Precambrian
Banned
It's 24 something years since Allan Border took over Australian captaincy and started the Great Dynasty which has seen just 3 regular captains to date. So, who's been the best (not necessarily the most successful)?
Allan Robert Border (1984-94)
Captained Australia through the dark period of 1980s. Took over captaincy reluctantly from Kim Hughes, and marred by player defections to rebel team who toured SA, lost the 1985 Ashes and the 1986-87 Ashes. Started the rebuilding of the side with Bob Simpson, and captained Aus to an unexpected win in 1987 and regained the Ashes in 1989 which they retained till the end of his career. However he could not acheive a series win over Windies during his tenure and ended his career in 1994. He captained Australia in 93 tests which is a record.
Stats as captain:
Mark Anthony Taylor (1994-99)
Wikipedia says, "In contrast to his predecessor Allan Border, who acquired the nickname 'Captain Grumpy', Taylor won plaudits for his always cheerful and positive demeanour". Took over from AB in 1994, and continued the rebuilding of the Australian Team. Started with an away loss of 1-0 to Pakistan, Australia retained the Ashes and then famously captained them to a 2-1 victory in the Carribean, which saw them regain the Frank Worrel Trophy after a gap of 22 years, and with that the crown of World Champions. In al, he captained Australia in 50 tests, and ended up with an impressive win ratio of 52%,
Stephen Rodger Waugh (1999-2004)
Widely credited as the captained under which Australia peaked as a team, and virtually revolutionised Test cricket with aggressive cricket with a no-draw approach and established firmly Australia's stature as World Champions with the help of stalwarts like Glenn McGrath, Shane Warne, Ricky Ponting and Adam Gilchrist. He won test series everywhere in the world except for India, which he described as the "Final Frontier". He captained Australia in 57 tests, leading them to victory in 41 of them, including a record 16 straight wins.
Ricky Thomas Ponting (2004-)
Ricky Ponting inherited captaincy from Waugh in early 2004 and a team at its peak, and is perhaps the most successful captain in the history of cricket. He, however became the first captain to lose the Ashes in 2005 since Allan Border in 86-87. But Australia emphatically regained it in 2006-07 with a 5-0 whitewash, post which he lost the services of eminent players like McGrath, Warne, Langer, Gilchrist etc. He has captained Australia to wins everywhere, except India, where he is currently in the bid with a new-look team, which is in the process of rebuilding.
Adam Craig Gilchrist
The wicketkeeper batsman captained Australia in 6 tests, 2 as stand-in for Steve Waugh and 4 for Ponting. Australia won 4 out of these tests, including 2 over India in 2004, which ultimately resulted them winning that series 2-1, the first time they did so since 1969.
Go on, vote and pull in your thoughts.
Allan Robert Border (1984-94)
Captained Australia through the dark period of 1980s. Took over captaincy reluctantly from Kim Hughes, and marred by player defections to rebel team who toured SA, lost the 1985 Ashes and the 1986-87 Ashes. Started the rebuilding of the side with Bob Simpson, and captained Aus to an unexpected win in 1987 and regained the Ashes in 1989 which they retained till the end of his career. However he could not acheive a series win over Windies during his tenure and ended his career in 1994. He captained Australia in 93 tests which is a record.
Stats as captain:
Code:
Stats as captain
[B]Played Won Lost Tied Drawn Win%[/B]
93 32 22 1 38 34%
Mark Anthony Taylor (1994-99)
Wikipedia says, "In contrast to his predecessor Allan Border, who acquired the nickname 'Captain Grumpy', Taylor won plaudits for his always cheerful and positive demeanour". Took over from AB in 1994, and continued the rebuilding of the Australian Team. Started with an away loss of 1-0 to Pakistan, Australia retained the Ashes and then famously captained them to a 2-1 victory in the Carribean, which saw them regain the Frank Worrel Trophy after a gap of 22 years, and with that the crown of World Champions. In al, he captained Australia in 50 tests, and ended up with an impressive win ratio of 52%,
Code:
Stats as captain
[B]Played Won Lost Tied Drawn Win%[/B]
50 26 13 0 11 52%
Stephen Rodger Waugh (1999-2004)
Widely credited as the captained under which Australia peaked as a team, and virtually revolutionised Test cricket with aggressive cricket with a no-draw approach and established firmly Australia's stature as World Champions with the help of stalwarts like Glenn McGrath, Shane Warne, Ricky Ponting and Adam Gilchrist. He won test series everywhere in the world except for India, which he described as the "Final Frontier". He captained Australia in 57 tests, leading them to victory in 41 of them, including a record 16 straight wins.
Code:
Stats as captain
[B]Played Won Lost Tied Drawn Win%[/B]
57 41 9 0 7 72%
Ricky Thomas Ponting (2004-)
Ricky Ponting inherited captaincy from Waugh in early 2004 and a team at its peak, and is perhaps the most successful captain in the history of cricket. He, however became the first captain to lose the Ashes in 2005 since Allan Border in 86-87. But Australia emphatically regained it in 2006-07 with a 5-0 whitewash, post which he lost the services of eminent players like McGrath, Warne, Langer, Gilchrist etc. He has captained Australia to wins everywhere, except India, where he is currently in the bid with a new-look team, which is in the process of rebuilding.
Code:
Stats as captain (upto Mohali Test)
[B]Played Won Lost Tied Drawn Win%[/B]
46 33 5 0 8 72%
Adam Craig Gilchrist
The wicketkeeper batsman captained Australia in 6 tests, 2 as stand-in for Steve Waugh and 4 for Ponting. Australia won 4 out of these tests, including 2 over India in 2004, which ultimately resulted them winning that series 2-1, the first time they did so since 1969.
Code:
Stats as captain
[B]Played Won Lost Tied Drawn Win%[/B]
6 4 1 0 1 67%