Who Is THE GREATEST Australian Cricket Captain Of All Time and Why?🔥🇦🇺 | Bumble & Kimber

[@andrew7648]

People forget how bad Australia had become when Border took over. He and Bob Simpson deserve a massive amount of credit for that golden generation that dominated world Cricket though the '90s and and early 2000s.

[@TheRandwickboy]

Bob Simpson as coach was so underrated for what he did to that team. Border was Credited But Bob Simpson's training standards shaped the team.

[@noloveforthehaters]

When his teammates were letting him down you could just see AB thinking, 'Alright, I'll just win it by myself' and he'd go to work. The Border era transformed Australian cricket into the juggernaut it's been for the last 30 years.

[@ashleysmith91]

For me it’s hands down Steve Waugh. He captained arguably the greatest Team in history, never lost composure, was always a few overs ahead of everyone else tactically, was a rock solid number 5 batsmen, under rated bowler, great fieldsman, mastered breaking down an oppositions psyche. His 200 in the West Indies to win the Frank Worrell Trophy in 1995 against one of the best bowling attacks in the history of the game, was one of the best individual innings I’ve ever seen.

[@1362pc]

Of course its Waugh

[@MrGroganmeister]

What about his suicidal decision to bat on against the pommies to finish a test early and we lost. He was a reckless crown saved by the quality of his team.

[@pktate2611]

What was his best decision? I'll open with McGrath & Gillespie. Hmm good. When one of them gets a bit tired or loses their line, I might bring on Warne. Hmm, solid. From the other end, I'll bring on the other seamer (Kaspowittz/Bichel/Reiffel - all opening bowlers for any other team in the world at the time) until McGrath is ready to go again. Hmm, I'm pretty good at this stuff. Hey hey, move a bit straighter at cover - yep, solid captaincy that. I kid a bit but FFS, I could have captained that side in the field. Admittedly, if I was batting at five for Australia I might have let the team down every single time, averaging about 45 less than Steve Waugh but I would have instructed Gilly to never walk and might have gained a few runs that way.

[@ashleysmith91]

@@MrGroganmeister yeh your right, he made a mistake that day and resulted in losing the test, which happens to be the only test he ever lost to England as captain. He also averaged 77 as a batsman in Ashes tests played in England. He also has the highest win percentage as captain in the history of the game.

[@ashleysmith91]

@@pktate2611 you would bowl Shane Warne 1st change with a new ball ?

[@longjohn5322]

I’m not qualified to comment prior to Greg Chappell’s captaincy so for me it’s Allan Border by any margin. The reasons are obvious. Along with Bob Simpson as coach they turned out to be a fantastic combination for Australian cricket at a time when it was arguably needed more than at any other time in Australia’s cricket history. There simply is nobody else who can claim to have “achieved” under any such circumstances. When things get rough out on the field, you often need someone or something outside of yourself to find a way through, and from the outside looking in , I believe Border would’ve been that someone. Cheers AB and hope you’re going well mate. PS: When we were teenagers, one of my mates bugged him for an autograph and after the 4th or 5th time of asking, AB turned around and told him to F… off. Absolutely classic!

[@dennispicone6801]

Agreed. When Australian cricket was at its lowest, AB was the guy for the job. With bat, or ball, in the field, or captaincy in general. The others were good, but because the Australian teams were full of match winning superstars, they were more managers than anything else.

[@MikeB-j1j]

Ponting hugely underrated as skipper. To hear David Lloyd describe Steve Smith as an excellent captain was heartbreaking. As cricket tragics we were always 6 overs ahead of him. He bowled Mitch Starc as a stock bowler and no tactical ideas. All he had to do in South Africa was intervene and say shut up Warner we are not doing that but instead he just walked away. Unbelievable. Ps for a few years afterwards everytime mark Taylor was interviewed about ANYTHING, he would drop in that ss should be captain again. Huge NSW bias in Australian media. As Ponting used to say the NSW media never missed him.

[@JMEAUS22]

Ponting was over rated. Tactically was utter rubbish.

[@lochlanjohnston402]

Ponting reads the game, even now, very well. I think Michael Clarke, put aside his divisive persona, handled having a side on the rebuild and was still competitive, as well, understood how to use spin bowling better than any australian captain I saw (Which isn't many and most had shane warne in their side). Not the best we've had but still, worth consideration

[@edmccricket9358]

Clarke was a talented player but a disgraceful captain who always put his ego ahead of the team and even took out his personal vendetta on making sure deserving players he didn't like wouldn't play (such as Katich)

[@lochlanjohnston402]

@@edmccricket9358 what he did to katich was disgraceful. I don't think he did that to anyone else. I still stand by my comments unless there are other instances of him mistreating players

[@AMB955Bosbok]

Ponting was probably the worst ever captain of Australia. He was a pompous arrogant git, who lost the ashes, the 437 game and the respect of followers. He did nothing to endear himself to the supporters.

