steve Waugh retired as the most capped player of all time before being ultimately surpassed by Tendulkar.
A brilliant captain and an equally capable batsman, Waugh led Australia 15 times during their world-record streak of 16 successive Test wins.
Forty one wins in 57 matches as Australia’s captain makes Waugh’s Test victory rate of 72 per cent the best of all time.
With the bat, he was an accomplished batsman who tallied nearly 11,000 Test runs with the help of 32 centuries. He was also handy with his medium-pace which fetched him 92 Test wickets.
Adam Gilchrist – Wicketkeeper
Coming in at his customary No7 position in the batting order, Adam Gilchrist is a shoe-in for the wicketkeeping spot.
Despite succeeding one of the finest wicketkeepers in the form of Ian Healy, Gilchrist smashed stereotypes about the role with his swashbuckling batting ability.
The left-hander smashed 5,570 runs over the course of his Test career, while also helping himself to 17 tons. His career strike-rate of 81.95 is phenomenal by all means, with his aggressive batting down the order turning many matches in Australia’s favour.
While he wasn’t exactly Healy-like with his glove work, Gilchrist was still a terrific wicketkeeper to have behind the stumps. A true all-rounder by definition.
Shane Warne – Spinner
A legendary player in every right, Shane Warne was a larger than life character who made leg-spin fashionable once again.
Despite his controversies off the field, Warne was a sheer artist on it with the cricket ball in hand. His ‘ball of the century’ to dismiss Mike Gatting in 1993 was just the start of what would turn out to be the most remarkable of careers.
Poetry in motion with the manner in which he flighted and dipped the ball, Warne was the first bowler in history to breach the 700-wicket barrier. Though he was ultimately overtaken by Muttiah Muralitharan, the Aussie is still widely regarded as the greatest spinner to grace the game.
Mitchell Johnson – Pacer
In a career of many ups and downs, Mitchell Johnson still managed to establish himself as one of the most fearsome fast bowlers in the game.
Inconsistencies and injuries plagued him for much of his career, with two chastening Ashes tours of England in 2009 and 2011 throwing up further question marks.
In the end, Johnson bounced back in sensational fashion in the home Ashes series of 2013-13 by tormenting England with his menacing pace and bounce.
Thirty seven wickets in the series whitewash at the age of 32 sparked a late revival for Johnson who would ultimately go on to become the fifth Australian bowler to claim 300 Test scalps.
Dennis Lillee – Pacer
Having initially burst on to the scene as a tearaway quick, Dennis Lillee’s reinvention as the complete fast bowler post suffering a stress fracture in his back is a remarkable story.
He forged a lethal fast-bowling partnership with Jeff Thompson for Australia, and slowly turned into a crowd favourite with his ability as well as perseverance to the cause.
At the time of his retirement in 1984, Lillee’s haul of 355 Test wickets was the most by any bowler in history.
His ability to constantly attack the stumps made him a difficult proposition for any batsman, and his career bowling average of 23.92 is testament to his effectiveness.
Glenn McGrath – Pacer
While his wicket-haul might now have been surpassed by England’s James Anderson, Glenn McGrath remains the greatest pacer in history.
With his ability to constantly land the ball just at the same spot outside the off-stump, McGrath made a mockery of some of the best batsmen of his generation.
That he could move the ball both ways only further increased his potency, and he was a master in the art of setting up batsmen over a period of deliveries.
Five hundred and sixty three wickets at a measly average of just 21.64 does not tell the full story of McGrath’s unrelenting genius, but it does underline his status as the greatest fast bowler to come out of Australia.
