Best Australian Cricket Players

Although cricket originated in Southern England, there is no denying that there is a good list of best Australian cricket players in the cricket-playing world. Listed below are only a few of these Aussie cricket warriors and how they have earned their places in cricket history.

1. Sir Donald Bradman: Defined by Matthew Engel as “the greatest batsman who ever lived and the greatest cricketer of the 20^th century”, without any doubt and “beyond any argument.” Not only did he lead his teams to many victories, he also greatly influenced Australia’s relationship to what was once called “the mother country.” On November 19, 2009, Sir Donald Bradman was inducted into the ICC Cricket Hall of Fame.
2. Adam Craig Gilchrist: “Gilly” or “Church” is Kings XI Punjab’s team captain. He also recently captained Middlesex. He’s a record-breaking wicket-keeper, and is credited for redefining the role for the Australian national team with his aggressive batting style. By many he is considered to be one of the greatest wicket-keeper-batsmen in the entire history of the game.
3. Ricky Pointing: “Punter” was the Australian cricket team captain between 2004 and 2011. A specialist right-handed batsman and an occasional bowler, he is deemed by many to be one of Australia’s finest contemporary cricketers. Now he represents the Tasmanian Tigers in Australian domestic cricket and in 2008 played in The Indian Premier League with the Kolkata Knight Riders. Not only that, Ricky Pointing is also a writer, having penned (with a ghostwriter’s help) a bunch of diaries on Australian cricket.
4. Steve Waugh:Born in Campsie, Australia in 1965, Steve Waugh made his One Day International (ODI) debut against the New Zealand cricket team in 1986. Waugh led his team with an incredible amount of pluck and determination. By the time he returned in 2002, he’d played 325 ODI matches where he scored seven, 569 runs with an average of 32.90 with three centuries and 45 fifties under his belt. He once scored 120 points against a South African cricket team — his best inning by far.
5. Mitchell Johnson: Johnson played his first ODI in 2005 against New Zealand cricket team. Johnson has been a key bowler ever since. So far he’s played 89 matches and has taken 135 wickets in ODIs. With a wicket taking average at 26.39 and having taken 135 wickets in ODIs, to say that he is an impressive cricket player is an understatement. He is just one of the many cricketers that make Australian cricket fans thump their chests and go ‘Aussie, Aussie, oi oi oi!’