[@lochlanjohnston402]

@@AMB955Bosbok big call considering he has one of the best records as a captain. Amount of world cups under his leadership. You can dislike him as a player/person. But don't let that bias the facts he was at least a competent captain

[@JMEAUS22]

Ponting tactically was dreadful. Which is weird given how he can read the game.

[@prob6820]

Kim Hughes last 9 tests were against the WI away in '84 and at home in 84/85. His test average fell from low 40s to 37. He was targetted by both the WI bowlers onfield and one IM Chappell in the media off the field.

[@damojonathon]

As a kid I was on a flight from Mel to Perth or something and the Aus cricket team was on - all trying to sleep. AB made sure they all woke up and signed autographs for us and was just so accommodating, when he easily could have told us to not bother them. Will never forget it, absolute professional and gentleman. He understood how important it was to us.

[@alextully3221]

England fan here but I can't be the only one who'd listen to Jarrod Kimber talk about Cricket all day? Genuinely top class

[@hectorlp1298]

No I'm with you

[@gingerwoods616]

Border brought over the worst Aussie team I've ever seen, led from the front and then four years later, brought over one of the best teams.

[@dluap569161]

Love AB!

[@AndyFNQ84]

Captain grumpy! Would not accept substandard efforts

[@jshaers96]

Yes, no other answer is possible. The others might look more successful on paper but they had better teams. And that was largely thanks to AB, who toughened them up. Similar to the way Nasser doesn't get quite enough credit as captain, but he laid the foundations for Vaughan.

[@Redpepper7376]

@@dluap569161He had a never say die/tough as nails attitude, you had to admire him for that.

[@handlessbeggar11]

Allan Border is the one I admire the most. Great respect for Ian Chappell. Both faced the most terrifying bowling attacks and held their ground. But technically the best captain Australia has had in the modern era is Steve Waugh. He made Australia ruthless. He was equally hard on his own team as he was with the opposition. What he did to Shane Warne !! He had the tail of the Aussie team partnered up with a batter in training. The attitude was we bat till 11. He partnered Glen Mcgrath and Mcgrath scored runs. Had success in all parts of the world except India . Carried on the great work of Mark Taylor and handed Ponting an even better side.

[@1362pc]

Waugh played to win every match...and got results

[@Waltznumber2]

Captain Grumpy. It's one thing leading a team of star players. It's quite another to lead a team decimated by defections and in the most dire circumstances turned around not just the team, but the psyche of Australian cricket.

[@saurabhb1041]

It has become much harder to captain with time given the media and pressure. Considering it all, you’d have to think Allan Border.

[@karthikpatra]

Stone Cold Steve Waugh has to be the best. Maybe Taylor was tactically better but Waugh concretised that ruthless aggression which Australia is famous for. Taylor almost made you like Aus team, Waugh removed any such thought even crossing your mind as a fan.

[@MrCarrera28]

I agree!! I hate the way they say Waugh was not as good as Ian Chappell because Waugh had Warne and McGrath while everyone conveniently forgets that Ian had the best ever pace bowler in Lillee backed up Thompson and Greg averaging 50 when that was not common.

[@philhogan5623]

​@@MrCarrera28 yes but Warne was also a brilliant tactician. Every time things started going slow in the field you could bet Warnie would come up with a plan.

[@MrCarrera28]

@@philhogan5623 Dennis Lillee was the literal definition of a thinking bowler who completely changed his style and method when he hurt his back and could no longer blast batsmen out with pace he was at least as deep a thinker. Plus Greg Chappell was the next Australian Captain and subsequently chief of selectors so Ian Chappell had two of the deepest thinkers in cricket in his team. So my point remains you cannot discount Waugh's captaincy because he had stars when Ian Chappell had superstars as well.

[@philhogan5623]

@@MrCarrera28 I'm certainly not downplaying Lillee's tactical brilliance with the ball, but I still think Warne had a slight edge because he always had ideas even when he wasn't bowling. As for Greg Chappell, I never considered him a great captain.

[@davidprosser457]

Waugh was a bore and respected, as for Taylor he must be amongst the worst and equally as boring as Waugh

[@lachlanminchin1538]

The Armstrong two over story is slightly different. He objected to England's declaration, they argued for 30 minutes. Armstrong won the argument and they forgot he bowled the previous over so he carried on bowling

[@ianb9729]

It's Allan Border, for what he did off the field as much as on it. Picked Australia out of the doldrums into which they'd slumped and put them on the path to greatness we see today. I don't think Steve Waugh and Mark Taylor are far behind, but I'm uncertain they'd have happened had it not been for Border.

