Australia is the heavyweight in cricket. They are the most successful team in the game’s history, be it Test cricket or limited-overs, Australia has proved their mettle in every format. They are the joint oldest team in the world, the most successful team in the World Cup with 5 trophies, and the defending T20 world cup winners. 

The team’s legacy was built from Day 1. They kept on producing great talents, and success followed each time. The article will focus on who are the top 10 greatest legends for the Kangaroos? Here is the list of the top 10 greatest Australian Players.

10. Michael Clarke

Michael Clarke is hailed by many greats of the game as one of the best talents the world has seen. Clarke was a phenomenal middle-order batsman with over 17000 runs and 36 centuries to his name.

Clarke led Australia to their 5th World Cup title in 2015, Clarke is the 4th in the list of the leading run-scorers for Aussies in all formats.

 9. Mitchell Johnson

Mitchell Johnson is one of the fast bowlers whose run-up and action had fear written all over it. Johnson has picked 590 wickets in his career which makes him the 4th highest wicket-taker in Aussie’s history.

Recipient of several ICC awards, Johnson was also the quickest bowler to reach 150 Test wickets.

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8. Denis Lillee

Lillee was one of the genuine fast bowlers of his generation. He was considered in the same league as Hadlee, Ambrose, Walsh, Dev, and other great fast bowlers.

Denis Lillee was the backbone of the Australian line-up, when he retired from the game, he had 255 Test wickets to his name, which was a world record of that time. Overall Lillee has picked 458 wickets in just 133 matches which is very impressive.

7. Brett Lee

Brett Lee was one of the lead Talismans in Australia’s bowling during the start of the 21st century. Lee has taken 718 wickets in his career. He is the joint highest wicket-taker for the team in ODI’s and 3rd in all formats combined.

Lee was a brutal force from 2000-to 2009, only Muttiah Muralitharan took more wickets than him, during that period.

To talk about his achievements, Brett Lee was the first player to take a hat-trick in T20 cricket. He was also the fastest Australian to take 100 wickets till Starc broke his record.

6. Allan Border

Allan Border is a true legend of the game. Former captain of the Aussies, Border was known for his fluent style of batting. He has scored more than 17,000 international runs. Border retired as the leading run-scorer in the world until Brain Lara broke his record.

The border is one of the most respected figures in the game, Allan scored a massive 11,174 runs in Test cricket, a world record at that time. He is also the 3rd leading run-scorer for the Aussies in all formats.

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5. Steve Waugh 

Steve Waugh is everything a player dreams of. He was a great batsman, a decent bowler, a great captain, and whatnot. Waugh captained Australia to their 2nd World Cup in 1999. He also is the most successful test captain in history with a win ratio of 72%.

Waugh was one of the great batsmen of his time, he scored more than 18000 runs in all formats, and is the 2nd highest run-scorer for the Aussies in their history. Waugh also took 287 wickets in his career making him a good round prospect in the team.

4. Glenn McGrath

McGrath was one of the most disciplined bowlers in cricket’s history. He was not on the elite list of fast bowlers as he lacked their pace, but his consistency with the line and length is something bowlers lack to date.

McGrath is Australia’s highest wicket-taking fast bowler. He has taken 948 wickets in his career, making him 2nd on the list just behind Shane Warne. He also holds the record for most wickets in World Cups (71). 

He is the joint highest wicket-taker in ODi’s for the team with 380 wickets to his name.

McGrath was the lead bowler from 1997 to 2007, an era in which his bowling held the kangaroos to win 3 World Cup titles.

3. Shane Warne

Undoubtedly the best wrist spinner the world has ever seen. The biggest turner of the ball Shane Warne makes it to the 3rd on the list. Warne is often compared with his rival Muralitharan, but the former’s success in flat pitches in Australia gives him an extra edge over Murali.

Warne was known for turning the ball at a surprising degree on Australian pitches, which made him one of the greatest to play the game. Warne is the 2nd highest wicket-taker in the world in all formats. He has 1001 wickets to his name, only the 2nd bowler to do so in cricket’s history.

2. Ricky Ponting

Ponting was the greatest Australian batsman of the modern era. Known for his famous hook shot, Ponting smacked many records out of the park. To start, he led Australia during their golden era and led them to their 3rd consecutive World Cup title in 2007.

To mention his captaincy, he is the most successful captain in international cricket with a winning ratio of 67.91%. 

When it comes to batting, he was part of the big 3 clubs, him, Tendulkar, and Lara. Ponting smacked over 27,000 international runs. He is the 3rd highest run-scorer in international cricket and the leading run-scorer for the Aussies in all the formats. 

Ponting also has 71 centuries to his name, which is the 2nd most in cricket.

1. Donald Bradman

As once Mike Tyson said for Mohammad Ali’ Every tongue must confess, every head must bow that he is the greatest’ the same goes for Sir Donald Bradman, he is considered the greatest batsman of all time. 

To start, his test average was 99.94, a figure that seems unachievable and unthinkable even by the greats of the game. A man who scored at a rate of almost 100 runs per innings has to be the greatest to grace the sport.

His presence was considered as ‘3 batsmen ‘. Bradman scored 6,996 runs in 52 test matches a record that stood for many years. 

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