Test cricket is the oldest form of cricket played at international level.[1] A Test match is scheduled to take place over a period of five days,[a][b] and is played by teams representing full member nations of the International Cricket Council (ICC).[5][6] Australia was a founding member of the ICC having played the first Test match against England in March 1877 at the Melbourne Cricket Ground.[7] They have played a total of 849 matches, second only to England who have played just over 1,000.[8] As of January 2023[update], Australia is the most successful team in Test cricket with an overall winning percentage of 47.58, ahead of their nearest rival South Africa on 38.20.[8][c]
Top order batsman and former captain Don Bradman holds several batting records. Considered to be the greatest batsman of all time, he played 52 Tests between 1928 and 1948.[9] He holds the record for the highest Test average of 99.94, has scored the most Test double centuries with 12, the equal most Test triple centuries with 2 and the most runs scored in a series with 974 during the 1930 Ashes series.[10][11][12][13] He also holds the highest fifth-wicket partnership with Sid Barnes with 405 runs, set during the 1946–47 Ashes series, the oldest of the wicket partnerships records.[14] A further two Australian partnership records for the second and the sixth wickets set by Bradman still stand.[15]
Shane Warne, regarded as one of the best bowlers in the history of the game, holds several Test records.[16] He held the record for the most Test wickets with 708 until December 2007 when Sri Lankan bowler Muttiah Muralitharan passed Warne's milestone.[17] Warne is second only to Muralitharan in taking the most five-wicket hauls in an innings and the most ten-wicket hauls in a Test match.[18][19] Glenn McGrath, who took 563 wickets in his career, is third to England's James Anderson and Stuart Broad for the most wickets taken by a fast bowler in Test cricket.[20] Adam Gilchrist is Australia's most successful wicket-keeper having taken 416 dismissals. He is second only to South Africa's Mark Boucher with 555 to his name.[21] Allan Border, who made his Test debut in 1978 and captained Australia from 1984 until his retirement in 1994, holds the Australian record for the most consecutive matches played with 153 and the record for the most matches played as skipper for Australia with 93.[22][23]
- ^ Nicholson, Matthew (2007). Sport and the Media: Managing the Nexus. Elsevier. p. 58. ISBN 978-0-7506-8109-4. Archived from the original on 29 December 2020.
- ^ Nicholas, Mark (15 March 2017). "Where are we 140 years later?". ESPNcricinfo. Archived from the original on 29 November 2017. Retrieved 3 December 2017.
- ^ Williamson, Martin (22 August 2015). "The Oval grind of 1938". ESPNcricinfo. Archived from the original on 9 August 2017. Retrieved 3 December 2017.
- ^ Gollapudi, Nagraj; Samiuddin, Osman (14 October 2017). "South Africa to play Zimbabwe in inaugural four-day Test". ESPNcricinfo. Archived from the original on 22 May 2018. Retrieved 23 July 2018.
- ^ Williamson, Martin (18 May 2007). "International Cricket Council: A brief history ..." ESPNcricinfo. Archived from the original on 9 August 2017. Retrieved 3 December 2017.
- ^ "ICC Classification of Official Cricket" (PDF). International Cricket Council. June 2022. Archived (PDF) from the original on 4 July 2022.
- ^ Williamson, Martin (23 January 1998). "The birth of Test cricket". ESPNcricinfo. Archived from the original on 27 October 2017. Retrieved 3 December 2017.
- ^ a b c "Overall results summary for Test matches". ESPNcricinfo. Archived from the original on 7 October 2019. Retrieved 9 January 2023.
- ^ "Sir Donald Bradman player profile". ESPNcricinfo. Archived from the original on 25 November 2017. Retrieved 3 December 2017.
Sir Donald Bradman of Australia was, beyond any argument, the greatest batsman who ever lived and the greatest cricketer of the 20th century. Only WG Grace, in the formative years of the game, even remotely matched his status as a player.
- ^ "Test records – Highest career average". ESPNcricinfo. Archived from the original on 16 December 2018. Retrieved 26 December 2018.
- ^ "Test records – Most double centuries". ESPNcricinfo. Archived from the original on 7 October 2019. Retrieved 12 January 2022.
- ^ "Test records – Most triple centuries". ESPNcricinfo. Archived from the original on 7 October 2019. Retrieved 7 October 2019.
- ^ "Test records – Most runs in a series". ESPNcricinfo. Archived from the original on 20 October 2018. Retrieved 26 December 2018.
- ^ "Test records – Highest partnerships by wicket". ESPNcricinfo. Archived from the original on 21 September 2017. Retrieved 3 December 2017.
- ^ "Australian Test records – Highest partnerships by wicket". ESPNcricinfo. Archived from the original on 9 May 2017. Retrieved 3 December 2017.
- ^ "'The finest legspinner the world has ever seen'". ESPNcricinfo. 20 December 2006. Archived from the original on 29 December 2020. Retrieved 29 December 2020.
- ^ "Murali breaks Warne's record". ESPNcricinfo. 3 December 2007. Archived from the original on 1 September 2017. Retrieved 3 December 2017.
- ^ "Test records – Most five-wicket hauls in an innings". ESPNcricinfo. Archived from the original on 11 August 2019. Retrieved 11 August 2019.
- ^ "Test records – Most ten-wicket hauls in a match". ESPNcricinfo. Archived from the original on 11 August 2019. Retrieved 11 August 2019.
- ^ "Test records – Most career wickets taken by a fast bowler". ESPNcricinfo. Archived from the original on 17 December 2022. Retrieved 9 January 2023.
- ^ "Test records – Most wicket-keeper career dismissals". ESPNcricinfo. Archived from the original on 7 October 2019. Retrieved 7 October 2019.
- ^ Cite error: The named reference
Most consecutive career matcheswas invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ "Australian Test records – Most matches as captain". ESPNcricinfo. Archived from the original on 4 October 2017. Retrieved 3 December 2017.
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