[@Sreeprayag]

One Mr A R Border for the way he turned around the fortunes of Oz cricket

[@lloydsingline340]

Agree.AB had to pick up the dregs and eventually got on top when he got some fire-power with Craig McDermott and Big Merv.The Waugh twins turned it with that big stand against the West Indies with a win over Curtly Ambrose ( Steve with that red handkerchief - legendary). The best era of cricket for me ( born 1944) was when Richie Benaud and Frank Worrell were at their respective helms ( the tied Aus - Windies test ).Ritchie was a fantastic captain, sporting,and always trying to get a result.Sadly missed. Tub Taylor was a classy,tactically strong skipper and the best first slipper I have seen.Bobby Simpson was the best.Mark Waugh has to be the best all round fieldsman for catches.A replay reel of his best catches would be magic.

[@Sreeprayag]

@@lloydsingline340 Best wishes to you sir. Take care of your health please

[@sportbilly2008]

Geez I actually hope they do, do ‘Best NZ Captain’ next week. That’s some eclectic stuff right there.

[@jason78981]

flemings nz best captain

[@Sid-e5y]

Jarrod talking about benaud and tactically taylor,but id argue that Chappell had the man management skills of benaud with the tactical nounce of taylor, perhaps not as good as either of them at that but a jack of all trades,but its extremely hard to judge the entire contribution of a captain,its mostly subjective

[@dannyboy9573]

its all subjective

[@urbanegorilla6005]

Steve Waugh: The win percentage is 71.93%. No one else comes close.

[@MikeB-j1j]

@@urbanegorilla6005 if my left testicle had that side it would win 80% of the time

[@noloveforthehaters]

The counterargument is any mug could have captained that team to an all time winning percentage.

[@latenightlogic]

@@noloveforthehatersexactly. just like saying John Buchanan was their best ever coach.

[@Godplayzdice]

Prime Hayden, Ponting, Gilchrist, Warne, McGrath, Lee, Martyn, Langer... 😂😂 Any clown would have 🐐 stats.

[@soumyashreebiswal14]

Man keep these eps coming. I find these discussions so unique and thoroughly entertaining. Jarrod is a bloody good knowledgable bloke too.

[@781David]

In one of his books Dickie Bird said the two Australian captains he respected the most were Ian Chappell & Mark Taylor.

[@samsowden]

It's Allan Border move on.

[@peterjansen3846]

Alan Border, reluctant captain, brought Australia from nothing to world champions, first to 10000 runs, best by a country mile.

[@MrCarrera28]

He averaged 50 plus across his career and frequently got runs when no-one else in his team did; he faced the Windies attack regularly and never took a backward step. Was able to recognise that bringing in Bobby Simpson as a coach was a smart move and was confident enough in his status to be unconcerned by any erosion in his authority. Ian Chappell would never have been able to accept Bobby Simpson into his set up as he would have hated any erosion in his power.

[@chapmanwiki]

And the winner is... Ian Chappell? (Seemed to be only one discussed without any caveats about skill, tactics, coaching, and aggression.)

[@Naveenkumar-jb7jf]

Adam Gilchrist won a Test Series as Captain in India in an era where Ponting even failed to win a single Test in India as Captain.

[@sonsofstretford3866]

To be fair to Ponting, India were on course to win the 2nd test in Chennai test till rain played spoilsport

[@Ajay.369v]

Sachin was injured for 2 out of 4 test matches in 2004 series He played only last two tests of that series. But Aus played better overall and made more runs than India and won that series.(2-1)

[@patrickwilliams6143]

Ritchie was prob the best, he's in a club with Sobers, Brearley and Ganguly as skippers who could possibly have got a tune out of the 90s England side, and praise don't get much higher for a cricket captain than that! And for setting the stage for what would come in the 90s and 00s, AB needs recognition as maybe the most important.

[@gregdavis1341]

Allan Border and Steve Waugh

[@jasonwebster9300]

Ricky Ponting captained Australia in 77 Tests (48 wins, 16 loses). His winning percentage is 75% - better than Mark Taylor (66.66%), Greg Chappell (61.78%), Michael Clarke (60%), and incumbent Pat Cummins (73.91). Only Steve Waugh (82%). In 77 Tests, Ponting scored 6,542 runs with 19 centuries and 35 fifties at an average of 51.51.

[@bartonez123]

I do think my appreciation for Ponting has gone up since he retired. At the time I didn't think he could read the game that well, but having heard his commentary, I've realized he just didn't have the tools that captains before him had in that transitional side, particularly with the bowlers (revolving door of garbage spinners combined with workmanlike pace attacks, the selectors did him no favours).

