All about the Australia Cricket Team

The Australian cricket team, known as the Baggy Greens due to the hats they wear in test cricket, is controlled by Cricket Australia. As a founding member, they have been a Full ICC Member since 15th June, 1909.

Keep on reading to find out more about their Australia's cricketing history, their kit colours, their best players at this moment in time, what tournaments they have won, how they have gotten on against other nations, and what they are currently up to in the world of cricket.

A Quick Look at the History of Australian Cricket

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Australia played the very first test match against England in 1877 at the MCG. They won the match by 45 runs, and Charles Bannerman became the first player to score a test century. At the time, test cricket was only played between England and Australia, but the huge distance between the countries meant that matches were often limited. It would take the teams two or three months to get to their destination by boat. Despite their smaller population, the Aussies were always competitive when they played England. A highlight of their early test history has got to be the test match that they played at The Oval, England, in 1882. Fred Spofforth picked up 7 wickets for 44 runs in the fourth innings to prevent England from reaching their paltry target of 85. After the game, a major British newspaper claimed that English cricket was dead and that the body will be cremated, and its ashes taken back to Australia. This, as you probably already know, eventually led to The Ashes competition being born.

The period from 1897-1911 is considered to be the Golden Age of Australian test cricket. During this period, they had fantastic batsmen such as Victor Trumper, Joe Darling, Syd Greggory, and Warren Bardsley. Alongside these, they had great bowlers such as Tibby Cotter, Hugh Trumble, Jack Saunders, and Ernie Jones. All these outstanding players helped to make Australia a dominant force for the aforementioned time period. Trumper became one of Australia's sporting heroes and is still regarded as one of the best batsmen that the country has produced. When World War One broke out, Australia didn't play any cricket for eight years. Test cricket finally got back underway in 1920 when England toured Australia to play a five-match series. Australia won every game and then won three out of five tests the following year when they toured England. In 1930, Australia toured England with a young Donald Bradman included in the team. Bradman showed his enormous talent and went on to score a whopping 974 runs. Bradman, as we all know, is widely regarded as the best batsman to ever grace the sport and he dominated world cricket for the 18 years that he played.

England toured Australia again during the 1932-33 season and took part in one of the most infamous test series ever to be played. This was because the England captain instructed his bowlers to bowl short and fast deliveries at the Australian batsmen's bodies. The tactic was very effective, but the local supporters did not like it and there was nearly a riot among the 50,000 Australian fans during the third test. England went on to win the series 4-1, but this bodyline tactic was banned the following year. Once again, the Second World War put a stop to cricket for the next seven years. However, when cricket resumed in 1945, the Australian team carried on with their success as they went the rest of the decade without losing a test match. From the 1950s to the 1990s, there was a mixture of mediocrity and greatness for the Australian cricket team. The 1990s and the beginning of the 21st century saw Australia go unbeaten in all but one Ashes series and win three cricket world cups, consistently topping the ICC cricket rankings. This success was down to great players such as Shane Warne, Ricky Ponting, Michael Hussey, Matthew Hayden, Steve Waugh, Glenn McGrath, Justin Langer, and Adam Gilchrist.

"Nowadays, they are not as dominant in world cricket, but they still have a very reasonable team in all formats of the game. At this moment in time, they are coached by Justin Langer, while Aaron Finch is the limited overs captain and Tim Paine is the test captain."

What Colours Are Worn by the Australian Cricket Team?

Test Cricket

When they are playing test cricket, they have to wear cricket whites like all the other teams. If they are playing in cold conditions, then they will wear a white sweater with a gold and green V-neck. The sponsor's logo, which is Alinta for home tests and Qantas for away tests, can be found on the right side of the t-shirt, while the Cricket Australia logo can be found on the left. When they are out in the field, they wear the traditional Australian baggy green cap, while they use a green helmet when batting. Both of these pieces of headwear have the Australian coat-of-arms instead of usual governing body emblem.

ODI and T20 Cricket

In 50 and 20 over cricket, the kits that are used are usually green and gold in colour. At the moment, the ODI kit for home matches has green as the primary colour and gold as the secondary. It is the opposite for their away matches. When it comes to T20 matches, the home kits are usually black with gold and green stripes. However, since their win over New Zealand at the 2015 Cricket World Cup the gold uniform has become a firm favourite. The caps that they wear in limited overs cricket is gold and is known as the floppy gold. They use yellow helmets when batting in the shortened formats of the game.

Who Are the Best Australian Cricket Players?

Here is the TOP 3 of the current best Australian players.

Steve Smith

Smith is widely regarded as one of the best batsmen in the world on current form. In the recent Ashes series against England, they just could not find a way to prise him away from the crease. Come the end of the series, he had scored 774 runs in four test matches (he missed the third test due to concussion). In the 77 test matches that he has played, he has scored 7,540 runs (27 centuries and 31 half-centuries) at an astonishing average of 61.80. When it comes to ODI cricket, he has played 128 matches and has scored 4,378 runs (11 centuries and 25 half-centuries) at an average of 43.34. His stats, if we are being honest, aren't as impressive in the shorter format of the game. In 45 T20 matches, he has scored 794 runs (highest score of 90), at an average of 27.37.

