Interesting article . The current Aussie team is at 7 and Imran Khan’s Pakistan Team at 6.
Simon Wilde’s top 10 Test teams
1 Clive Lloyd’s West Indies (1983-85)
It was brutal, simple and overwhelmingly effective: four fast bowlers on rota, using short-pitched bowling physically to intimidate opponents and stifl e their run-scoring. But the strategy wasn’t as crude as its critics claimed. It wouldn’t have worked so well had not the likes of Malcolm Marshall, Joel Garner and Andy Roberts been such sophisticated operators. The batting was awesome, too: has there been a better top three than Gordon Greenidge, Desmond Haynes and Viv Richards? Then came Richie Richardson, Gus Logie, Clive Lloyd and Jeff Dujon, a fine wicketkeeper-batsman
West Indies under Lloyd
Tests P74 W36 D26 L12 Win% 49
Series P18 W14 D2 L2 Win% 78
Record v England P18 W11 D7 L0
Whitewashes: 5-0 England 1984
Key men: Bat: Gordon Greenidge Tests: 108 Average: 44.7, Viv Richards Tests: 121 Av: 50.2, Clive Lloyd Tests: 110 Av: 46.7
Ball: Michael Holding Tests: 60 Av: 23.7, Joel Garner Tests: 58 Av: 21, Malcolm Marshall Tests: 81 Av: 20.9
2 Steve Waugh’s Australia (1999-2001)
Waugh was lucky to inherit some fine cricketers from Mark Taylor and find several more emerging on his watch. But, recognising their talent and having experienced the ruthlessness of Richards’s West Indians, he pushed them to ever higher levels of achievement. Trying to win every match was a given. With the Waugh twins, Shane Warne, Glenn McGrath and Adam Gilchrist, they won the World Cup in 1999 and a record 16 Tests in a row
Australia under Waugh
Tests P57 W41 D7 L9 Win% 72
Series P18 W13 D3 L2 Win% 72
Record v England P9 W8 D0 L1
Whitewashes: 5-0 West Indies 2000-01, 3-0 New Zealand 1999-2000, 3-0 India 1999-2000, 3-0 Pakistan 1999-2000, 3-0 South Africa 2001-02, 3-0 Pakistan 2002-03
Key men: Bat: Matthew Hayden Tests: 89 Average: 53, Mark Waugh Tests: 128 Av: 41.8, Steve Waugh Tests: 168 Av: 50.1
Ball: Shane Warne Tests: 145 Av: 25.4, Glenn McGrath Tests: 124 Av: 21.6, Jason Gillespie Tests: 71 Av: 26.1
3 Don Bradman’s Australia (1948)
Australians are short on cultural history, which may partly explain the deification of the Invincibles led by Bradman on his final tour of England. They went unbeaten in all matches and crushed England 4-0. As in 1921, England were relying on old players after a world war but, again, Australia were exceptional. The batting was led by Bradman, Arthur Morris and Sid Barnes and a fearsome pace trio of Ray Lindwall, Keith Miller and the underrated Bill Johnston gave England no respite. Even so, England should have won at Leeds, where Australia chased down 404 for victory
Australia under Bradman
Tests P24 W15 D6 L3 Win% 62
Series P5 W4 D1 L0 Win% 80
Record v England P19 W11 D5 L3
Whitewashes: none
Key men: Bat: Don Bradman Tests: 52 Average: 99.9, Arthur Morris Tests: 46 Av: 46.5, Neil Harvey Tests: 79 Av: 48.4
Ball: Ray Lindwall Tests: 61 Av: 23, Bill Johnston Tests 40 Av 23.9, Keith Miller Tests: 55 Av: 23
4 Len Hutton’s England (1955)
Hutton was perhaps the toughest captain England have had and he needed to be to win in Australia. Frank Tyson was the ace in his pack but he only came good after Hutton revised his plans after a heavy defeat in the fi rst Test in Brisbane. Tyson’s sensational pace was supported by Brian Statham, fast himself and also accurate, and Bob Appleyard, whose short career belied his quality. The batting was of the highest quality: Hutton, a young Colin Cowdrey and Peter May, who afterwards took over the reins and developed the side further, but failed to win Down Under
England under Hutton
Tests P23 W11 D8 L4 Win% 48
Series P6 W4 D2 L0 Win% 67
Whitewashes: none
Key men: Bat: Len Hutton Tests: 79 Average: 56.7, Peter May Tests: 66 Av: 46.8, Colin Cowdrey Tests: 114 Av: 44.1
Ball: Frank Tyson Tests: 17 Av: 18.6, Brian Statham Tests: 70 Av: 24.8, Jim Laker Tests: 46 Av: 21.2
5 Viv Richards’s West Indies (1986-91)
If Richards’s side wasn’t quite as unbeatable as Lloyd’s earlier vintage, it was perhaps because the opposition had improved, and grown accustomed to the all-pace tactics. But the West Indian machine remained formidably strong and well versed in the art of winning. Richards never lost a series as captain. Marshall remained king of the quicks and he was supported by two giants-in-the-making in Curtly Ambrose and Courtney Walsh. Greenidge, Haynes, Richards and Richie Richardson remained
West Indies under Richards
Tests P50 W27 D15 L8 Win% 54
Series P14 W9 D5 L0 Win% 64
Record v England P19 W13 D3 L3
Whitewashes: 5-0 England 1985-86
Key men: Bat: Viv Richards Tests: 121 Average: 50.2, Desmond Haynes Tests: 116 Av: 42.3, Richie Richardson Tests: 86 Av: 44.4