[@beinghuman5701]

ricky ponting , he won two world cups and a champions trophy for his country ... if he had born in india, he would be celebrated like a god

[@kartikgoel07]

Never won test in india, lost ashes as captain in Australia

[@beinghuman5701]

@@kartikgoel07 world cup >>>>> any meaningless series

[@TheLeftie600]

@@beinghuman5701 not for Australia.

[@dluap569161]

Australians care about test cricket, especially the Ashes, much more than ICC trophies. And Ponting failed a lot as an Ashes captain.

[@beinghuman5701]

@@TheLeftie600 then why Australia hasn't played any international series after T20 world cup?

[@brainsmatter7067]

For me it’s Border. It’s easy to be misled by results when you have a great team (eg. under Waugh & Ponting) but neither could hold a candle to the drive and toughness of Border.

[@tonyross5799]

Warwick Armstrong - 50 Tests - 2,863 runs at 38.68 and 87 wickets at 33.59, Warwick Armstrong was one of the finest all-rounders of all time. W.G Grace - 22 Tests 1098 runs at 32.29 and 9 wickets at 26.22, most of his career took place before Test Cricket began but their First Class careers can be considered great, Grace had better bowling stats, Warwick better batting.

[@cameronpetie8318]

WG Grace played in the 19th century where averaging 30 was like averaging 50. He was definitely a batting all-rounder. The Big Ship was a great of Australian cricket though. They undermined his abilities for sure.

[@jimwilson-kl2xs]

Greg Chappell for ordering the underarm delivery against New Zealand

[@anthonysinclair4114]

🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣

[@mohammedomar4652]

Steve Waugh .. cold killer

[@AndyFNQ84]

Mr mental disintergration!

[@everygamersdream72]

@@dluap569161 Mark Taylor did captain that team, Steve took everyone who failed under Taylor and turned them into legends.

[@tino6440]

@@everygamersdream72 You mean they just got older and reached peak age

[@cameronpetie8318]

@@dluap569161 That's a false assumption. Warne would have tried to win winless games. He would have rubbed teammates the wrong way with his eccentric personality. Test captains need to be calm and think long term. Conversely he could have been a great T20 captain for Australia as less of those issues matter in the shortest format.

[@dluap569161]

@@cameronpetie8318 "Warne would have tried to win winless games". That could be a false assumption as well using your logic. Insisting the team wear their baggy green caps to go and watch tennis at Wimbledon could also be considered eccentric (although that is a completely subjective concept) and definitely rubbed players up the wrong way.

[@jasonwebster9300]

Ian Chappell rated Ricky Ponting more highly than Steve Waugh. “I’ve seen Steve Waugh run out of ideas as a captain, I never saw Ponting run out of ideas,” said Chappell. He said the times he saw Australia under Waugh really challenged there would be no plan b, c or d and that wasn’t the case under Ponting.

[@1362pc]

Thats only because Chappell hated Steve Waugh

[@andrewsivewright7087]

Chappell had Lillee and Thompson. A luxury that his predecessor, Bill Lawry never had. He can be a massive hypocrite. He has a huge chip on his shoulder and is endlessly critical of anyone he doesn't like. Always critiscised Border even though for much of Borders reign he had fairly pedestrian bowling attacks. Never failed to kick Hughes when he was down. Hated Steve Waugh. Hated poor Bevan. Ian Chappell never got over the fact that he retired and was no longer in control. Certainly never held his own captaincy or batting record to the standards by which he judged others. It didn't take a tactical genius to toss the ball to Lillee and give him some slips when he needed a wicket.

[@paulsara9694]

That Jarrod Kimber is an encyclopedia

[@JasondenHollander-qj5hp]

Benaud, Chappelli, Border. Tubby, Waugh and Ponting were gifted with amazing teams

[@vibhorchoudhary3765]

Allan border should be the greatest captain of Australia , rebuilding australia from the defeats of the mid 80s and grooming the next crop of players like waugh, taylor and warne to sometimes singlehandedly grinding out in the middle,his world cup victory of 87 is not talked about much but that is what set the stage for the champion side the Aussies would become, and of course the 89 ashes when the team he captained was considered the weakest aussie team ever.

[@michaelclarke8549]

A.B and Bob Simpson rebuild Australian team after W.I and Sir Richard Hadlee destroyed them in mid 80's and it wasn't until the 90's we got over W.I. A.B was most influential captain anyone who played against the W.I Bowling attacks from 70's to 90's merciless and dangerous but border stood toe to toe and lead the way forward

[@MJBOGAN]

Warwick Armstrong once borrowed a newspaper from a spectator and read it in the outfield while England boringly played out the day for a draw.

