Greatest ever teams in test cricket history?

[Harsh Thakor]

This is my selection of the best   teams of all time to play test cricket chosen in order of merit. I have attempted to strike a balance between the statistical performances achieved and level of strength or talent within a side. I admit is a very subjective venture.

 

1.Australia from 1999-2004

 

No team has been on rampage with such intensity or dominated the cricket world in such realms. Registered a record 16 consecutive test match wins in 2001, pulverising powerful South African teams’ home and away, as well as teams like England and Pakistan on their soil. In 2001 won 5 consecutive tests against South Africa, a phenomenal feat.

Losing a series in India in 2001 was a blot or scar on their record. Players like Steve Waugh, Mark Waugh, Ricky Ponting, Adam Gilchrist, Matthew Hayden, Shane Warne and Glen Mcgrath made this team defining myth of invincibility in realms arguably unparalleled. Adam Gilchrist, Glen Mcgrath and Shane Warne were ultimate match-winners, Steve Waugh the epitome of tenacity, Ricky Ponting and Mark Waugh class acts and Hayden and Langer giving the most impetuous of starts.

Arguably no team has ever escalated professionalism to such levels or as intensely expressed a desire to win. It surpassed the bating strike rates of all previous teams, had the best pace-spin bowler combination ever. In my view more professional, with higher killer instinct than even the West Indies teams led by Clive Lloyd.

 

2.West Indies from 1977-1985

This all-powerful team led by Clive Lloyd scaled invincibility in mythical realms, sweeping or rolling over opposing teams, ruling the cricket world for an unmatched  tenure in cricket history.. It pulled the wool out of the eyes of the most powerful opponents, in every part of the world, be it the seaming tops of England, bouncy tracks of Australia or the turning pitches on the subcontinent. The presence of the most lethal or potent pace bowling attacks ever of Malcolm Marshall, Michael Holding, Joel Garner and Andy Roberts fortified with great batsmen like Viv Richards, Gordon Greenidge and Clive Lloyd made this Calypso team arguably the best ever team in cricket history. In 1984, won then record 11 consecutive test matches in a row.

 

3.South Africa of 1966-1970

No team ever had as many genuine allrounders or demolished a powerful team like Australia by a 4-0 margin .as the South African team of this era. It contained the likes of specialist batsmen like Barry Richards, and Graeme Pollock, talented all-rounders like Mike Procter, Eddie Barlow, Trevor Goddard and a fine wicketkeeper batsman Le Ervine. Debarred from official cricket from the 1970’s due to apartheid, thus denying the cricket world from witnessing arguably the most talented side ever.

 

4.Australia from 1974-1976

 

In this period Australia gave a comprehensive thrashing to a strong English side in 1974-75 by a 4-1 margin and a multi-talented West Indies team in 1975-76.by margin of 5-1. It also won an Ashes series in England in 1975. This team possessed the most lethal pace duo of all in Dennis Lillee and Jeff Thomson, an all-conquering batting line up in likes of Ian Chappell, Greg Chappel, Doug Walters, Keith Stackpole, Ian Redpath supported by allrounder Gary Gilmour. It had the cutting edge of being led by arguably the best of al captains, Ian Chappell.

 

 

5.Australia in 1948

This team led by Bradman swept aside a strong English team transcending invincibility at it’s zenith. In Bradman it contained two great batsmen into one, which was it’s trump card, in addition to possessing the ultimate match-winner as an allrounder in Keith Miller, arguably the best ever pace bowling duo till then in Ray Lindwall and Keith Miller. And till then perhaps the best left-handed middle order batsmen the world ever knew, in Neil Harvey.

 

6. West Indies of 1966-70

With Gary Sobers possessed arguably the greatest cricketer let alone all-rounder ever, in addition to having batting stalwarts like Rohan Kanhai, Seymour Nurse, Basil Butcher, and class fast bowlers like Wes Hall and Charlie Griffiths. Demolished England in 1966, but did not overpower Australia down under in 1968-69.

 

7.England from 1926-1930

Defeated powerful Australian sides home and away, propelled by great opening batsmen like  like Jack Hobb sand Herbert Sutcliffe, great allrounders in Wilfred Rodes and Frank Wooley.

