As of 20 January 2010, the Australian team has played 719 Test matches, winning 51.87%, losing 20.87% and drawing 26.98% of its games.[1] It has a winning record against every other Test nation.[2] The Australian national cricket team has also led the ICC Test Championship table for the majority of the time since the creation of the ICC Test table system in January 2001. The South Africans did lead this table for a brief period from January to May 2003[citation needed], before Australia resumed the first position on the table. Australia has since dropped down to third in the Test rankings behind India and South Africa.[3]
Australia have made 6 world cup final appearances and have won the Cricket World Cup 4 times in total; 1987, 1999, 2003 & 2007. Australia have also won the ICC Champions Trophy twice in 2006 and in 2009 making them the first and the only team to become Back to Back champions in the Champions Trophy tournaments. Australia also have been the ICC U19 Cricket World Cup champions (Under 19 Cricket World Cup) in 1988, 2002 and 2010. Australia were semi finalist in the ICC World Twenty20 in 2007.
As of 28 April 2007 they are undefeated in 29 consecutive World Cup matches. They have led the ICC One-Day International Championship table from its inception through to 18 February 2007[citation needed], and then again from 7 April 2007 until 30 January 2009.[citation needed] In 2002, they were named World Team of the Year at the Laureus World Sports Awards in recognition of their world record sequence of test match victories.
HISTORY ...
The history of the Australian cricket team is rich and diverse. Together with the English cricket team, it participated in the first Test match in 1877. A highlight of Australia's early history was the 1882 Test match against England at The Oval. In this match Fred Spofforth took 7/44 in the game's fourth innings to save the match by preventing England from making their 85-run target. After this match The Sporting Times, a major newspaper in London at the time, printed a mock obituary in which the death of English cricket was proclaimed and the announcement made that "the body was cremated and the ashes taken to Australia." This was the start of the famous Ashes series in which every two years Australia and England play a number of Test matches to decide the holder of the Ashes. To this day, the contest is one of the fiercest rivalries in sport.
In the first half-century or so, these contests were on the whole friendly but competitive with both sides enjoying the visit to another country, and getting to play against quality cricketers[citation needed]. The famous Bodyline series temporarily changed things. The series was marred by the tactics used by the English captain Douglas Jardine to control the batting of Don Bradman who completely destroyed the English bowling attack in the 1930 series. Jardine used his fast bowlers to bowl a high proportion of bouncers at head height over leg stump with 6 or 7 fielders in the inner leg side in a close catching position. Given the fact that there were no helmets around at the time the tactics were widely condemned by nearly all of Australia including many former Test cricketers and important politicians.
Australia continued its success up until the 1980s, built mainly around the likes of Richie Benaud, the Chappell brothers, Dennis Lillee, and Rod Marsh. The 1980s was a period of relative mediocrity after the retirements of several key players, and it was not until the captaincy of Allan Border that the team was restructured. The 1990s and modern era are arguably Australia's most successful period, unbeaten in all Ashes series played bar the famous 2005 series and achieving a hat-trick of World Cups. This success has been attributed to the restructuring of the team and system by Border, successive shrewd captains, and the effectiveness of several key players, most notably Glenn McGrath, Shane Warne, Steve Waugh, Adam Gilchrist and Ricky Ponting.