[@Jasper9000-wd5sm]

Gotta give Allan Border the prize, Australia was rubbish when he got the job, he took them from a team that could hardly win anything to winning the World Cup against the odds, then regaining the Ashes in England (that had not been done since 1934 and hasnt been done since), he only narrowly missed beating the West Indies. Perhaps Taylor, Waugh and Ponting had better win records but look at the talent they had to work with, West Indies team was in steady decline by the time they got the job. Special mention for Shane Warne, he lost only 1 of 11 ODIs as captain and that by only 7 runs.

[@ungarr]

Greg Chappell undoubtedly, the underarm was genius

[@cameronpetie8318]

Good discussion. Warwick Armstrong was a good shout. Richie Benaud and Ian Chappell are good shouts. Surprisingly Bradman didn't get a mention. Similar to Steve Waugh, where the team dominated and both had a stiff neck, ruthless attitude.

[@hectorlp1298]

I enjoyed the discussion but, as usual no-one is clear about their criteria. Is it winning, how they handled the resources available, their public image, man-management, leadership or tactics, or a combination? Captaincy at cricket remains a unique position. I get the senses , as in Bumble's Yorkshire anecdote, that coaches play a bigger role but short of putting radio in their caps (as in the NFL) the captain has to juggle tactics and man-management on the field. Turning to Bradman, Oz played 15 tests post war under his captaincy, lost none and won 11. Prewar he captained 9 tests, won 4 and lost 2. This included the amazing 36-37 Ashes, in which Oz lost the first two and won the last three. Bazball promoters should look this up. The 46-47 touring team in England did not lose a game (in those days they played a full schedule vs the Counties). Those who dislike Bradman say anyone could have won with the post war talent. He was an aloof, highly disciplined person and didnt fit the self-image many Ozzies like to project. Not only was Benaud highly successful, he was an important figure in promoting test cricket. He and Frank Worrell turned the 1961 tour of Oz by WI into an unmatched success with the public.

[@cameronpetie8318]

@hectorlp1298 Well said. I agree, they only scratched the surface of the discussion. Joe Darling and Bill Woodfull are worth a shout too.

[@dadajith0108]

In my opinion, Allan Border, Mark Taylor & Steve Waugh. 🫡

[@MrCarrera28]

Pretty hard to disagree with you. Allan Border led Australia out of the cricketing wilderness and frequently saved Australia from embarrassment through his efforts with the bat and a couple of times brought himself on as a bowler and got key wickets. He worked with Bob Simpson to improve the team's athletic ability and didn't unnecessarily hog the spotlight himself so players felt appreciated and that they were not just there to make Border look good. He was a brilliant leader and winning the World Cup in 1987 and Ashes in 1989 was just reward for a champion who had shouldered the burden of Australian cricket after the big three retired. Border had limited opportunities to demonstrate tactical acuity as for so long he was digging Australia out of hole. Taylor was able to take the team that was fitter and more focused than any other and he applied tactics and was able to lead in a more consensus based manner as there were more world class players in the team and he was not required to personally grab the team by the scruff of the neck. When the batting line up collapsed he could rely of Steve Waugh to bat with the tail and get a decent final score and Warne and later McGrath could step up with the bowling. This gave Taylor the space to be tactically astute and he delivered a masterclass in captaining and his captaining was so great that he effectively maintained his spot in the team by virtue of what he brought as the captain. Tugger delivered a captaincy model that was half way between the two. He had the aggression of Border and the nous of Taylor and he mixed this with a bit of the Ian Chappell ruthlessness of getting your foot on the throat of an opponent and never releasing pressure until they capitulated. He introduced a trait that Ian Chappell, Border or Taylor never had and that was about getting in the head of the opposition and intimidating them so that more often than not they beat themselves through capitulating in the 3rd or 4th innings when they were mesmerised by Warne and the Australian team. Waugh was focused on winning and had leadership, tactics, man management and the new skill of mentally intimidating the opposition so they beat themselves. For me each of these three captains were the ideal captains for their era who made the necessary changes unbound by tradition or their predecessors, making the most of their own talents while encouraging their team mates to shine and take ownership of their own roles.

[@dadajith0108]

​​​​@@MrCarrera28 : Thanks. Yours was an excellent write-up to sum up how each of the greats was responsible for not only improving Aussie cricket (Allan Border, Mark Taylor) but also making the Aussie team almost invincible (Steve Waugh) for the years to come. One can definitely enjoy the fruits of the labour (Ricky Ponting - no disrespect to him as he was fantastic too) but one must never forget the humble beginnings. That's the reason why I regard Border, Taylor & Waugh the best.

[@tobe5636]

Steve waugh is my favourite hardly smiling, dropped his champion spinner Shane warne for a test match, fine batter brilliant fielder lead by example.