 

8.Pakistan of 1987-90

Few teams ever in test cricket history had such deep batting depth or a more versatile bowling attack. It was backed by one of crickets most inspirational leaders and finest allrounders in Imran Khan, accompanied by the wizardry of spinner Abdul Qadir, left arm pacer Wasim Akram and mercurial batting of Javed Miandad and Salim Malik. Won series on Indian and English soil against the strongest team sever and drew a rubber in West Indies in 1988, coming within the skin of it’s teth to wining the series, before bad umpiring decisions robbed Pakistan of a series. Victory.

 

9.South Africa from 2008-2015

 

Blended lethal pace with a talented batting line up, containing arguably cricket’s best all-rounder after Sir Gary Sobers. Never lost a series overseas for six years and defeated Australia and England twice away. Still did not win as many series as it should have.Great batsmen reprented the Protas like Hashim Amla, Graeme Smith and AB Devilliers,in addition to classical fast bolwer Dale Steyn ,and the premier al-rounder of his era ,Jacques Kallis.Defeated a stong English side away in 2012 to reach the top of the test table.

 

10.Pakistan in 1976-79

This team led by Mushtaq Muhamad secured it’s first ever drawn rubber on Australian soil and all but drew a series in the Caribbean in 1977.Contained one of the most powerful batting line ups in the game, with likes of Zaheer Abbas, Javed Miandad, Majid Khan, Asif Iqbal and Wasim Raja, backed by the pace bowling of Imran Khan and Sarafraz Nawaz.and al-round skill of skipper Mushtaq Muhammad.

[putrevus]

What a load of crap list, where did you pull this list.

 

Where are Indian teams of 1970-71 and Indian teams  from 2015-2021.

 

How is world any Pakistan team was great.

 

Indian teams led by Kohli would trounce Imran Khan or Mustaq led teams home and away 5-0 . Since when useless Sarfraz become world class, Qadir since when he was world class in test cricket.

 

1.WI of 1980s under Clive Lloyd the best team ever, they did not need any spinner.

2- Aussies under Steve Waugh

3.SA team under Graeme Smith greatest 4th innings teams

4.Kohli led Indian teams 2015-2021

 

Rest of the teams had very short success window to even consider.

 

Kohli led Indian team would be best home team ever.No team I don't care if it is WI or Australian or SA teams is beating them at home in series or in Asia with Ashwin and Jadeja and pace attack led by Bumrah,Shami.

Edited April 17 by putrevus

[Gollum]

2 Pak teams lmao. 

 

BGT 20-21 is a bigger feat than sum total of Pak cricket achievements. 

[Gollum]

There are only 2 standout teams in test history. 

 

WI of late 70s to late 80s (won't include early 90s even)

 

Aus of late 90s to mid 00s (mid 90s and late 00s were #1 but flawed teams)

 

RSA of late 60s and 70s could have been in the conversation but we will never know.

 

Aus 1948, there were just a couple of serious cricket nations. Not their fault, but it is what it is.

Edited April 17 by Gollum

[putrevus]

12 minutes ago, Gollum said:

There are only 2 standout teams in test history. 

 

WI of mid 70s to late 80s

 

Aus of mid 90s to late 00s

 

RSA of late 60s and 70s could have been in the conversation but we will never know.

 

Aus 1948, there were just a couple of serious cricket nations. Not their fault, but it is what it is.

SA teams under Smith were very good, they had one achilles heel, they could not beat Aussies at home. Warne Ponting and later Mitchell Johnson all bullied them at home.

Edited April 17 by putrevus

[Gollum]

1 hour ago, putrevus said:

SA teams under Smith were very good, they had one achilles heel, they could not beat Aussies at home. Warne Ponting and later Mitchell Johnson all bullied them at home.

Tbh, RSA under Smith was GOAT contender overseas. 

 

But poor at home. Not just Aus, they even dropped a couple of series against Poms IIRC. And everyone used to win tests there. Not just India, but also Pak, SL, heck WI won a test there in 2007 or 08. 

[Gollum]

76-79 Pak got crushed in a test series in India. Lost in WI, drew a series in Aus (well so did we in 80-81), such a small sample size.