Pat Cummins

Cummins made his debut at the tender age of 18 and he has steadily made his way to the top of the test bowler rankings. His ability to bowl at close to 150 kph has helped him to torment batsmen all over the world. He has only played in 34 Test matches, but he already has 164 wickets at an average of 21.59. This includes 5 5-wicket hauls and 1 ten-wicket haul. He has played 69 ODIs and has 111 wickets to his name at an average of 28.78. When it comes to T20 cricket, in the 30 matches that he has played, he has picked up 37 wickets at an average of 20.62. He hasn't played as much international cricket as he would have hoped due to injury, but if he can stay fit then there is no reason why he can't carry on giving batsmen nightmares for the next 6-8 years.

David Warner

Warner had a horrendous 2019 Ashes series, scoring just 95 runs in 10 innings at an average of 9.5. He was Stuart Broad's bunny throughout the series as he was dismissed by him 7 times. His poor run of form has continued since then, but he is still a class batsman and has shown it time and time again. In the 86 test matches that he has played, he has scored 7,311 runs (24 centuries and 30 half-centuries) at a very respectable average of 48.09. In 128 ODI matches, he has scored 5,455 runs (18 centuries and 23 half-centuries) at an average of 45.45. In 81 T20 matches, he has scored 2,265 runs (highest score of 100**) at an average of 31.45.

How Have the Aussies Performed at World Tournaments?

ICC Cricket World Cup

Year Round Position
1975 Runners-up 2/8
1979 Group Stage 6/8
1983 Group Stage 6/8
1987 Champions 1/8
1992 Round 1 5/9
1996 Runners-up 2/12
1999 Champions 1/12
2003 Champions 1/14
2007 Champions 1/16
2011 Quarter-finals 6/14
2015 Champions 1/14
2019 Semi-finals 4/10

*Australia is the most successful nation when it comes to the a href='https://www.cricketonlinebetting.in/cricket-match-prediction/worldwide-competitions/icc-cricket-world-cup/'>ICC Cricket World Cup. They have won the tournament an astonishing five times and have been in 7 out of the 12 finals. They are the only team to have appeared in four consecutive finals. Pretty impressive to say the least!

ICC T20 World Cup

Year Round Position
2007 Semi-finals 3/12
2009 Round 1 11/12
2010 Runners-up 2/12
2012 Semi-finals 3/12
2014 Super 10 8/16
2016 Super 10 6/16

ICC Champions Trophy

Year Round Position
1998 Quarter-finals 8/9
2000 Quarter-finals 5/11
2002 Semi-finals 4/12
2004 Semi-finals 3/12
2006 Champions 1/10
2009 Champions 1/8
2013 Group Stage 7/8
2017 Group Stage 7/8

*The ICC did away with this tournament as they only want one tournament for each of the three formats.

What Record Does Australia Have Against Other Top Cricketing Nations?

Test Performances

OpponentMatches PlayedWonLostDrawTiedWin %
Bangladesh6510083.33
England35114611095041.59
India102433028142.15
New Zealand6034818056.66
Pakistan66331518050.00
South Africa98522620053.96
Sri Lanka311948061.29
West Indies116583225150.00
Zimbabwe33000100.00

*In terms of their overall wins and win-loss ratio, Australia are the most successful test team in cricket history. They have won 394 of the 834 test matches that they have played, giving them a winning percentage of 47.24%.

* These stats are correct from the 20th October 2021.

ODI Performances

OpponentMatches PlayedWonLostTiedNo ResultWin %
Afghanistan33000100.00
Bangladesh211910195.00
England15284622357.04
India143805301060.15
Ireland54001100.00
New Zealand13892390770.22
Pakistan10468321367.82
South Africa10348513148.52
Sri Lanka9761320465.59
West Indies14376613355.35
Zimbabwe302720193.10

*Australia are also the most successful ODI team in cricketing history as they have managed to win 63.36% of their games. They have played 958 matches and have won 581 of them.

* These stats are correct from the 20th October 2021.

T20 Performances

OpponentMatches PlayedWonLosttiedNo ResultWin %
Bangladesh9540055.55
England191080155.55
India239130140.90
Ireland11000100.00
New Zealand15383232.14
Pakistan14841067.85
South Africa211380061.90
Sri Lanka16880050.00
West Indies166100037.50
Zimbabwe3210066.67

* These stats are correct from the 20th October 2021.

How Have the Australian Cricket Team Been Getting On Lately?

Australia's 2021 got off to a bad start as they were beaten 2-1 in a four-match Test series by a depleted Indian side. They then played New Zealand in % T20I matches and lost the series 3-2, and then things got even worse when they lose 4-1 to the West Indies in a T20I series. Their first series win of the year came in the following three-match ODI series that they won 2-1.

They then traveled to Bangladesh and things got even worse for them as they played a five-match T20I series and lost 4-1. They now have the T20 World Cup coming up, and after that they welcome England to Australia to compete for the Ashes, which the Aussies currently hold.