[@sharanyayadav49]

I love Steve Smith ❤

[@bigfan2710]

I am loving Warwick "Big Ship" Armstrong!

[@AndyFNQ84]

I haven't seen them all obviously, but of the ones I've seen it's a toss up between Alan Border and Steve Waugh. Border drove his team relentlessly and made them better, and Waugh picked at opposition sides relentlessly and made them worse. Both absolutely awesome. Seeing Border's Aussies perform in the 89 Ashes when they were written off before they even arrived never gets old.

[@aneeshmohimen4005]

You mention Armstrong …. But no mention of Bradman …. Captain of The Invincibles !!!

[@MrCarrera28]

The thing about Bradman is he was a very successful captain and if you are doing a best ever Australian he is the player pretty much guaranteed a spot, so the argument is you would make him captain as no-one else takes his spot 😅

[@lloydsingline340]

That Invincible side were the best cricket side EVER. Have a look at their individual records.

[@MrCarrera28]

@@lloydsingline340 If by the Invincibles you mean the 1948 Australian side that toured England, then I absolutely agree with you.

[@philhogan5623]

I think picking batsmen as captain has something to do with where they field. Bowlers tend to be outfielders because of their athleticism and strong throwing arms, while batsmen tend to be infielders because of their quick reflexes and hand-eye coordination. It's often considered not ideal to be captaining the team from way out in the deep somewhere.

[@JY-ev5ms]

Not ponting, lost 3 out of 4 ashes, bowled marcus north to try and win a test, bowled first at edgebaston

[@kartikgoel07]

Also never won test in india

[@gingerwoods616]

won two world cups!

[@thf3038]

In all fairness to ponting, he did happen to captain australia when they were at their worst and going through a transitional period between 2008 and 2011 coinciding with 2 ashes defeats.

[@aimansharma9592]

4 icc trophies bro just a few mistake does not make you a terrible skipper. Even Dhoni barely won a test series outside the subcontinent and also lost a test series at home against England after a long time

[@JY-ev5ms]

@@aimansharma9592 "even dhoni" he wasn't a great captain either

[@frankford1115]

The quality of the cricket talk puts football in perspective. Utterly excellent.

[@roderickdunn3464]

AB had the hardest job of rebuilding the team. By far the best. Those that followed had a far easier task and far greater support from coaches selectors etc.

[@amitm2692]

Tim Paine.. hands down.... tactically astute & brilliant, great reader of the game & match awareness ...also helps that he was Australia's best keeper ever...he captained beautifully in the bgt series.,..as an india appreciates his contribution to india

[@davidgraham8299]

No, not even close, as captain or keeper.

[@amitm2692]

@@davidgraham8299 LoL... it's called Sarcasm bruh...

[@TM-yr3pc]

😂

[@danielm173]

@@davidgraham8299read the last 2 lines lmao, this is trolling lmao

[@Vignesh0411]

​@@davidgraham8299you are very bad at understanding sarcasm

[@MrIamonnn]

Overall great, tempo is bit much though, sometimes it’s tough to follow the conversation

[@shahdrah]

Shane Warne would have been a great captain. He was tactically brilliant, aggressive, patient, and had an aura “Tyson effect”. ACB should have taken the chance and my is that they would have been very happy. YOU RIPPER SW!!!!

[@Steve-u7u]

Warwick Armstrong: 8 wins 0 losses 2 draws

[@AM2K2]

Cheers lads

[@samqr9184]

Allan Border hands down…. A mediocre team at his disposal and he turned them around in world champions

[@shashankjha8851]

"Jarrod, who in your opinion is the greatest Bangladeshi cricketer of all time, who could bowl left arm spin, bat in the middle order, and be the captain of the team?" "There can't be anyone else but Mohammad Rafique."

[@yodanivada007]

There have been some fantastic Australian captains, but Steve Waugh is arguably the greatest captain test cricket has seen!

[@lloydsingline340]

Don't let Ian Chappel hear that!

[@paulmatters2641]

An Australian captain who was chosen only for his ability to make a speech was Ian Johnston. Syd Barnes said he could play him with a toothpick. Barnes actually called for a toy bat when Johnstone was bowling. Not good enough to get a place in the team but picked for captain. Keith Miller should have been captain. Johnston ended up the establishment man as Secretary of the Melbourne Cricket Club.

[@lloydsingline340]

Agree.My mother used to go on about Ian Johnson as a dud captain and of course she loved Keith Miller who would have been a Ritchie Benaud style captain.

[@petethundabox5067]

Gilchrist has one of the best win ratios, and one of only a few to win on the subcontinent.

