Australia was one of two teams that played the first ever match in history. They faced England in the first ever test on March 18, 1877, at Melbourne Cricket Ground. And the numbers suggest that Australia is the most successful team in the history of cricket. They have also won the most matches in the red-ball format.
Australia is the only team that has won more than 400 matches. David Gregory was the first ever captain for the Kangaroos who led the country in test matches. Overall, 46 players have led Australia in the red-ball format. Pat Cummins is the current skipper of the team. So, in this article, we will cover the list of captains for Australia in test format.
3. Steve Waugh (57 games) between 5 March 1999 to 2 Jan 2004
In 1999, Steve Waugh became the 39th player to lead the Aussies. He took the leadership charge from Mark Taylor, who himself was a legend. Waugh was the captain, who led his team from the front. Waugh made his test captaincy debut in March 1999 against the West Indies at Queen’s Park Oval. He didn’t do much and scored 14 and 0 in two innings, but Australia won the match by a massive 312 runs.
He was the captain for Australia in 57 test matches and led his nation in 41 wins, 9 defeats and 7 draws. His last game as a test captain was against India at Sydney Cricket Ground in January 2004, which ended in a draw. Waugh scored 3714 runs at an average of 52.31, with 15 centuries and 10 half-centuries as a captain.
2. Ricky Ponting (77 games) between 8 March 2004 to 26 Dec 2010
After Steve Waugh, it was Ricky Ponting who took the Australian legacy forward and made Australia an unbeatable team in the world. Under his leadership, the Aussies were very hard to defeat both at home and away. Ponting became the 41st test captain for his country. His first game as a captain was against Sri Lanka at Galle International Stadium in March 2004. Ponting scored 21 and 28 in two innings.
Australia won that match by 197 runs. After that, Ponting led Australia in 77 Test matches during his stint. Under his captaincy, the Aussies won 48 games, lost 16 and 13 matches ended in a draw. The last game for Ponting as a captain was against England at the Melbourne Cricket Ground in December 2010. Ponting ended up as the third highest run-scorer as a captain. He scored 6542 runs at an average of 51.51, with 19 centuries and 35 fifties.
1. Allan Border (93 Test) between 7 Dec 1984 to 25 March 1994
Allan Border was one of the greatest captains in the history of cricket. Border became the 37th player to lead his country at the highest level in the longest format of cricket. His very first match as a test captain was against West Indies at Adelaide Oval in December 1984. He made 21 and 18 runs in two innings, and unfortunately, Australia lost that match. However, it was only the start of a legendary career.
Border went on to lead Australia in 93 games, which is the second most in history for any captain. He led his nation with 32 wins, 22 losses, and 38 draws. His last match as a test captain was against South Africa in March 1994 at Kingsmead, which ended in a draw. Border scored 6623 runs at an average of 50.95 as a captain, with 15 centuries and 36 half-centuries.
List of Test Cricket Captains for Australia
| No. | Captains | First Match | Last Match | Mts | Won | Lost | Drawn |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | David Gregory | 15/03/1877 | 02/01/1879 | 3 | 2 (66.67%) | 1 (33.33%) | 0 (0.00%) |
| 2 | Thomas Horan | 01/01/1885 | 21/03/1885 | 2 | 0 (0.00%) | 2 (100.00%) | 0 (0.00%) |
| 3 | Hugh Massie | 20/02/1885 | 20/02/1885 | 1 | 1 (100.00%) | 0 (0.00%) | 0 (0.00%) |
| 4 | John Blackham | 14/03/1885 | 14/12/1894 | 8 | 3 (37.50%) | 3 (37.50%) | 2 (25.00%) |
| 5 | Henry Scott | 05/07/1886 | 12/08/1886 | 3 | 0 (0.00%) | 3 (100.00%) | 0 (0.00%) |