 

India in 2015-22 held ICC mace for 5 consecutive years, won twice in Aus, drew in RSA, Eng, invincible at home. Ragebaiting ki bhi hadd hoti hai. 

Edited April 17 by Gollum

[putrevus]

6 minutes ago, Gollum said:

Tbh, RSA under Smith was GOAT contender overseas. 

 

But poor at home. Not just Aus, they even dropped a couple of series against Poms IIRC. And everyone used to win tests there. Not just India, but also Pak, SL, heck WI won a test there in 2007 or 08. 

Smith's teams were also best in chasing down 4th innings totals.That tradition has carried on to current SA teams too.

[Gollum]

The summary of teams that have held the highest rating from 1952 to the present by whole month periods are:

Team	Total months	Highest rating
Australia	358	143
West Indies	235	135
England	106	125
India	102	130
South Africa	61	135
New Zealand	8	126
Pakistan	4	111

 

Pak with 4 months at top in 2016, that too only because one test of ours in WI got washed away. Also look at the peak ratings, since 1952!!!!! 

 

For comparison, Aus is at 128 pts now, RSA 116. Before the RSA whitewash even we were at 113 !!!!!

[Gollum]

Just now, putrevus said:

Smith's teams were also best in chasing down 4th innings totals.That tradition has carried on to current SA teams too.

I respect that team a lot. Three consecutive series wins in Aus, 2 consecutive draws in Ind, 2 consecutive series wins in Eng, series wins in Pak and later one in SL I think. 

 

They may head the next tier of top teams. 

[putrevus]

12 minutes ago, Gollum said:

76-79 Pak got crushed in a test series in India. Lost in WI, drew a series in Aus (well so did we in 80-81), such a small sample size.

 

India in 2015-22 held ICC mace for 5 consecutive years, won twice in Aus, drew in RSA, Eng, invincible at home. Ragebaiting ki bhi hadd hoti hai. 

Javed's avg in India after 16 tests is 33 with zero hundreds, Zaheer Abbas 28. This is when India had Kapil dev and no one else.Not even one legit spinner was there for India in 1980s. Majid Khan was a Tulla .Every Pakistani become Bradman when playing with home cooked umpiring. Best example is Tulla like Muddassar Nazar who was useless everywhere except home.

 

Pakistani home dominance had lot to do with home cooked umpiring.Kohli's teams would sweep them home and away 5-0.

Edited April 17 by putrevus

[Gollum]

2 minutes ago, putrevus said:

Javed's avg in India after 16 tests is 33 with zero hundreds, Zaheer Abbas 28. This is when India had Kapil dev and no one else.Not even one legit spinner was there for India in 1980s. Majid Khan was a Tulla .Every Pakistani become Bradman when playing with home cooked umpiring. Best example is Tulla like Muddassar Nazar who was useless everywhere except home.

 

Pakistani home dominance had lot to do with home cooked umpiring.

Their W/L at home fell from 6 in 80s to 1 in 90s (including series losses against even Zim). 

[Gollum]

6 minutes ago, putrevus said:

Pakistani home dominance had lot to do with home cooked umpiring.Kohli's teams would sweep them home and away 5-0.

Our umps were ulta. Would favor visiting sides for their approval, to show how fair they were. Typical sepoy/slave mentality. 

 

That tied test in Madras, no way was Maninder out, even Border said so. 

[putrevus]

2 minutes ago, Gollum said:

Our umps were ulta. Would favor visiting sides for their approval, to show how fair they were. Typical sepoy/slave mentality. 

 

That tied test in Madras, no way was Maninder out, even Border said so. 

Spot on , not just that match , there are many matches where they were favoring visiting teams so that they would  look neutral.

 

India W/L ratio at home improved as soon as neutral umpires were introduced.

[Prabhdeep Singh]

Indian Team had a couple of great teams in Test Cricket since 2000:

 

India (Nov 2000 - Jun 2011):

 

P117, W49, L27, D41

 

Overseas:

In SA, drew 1-1 in 2011

In Eng, drew 1-1 in 2002, won 1-0 in 2007

In NZ, won 1-0 in NZ in 2009

In Aus, drew 1-1 in 2004

In Pak, won 2-1 in 2004

In SL, drew 1-1 in SL in 2010

In WI, won 1-0 in 2006 & 2011

 

Lost 1 test series at home vs Aus 2-1 in 2004.