[@Ducatirati]

It's a debatable topic , subjective , variables , times , but I'll tell one thing , S K Warne , was the best Captain Australia never had , but in my life time , it's Ian Chappell, but Steve Waugh was the most courageous BATSMAN I have ever seen, the belting he copped on Australian wickets against the 5 brutal 100 mph West Indian bowlers , and in the west Indies , he was balls personified, he led by example , black and blue , when he made a ton against them , ha ,you just say what I have written a minute ago , Warne , he was the best skip we never had , Greg Chappell was a beautiful technically correct players , better arguably the Ian , but not as a capt , Chappelli , numero uno , Waugh , gutsiest and if yah said he was the best I'd not argue with you , cheers lads . R

[@ruebengopaul8060]

Agree, Clarke was a fantastic tactician. He perhaps doesn't get as involved in this discussion because of his poor overseas record as captain, lost in England 3-0, 3-2, whitewashed 4-0 in India and homework gate. I asked an Australian I worked with why Clarke was unpopular - he said that Clarke was from a working class family in Liverpool, NSW and let fame get to his head, with the glamorous and flashy lifestyle that gets you in the press for wrong reasons. Shame because I think he is an underrated test captain and batter, phenomenal record.

[@djp9786]

Can anyone here explain to me why Michael Clarke was so hated? Was he hated even? He captained a poor Australia side and rejuvenated them, dealt with the Phil Hughes incident with incredible dignity and was tough as they come on the field.

[@bartonez123]

So he had a bit of a image problem away from the game, particularly before he was captain. He was tabloid fodder with his girlfriend, he had a whole "prettyboy" thing going on with the hair and earrings and stuff, choices in adverts and brand deals (like the bonds adverts), which didn't fit the mould of captains past, pissing off a chunk of the "traditional" fans. And then he had a different second group of people hating on him for the run ins with teammates, like the whole Katich thing which got big media attention, among others. And then he pissed off a further mostly separate third group of people with some of the on-field antics (broken arm etc), which incidentally may have actually won him some fans back from the first group. He won over most fans by the end, but he was never universally loved, very little of it having anything to do with his actual performance on the field.

[@tino6440]

He was a very new generation of player personality wise. -He clashed with what the Australian public and cricket establishment thought an Australian cricketer should be. -His personal life, more specifically his relationships were often in the public eye. -He clashed with certain teammates. His spat with Katich was pretty ugly and people never really forgave him for it. I've always been a defender of him as a captain, and he is BY FAR the best Australian captain tactically since Taylor. But he always rubbed people the wrong way and that has unfortunately stayed with people far more than his brilliant captaincy.

[@bens461]

He was different to other captains when he spoke, sounded like a politician with lots of cliches. Was boring to listen too. I think everyone also liked Katich and Symonds much more than him too so when he had blues with them we all saw the kinda dude he was.

[@jay4cee]

his off-field life overtook what he did on it. Was never the typical old school Aus captian mould. he was an upstart, and seen as overly flashy dickhead with the fancy cars, tattoos, model girlfriend. Perceived as not a loyal teammate/ captain and often clashed with team mates Katich, Watson. In his 60 mins interview, he said there was always this perception that he was gunning for Ponting's job, so old heads like Matt Hayden were never too fond of him after he became captain. I liked him and mad respect for what he did for the team during the Phillip Hughes passing.

[@coreyp1566]

Personally I felt like he got a red carpet ride into a dominant side as a youngster. He was lauded for his stats early on but he was usually coming in at 4/350+ against disspirited bowling attacks. Main issue was personality, but agree he handled the Hughes tragedy well from a leadership perspective. As a batter I believe it damaged his psyche/approach to facing short pitch bowling.

[@Ajay.369v]

Some of the top captains ,i hav seen 1.S fleming 2. Hussain N . 3.Mark taylor ( strategic thinker) 4.H cronje(doesnt get credit). 5.S waugh (most ruthless ) 6.S Ganguly. 7. Wasim akram

[@debasismohanty1952]

Micheal Clarke won the 2015 world cup he is a popular captain

[@dluap569161]

Popular? Ask Simon Katich and most of the other Australian players at that time. As Jimmy Anderson pointed out to him in Brisbane, all of your team hate you.

[@nealcoyte]

Steve Waugh is undoubtedly Australia's best captain. Not only that, he made test cricket far more entertaining and lifted the standards across all cricketing nations.

[@hasanramzan6578]

Steve Smith would have finished as one of crickets great captains had the sandpaper gate not happened.

[@1362pc]

And thats why he is one of the worst...thinking for a second that was ok, is insane

[@Antechynus]

Should be banned for life from the test team.