| 6 | Percy McDonnell | 28/01/1887 | 30/08/1888 | 6 | 1 (16.67%) | 5 (83.33%) | 0 (0.00%) |
| 7 | George Giffen | 29/12/1894 | 01/03/1895 | 4 | 2 (50.00%) | 2 (50.00%) | 0 (0.00%) |
| 8 | George Trott | 22/06/1896 | 26/02/1898 | 8 | 5 (62.50%) | 3 (37.50%) | 0 (0.00%) |
| 9 | Joseph Darling | 01/06/1899 | 14/08/1905 | 21 | 7 (33.33%) | 4 (19.05%) | 10 (47.62%) |
| 10 | Hugh Trumble | 14/02/1902 | 28/02/1902 | 2 | 2 (100.00%) | 0 (0.00%) | 0 (0.00%) |
| 11 | Montague Noble | 11/12/1903 | 09/08/1909 | 15 | 8 (53.33%) | 5 (33.33%) | 2 (13.33%) |
| 12 | Clement Hill | 09/12/1910 | 23/02/1912 | 10 | 5 (50.00%) | 5 (50.00%) | 0 (0.00%) |
| 13 | Syd Gregory | 27/05/1912 | 19/08/1912 | 6 | 2 (33.33%) | 1 (16.67%) | 3 (50.00%) |
| 14 | Warwick Armstrong | 17/12/1920 | 13/08/1921 | 10 | 8 (80.00%) | 0 (0.00%) | 2 (20.00%) |
| 15 | Herbie Collins | 05/11/1921 | 14/08/1926 | 11 | 5 (45.45%) | 2 (18.18%) | 4 (36.36%) |
| 16 | Warren Bardsley | 10/07/1926 | 24/07/1926 | 2 | 0 (0.00%) | 0 (0.00%) | 2 (100.00%) |
| 17 | John Ryder | 30/11/1928 | 08/03/1929 | 5 | 1 (20.00%) | 4 (80.00%) | 0 (0.00%) |
| 18 | William Woodfull | 13/06/1930 | 18/08/1934 | 25 | 14 (56.00%) | 7 (28.00%) | 4 (16.00%) |
| 19 | Victor Richardson | 14/12/1935 | 28/02/1936 | 5 | 4 (80.00%) | 0 (0.00%) | 1 (20.00%) |
| 20 | Donald Bradman | 04/12/1936 | 14/08/1948 | 24 | 15 (62.50%) | 3 (12.50%) | 6 (25.00%) |
| 21 | William Brown | 29/03/1946 | 29/03/1946 | 1 | 1 (100.00%) | 0 (0.00%) | 0 (0.00%) |
| 22 | Arthur Hassett | 24/12/1949 | 15/08/1953 | 24 | 14 (58.33%) | 4 (16.67%) | 6 (25.00%) |
| 23 | Arthur Morris | 22/12/1951 | 17/12/1954 | 2 | 0 (0.00%) | 2 (100.00%) | 0 (0.00%) |
| 24 | Ian Johnson | 26/11/1954 | 02/11/1956 | 17 | 7 (41.18%) | 5 (29.41%) | 5 (29.41%) |
| 25 | Ray Lindwall | 26/10/1956 | 26/10/1956 | 1 | 0 (0.00%) | 0 (0.00%) | 1 (100.00%) |
| 26 | Ian Craig | 23/12/1957 | 28/02/1958 | 5 | 3 (60.00%) | 0 (0.00%) | 2 (40.00%) |
| 27 | Richie Benaud | 05/12/1958 | 06/12/1963 | 28 | 12 (42.86%) | 4 (14.29%) | 11 (39.29%) |
| 28 | Neil Harvey | 22/06/1961 | 22/06/1961 | 1 | 1 (100.00%) | 0 (0.00%) | 0 (0.00%) |
| 29 | Bob Simpson | 01/01/1964 | 28/04/1978 | 39 | 12 (30.77%) | 12 (30.77%) | 15 (38.46%) |
| 30 | Brian Booth | 10/12/1965 | 07/01/1966 | 2 | 0 (0.00%) | 1 (50.00%) | 1 (50.00%) |
| 31 | Bill Lawry | 19/01/1968 | 29/01/1971 | 25 | 9 (36.00%) | 8 (32.00%) | 8 (32.00%) |
| 32 | Barry Jarman | 25/07/1968 | 25/07/1968 | 1 | 0 (0.00%) | 0 (0.00%) | 1 (100.00%) |
| 33 | Ian Chappell | 12/02/1971 | 28/08/1975 | 30 | 15 (50.00%) | 5 (16.67%) | 10 (33.33%) |
| 34 | Greg Chappell | 28/11/1975 | 22/04/1983 | 48 | 21 (43.75%) | 13 (27.08%) | 14 (29.17%) |
| 35 | Graham Yallop | 01/12/1978 | 10/03/1979 | 7 | 1 (14.29%) | 6 (85.71%) | 0 (0.00%) |
| 36 | Kim Hughes | 24/03/1979 | 23/11/1984 | 28 | 4 (14.29%) | 13 (46.43%) | 11 (39.29%) |
| 37 | Allan Border | 07/12/1984 | 25/03/1994 | 93 | 32 (34.41%) | 22 (23.66%) | 38 (40.86%) |
| 38 | Mark Taylor | 28/09/1994 | 02/01/1999 | 50 | 26 (52.00%) | 13 (26.00%) | 11 (22.00%) |
| 39 | Steve Waugh | 05/03/1999 | 02/01/2004 | 57 | 41 (71.93%) | 9 (15.79%) | 7 (12.28%) |
| 40 | Adam Gilchrist | 15/12/2000 | 26/10/2004 | 6 | 4 (66.67%) | 1 (16.67%) | 1 (16.67%) |
| 41 | Ricky Ponting | 08/03/2004 | 26/12/2010 | 77 | 48 (62.34%) | 16 (20.78%) | 13 (16.88%) |
| 42 | Micheal Clarke | 03/01/2011 | 20/08/2015 | 47 | 24 (51.06%) | 16 (34.04%) | 7 (14.89%) |
| 43 | Shane Watson | 22/03/2013 | 22/03/2013 | 1 | 0 (0.00%) | 1 (100.00%) | 0 (0.00%) |
| 44 | Steve Smith | 17/12/2014 | 22/03/2018 | 34 | 18 (52.94%) | 10 (29.41%) | 6 (17.65%) |
| 45 | Tim Paine | 30/03/2018 | 15/01/2021 | 23 | 11 (47.83%) | 8 (34.78%) | 4 (17.39%) |
| 46 | Pat Cummins | 08/12/2021 | 11/06/2023 | 15 | 8 (53%) | 3 (21) | 4 (26) |
‘#” refers Current Captain