Australia's all-time greatest Test XI
Australia is the most successful cricketing nation of all time and won the highest number of Test matches among all Test playing nations. They played their first Test against England in 1877 and have won around 50% of their matches since then. They have also produced some outstanding cricketers over the decades and dominated the world cricket across different phases.
Therefore, it is not very easy to pick an all-time Australian Test eleven as there are many potential candidates to choose from. Quite naturally, one would have to omit a lot of great cricketers while arriving at the final eleven.
Here is Australia's all-time greatest Test XI.
#1 Matthew Hayden
The big and burly Hayden looked like a fearsome fast bowler and was nicknamed “Robocop” because of his large frame. However, he actually was a menace to the bowlers worldwide with his aggressive strokeplay. He started his Test career in 1994 but was soon dropped because of his indifferent form. Hayden then worked hard at the domestic level and forced his way back to the Test team in 1999.
The second phase of Hayden’s Test career was a lot more successful and spanned nearly a decade. He rose to prominence after a great showing in the 2000-01 series against India in India. He handled the Indian spinners really well with his sweep shots. Hayden also used to often advance down the pitch to hit the fast bowlers over the mid-on and mid-off. He also hit the cover-drive and extra cover-drive extremely well.
The left-handed Hayden formed a legendary opening partnership with fellow southpaw Justin Langer and those two had 4 opening partnerships over 200, which still remains a record. Hayden played in 103 Tests and scored 8625 runs at 50.7. He also made 30 centuries and 29 half-centuries.
Hayden’s 380 against Zimbabwe remains the highest score by an Australian in Test matches. He was an indispensable part of the all-conquering Australian teams from 1999 to 2007. He retired from Test cricket in 2009 as the most successful Test opener for Australia. He definitely deserves his place in the all-time Australian Test eleven.