 

Holders of Test Mace in 2010 & 2011.

 

India (Feb 2013 - Sep 2024):

 

P130, W70, L39, D21

 

Overseas:

In SA, drew 1-1 in 2024

In Eng, drew 2-2 in 2022

In Aus, won 2-1 in 2019 and 2021

In SL, won 2-1 in SL in 2015, won 3-0 in 2017

In WI, won 2-0 in 2016 & 2019, won 1-0 in 2023

 

No series lost at home during this time.

 

Won 18 test series in a row at home.

 

Holders of Test Mace in 2017, 2018 & 2019.

 

Runners up in 2021 & 2023 WTC.

 

Apart from Aus & WI teams of the past, Indian teams above better than anything other teams did, while India was doing the above in Test Cricket they also had great ODI & T20 teams simultaneously. During this period the following won:

 

ODI WC IN 2011

T20WC IN 2007 & 2024

ODI CT IN 2002 & 2013

 

Not including 2025 ODI CT & 2026 T20 WC wins as outside the date periods above.

 

Indians should feel some sense of pride in their cricket team over the last 25 years.

 

 

Edited April 17 by Prabhdeep Singh

[Gollum]

17 minutes ago, Prabhdeep Singh said:

Indian Team had a couple of great teams in Test Cricket since 2000:

 

India (Nov 2000 - Jun 2011):

 

P117, W49, L27, D41

 

Overseas:

In SA, drew 1-1 in 2011

In Eng, drew 1-1 in 2002, won 1-0 in 2007

In NZ, won 1-0 in NZ in 2009

In Aus, drew 1-1 in 2004

In Pak, won 2-1 in 2004

In SL, drew 1-1 in SL in 2010

In WI, won 1-0 in 2006 & 2011

 

No series lost at home during this time.

 

Holders of Test Mace in 2010 & 2011.

We lost 2004 BGT at home. And many needless drawn series even against mediocrities like 2004 NZ, 2005 Pak, 2006 Eng. 

 

Otherwise you are spot on. 

[Prabhdeep Singh]

3 minutes ago, Gollum said:

We lost 2004 BGT at home. And many needless drawn series even against mediocrities like 2004 NZ, 2005 Pak, 2006 Eng. 

 

Otherwise you are spot on. 

Yes you are correct, amended now.

[Lord]

India 2014-2023

[goose]

some moments in time are etched in memory. one such moment was australia trouncing sri lanka 0-3 in sri lanka in 2024. just look at how strong that sri lanka side was (1st test scorecard below). that moment it struck me this side is an all timer. as an aside it's fascinating how this series was sandwiched between the great india-aus 1-1 series in 2003/04 and the 2005 ashes in england where for the first time in a decade aus looked like they were past their peak. but still managed to bet eng 5-0 in the return ashes. and against this backdrop of utter domination india kept on challenging them home and away. 2001-2005 was a special period in test cricket history.

 

https://www.espncricinfo.com/series/australia-tour-of-sri-lanka-2003-04-61414/sri-lanka-vs-australia-1st-test-64071/full-scorecard

[goose]

2 minutes ago, goose said:

some moments in time are etched in memory. one such moment was australia trouncing sri lanka 0-3 in sri lanka in 2024. just look at how strong that sri lanka side was (1st test scorecard below). that moment it struck me this side is an all timer. as an aside it's fascinating how this series was sandwiched between the great india-aus 1-1 series in 2003/04 and the 2005 ashes in england where for the first time in a decade aus looked like they were past their peak. but still managed to bet eng 5-0 in the return ashes. and against this backdrop of utter domination india kept on challenging them home and away. 2001-2005 was a special period in test cricket history.

 

https://www.espncricinfo.com/series/australia-tour-of-sri-lanka-2003-04-61414/sri-lanka-vs-australia-1st-test-64071/full-scorecard

 

and i forgot to mention pakistan-india 2004 !