Ball: Malcolm Marshall Tests: 81 Av: 20.9, Curtly Ambrose Tests: 98 Av: 21, Courtney Walsh Tests: 132 Av: 24.4
6 Imran Khan’s Pakistan (1987-91)
Imran Khan was one of the game’s fi nest fast bowling allrounders, who led by example but more besides. Under him, Pakistan If Richards’s side wasn’t quite as unbeatable as Lloyd’s earlier vintage, it was perhaps because the opposition had improved, and grown accustomed to the all-pace tactics. But the West Indian machine remained formidably strong and well versed in the art of winning. Richards never lost a series as captain. Marshall remained king of the quicks and he was supported by two giants-in-the-making in Curtly Ambrose and Courtney Walsh. Greenidge, Haynes, Richards and Richie Richardson remained leading spinner, while Wasim Akram and Saleem Malik were emerging as two rare talents
Pakistan under Imran
Tests P48 W14 D26 L8 Win% 29
Series P14 W5 D6 L3 Win% 36
Record v England: P8 W2 D4 L2
Whitewashes: none
Key men: Bat: Javed Miandad Tests: 124 Average: 52.6, Saleem Malik Tests: 103 Av: 43.7, Imran Khan Tests: 88 Av: 37.7
Ball: Imran Khan Tests: 88 Av: 22.8, Abdul Qadir Tests: 67 Av: 32.8, Wasim Akram Tests: 104 Av: 23.6
7 Ricky Ponting’s Australia (2005-07)
Like Richards after Lloyd, Ponting inherited a team from Steve Waugh that was full of outstanding cricketers, each of whom was ingrained in a winning culture. Replacing Waugh was the toughest problem and the gifted young Michael Clarke was the obvious answer. Complacency cost them dear when they lost to a well-drilled England team in 2005, but the disciplined response has been impressive: 16 wins in 17 Tests since
Australia under Ponting
Tests P35 W27 D5 L3 Win% 77
Series P13 W12 D0 L1 Win% 92
Record v England: P10 W6 D2 L2
Whitewashes:5-0 England 2006-07, 3-0 Sri Lanka 2003-04, 3-0 Pakistan 2004-05, 2-0 South Africa 2005-06
Key men: Bat: Ricky Ponting Tests: 110 Average: 59.3, Mike Hussey Tests: 16 Av: 79.9, Michael Clarke Tests: 27 Av: 42
Ball: Shane Warne Tests: 145 Av: 25.4, Brett Lee Tests: 59 Av: 31.6, Stuart Clark Tests: 9 Av: 17.8
8 Ali Bacher’s South Africa (early 1970s)
The antiapartheid sports boycott that started in 1970 probably deprived an exceptional group of white South Africans of the chance to dominate world cricket in the early 1970s. Before that happened, they twice crushed Australia at home. Bacher wasn’t a great player but he was a fine captain. Under him, he had Barry Richards, Graeme Pollock and Mike Procter, each of them an all-time great player, plus Eddie Barlow, Peter Pollock and a formidable wicketkeeper-batsman in Denis Lindsay
South Africa under Bacher
Tests P4 W4 D0 L0 Win% 100
Series P1 W1 D0 L0 Win% 100
Record v England n/a
Whitewashes: 4-0 Australia 1969-70
Key men: Bat: Barry Richards Tests: 4 Average: 72.6, Graeme Pollock Tests: 23 Av: 61, Eddie Barlow Tests: 30 Av: 45.7
Ball: Peter Pollock Tests: 28 Av: 24.2, Eddie Barlow Tests: 30 Av: 34.1, Mike Procter Tests: 7 Av: 15
9 Michael Vaughan’s England (2004-05)
They may never work as a unit again, but briefl y Andrew Flintoff, Steve Harmison, Simon Jones and Matthew Hoggard formed as fine a fast bowling attack as England have possessed. They helped England win in two of the toughest arenas – in South Africa and against Australia – and, overall, Vaughan’s team won six successive series between March 2004 and September 2005. Apart from Flintoff and 2005’s new arrival, Kevin Pietersen, there were few superstars but from openers Andrew Strauss and Marcus Trescothick down, everybody contributed, with Vaughan supervising some masterly tactical campaigns
England under Vaughan
Tests P33 W19 D8 L6 Win% 58
Series P10 W7 D1 L2 Win% 70
Whitewashes: 4-0 West Indies 2004, 3-0 New Zealand 2004
Key men: Bat: Michael Vaughan Tests: 64 Average: 42.9, Marcus Trescothick Tests: 76 Av: 43.8, Andrew Strauss Tests: 36 Av: 43.1
Ball: Steve Harmison Tests: 50 Av: 30.5, Andrew Flintoff Tests: 67 Av: 32, Matthew Hoggard Tests: 62 Av: 30.2
10 Warwick Armstrong’s Australia (1920-21)
The only team previously to have achieved a 5-0 Ashes whitewash had advantages not enjoyed by Ponting’s side: they were playing an aged England soon after the fi rst world war and all Tests were played to a fi nish. Even so, this was an exceptional side, led by a ruthless captain, armed with great fast bowlers in Jack Gregory and Ted McDonald, a fi ne leggie in Arthur Mailey and the batting genius Charlie Macartney
Australia under Armstrong
Tests P10 W8 D2 L0 Win% 80
Series P2 W2 D0 L0 Win% 100
Record v England: P10 W8 D2 L0
Whitewashes: 5-0 England 1920-21
Key men: Bat: Jack Gregory Tests: 24 Average: 37, Warwick Armstrong Tests: 50 Av: 38.7, Charlie Macartney Tests: 35 Av: 41.8
Ball: Arthur Mailey Tests: 21 Av: 33.9 Jack Gregory Tests: 24 Av: 31.2, Ted McDonald Tests: 11 Av: 33.3