[@Footballfan4224]

Ricky Ponting won 100 test matches forget captaincy he is the most successful cricketer period

[@cameronporter5257]

In my lifetime, probably Waugh. He was the most balanced overall. And he's the prototypical Number 5 batsman imo.

[@SaadNawaz-p4f]

Kimber ! Please talk about mohammad asif the Pakistani bowler some day . What you think of his bowling .

[@jasonwebster9300]

Steve Smith has captained Australia in 38 Tests (21 wins, 10 loses). His winning percentage is 67.74% - better than Mark Taylor (66.66%), Greg Chappell (61.78%) and Michael Clarke (60%). Australia won the ICC Test Cricket World Championship under Smith’s captaincy in 2016. In 38 Tests as captain, Smith has scored 3,867 runs with 15 centuries and 14 fifties at an average of 66.67. So, he is one of the all-time great Australian Test Cricket captains.

[@Antechynus]

Yeah he has a much higher cheating % and lower honor % than anyone else though...

[@alexlanning712]

Taking some of the heat off the Brits,eh boys

[@jimmy-stourbridge-fc8980]

For me from my time watching cricket I would say Alan Border & Mark Taylor.

[@haydenwalton2766]

so many great captains, but for me it has to be AB

[@barneyhall2753]

Chappelli and Taylor.

[@kevinwaters5872]

Steve Waugh. Put real steel into the team.

[@jklegend2170]

It’s Allan Border. That’s it.

[@brett_919]

Border dragged the team out of the gutter. The greats that followed rose on the back of his legacy.

[@ricardobufo]

Captain Grumpy without a doubt. Others had better win records with dominant Aussie teams ... but AB built those teams out of nothing.

[@goodusernamedoesntexi..]

George Bailey, of course

[@dluap569161]

Or the great Graham Yallop!

[@dudefromcbee]

What happened to the Ultimate XI series? Guess you did not cross the openers and wicket keepers?

[@dalewetzler5807]

Steve Waugh the goat . 2md daylight . Ruthless

[@DavidJenkins-xg8nx]

Ian Chappell for all the reasons stated in the video.

[@foundfoundfound1]

kimber is half right. australians do like aggressive captains. we want all our players to be aggressive. it’s not soccer.

[@HammerJam007]

Steve Waugh Alan Border Warwick Armstrong Ritchie Benaud Mark Taylor

[@WarriorsSon]

Steve Waugh everyday

[@davidmccarthy6390]

Allan Border 1st, daylight 2nd. Why? Border inherited a side decimated by high profile retirements and players defecting to a rebel tour of South Africa. Morale was low, performances were terrible. With Bob Simpson coaching, they brought in new players to fill those gaps, notably David Boon, Craig McDermott and Steve Waugh, who along with Border formed the core of the side. They had terrible results in this period, getting spanked by England, West Indies and New Zealand, and an unconvincing drawn series v India. In all of that Border lead by example and was often the best player on the field from either side, his example inspired the others and slowly it turned around. Winning the world cup in 1987 was a turning point, and from that point on they got better and better, new players came in and strengthened the side. the famous Ashes win of 1989, and by the time he retired they were knocking on the door to unseat the West Indies from their throne. The captains that followed carried on Borders legacy, refining it under Mark Taylor with the new partnership of Shane Warne and Glenn McGrath leading the way. Steve Waugh was probably the most ruthless captain of all time, but he learnt it all off his captain, Allan Border first hand. Ponting took it to a new level, but once again it was buidlng upon Borders base. Same for Clarke, Smith, Paine and Cummins, they all owe Allan Border a huge debt, and they have all copied his template for success (as have other nations).

[@beardbuilds5140]

Pat “stop hurting the environment, but continues to fly all over the world cause I’m a flog lefty” Cummins The new age Michael Clarke , absolute wanker of a human … the last bloke on earth you would have a beer with , but you cannot argue his captaincy resume.

[@joshuaclinton9647]

No mention of Gilchrist who led the team that beat India at home ;)

[@jehanariyaratnam2874]

Michael Clarke devised a plan with the coach to set the players homework and when a few of the players forgot to do it, he sacked the coach😂

[@jimmybreen9133]

I think Jared needs to be clear that whenever he says "person X is not that popular in Australia" he really means "person X is not that popular in Australian cricketers and media people that I speak to". I have got the feeling that he knows absolutely bugger all of who the public like when it comes to Australian captains. Steve Waugh, Richie Benaud, Alan Border and Pat Cummins are loved, Ponting and Warney slightly less. Achievements as captain aside, most people i know can't stand Ian or Greg Chappell. He's right about Michael Clarke though (generally hated by the public - but more for off field stuff).

[@matthewashman1406]

Allen Border

[@1362pc]

Steve Waugh best Aussie captain by far

[@anandvasudevan556]

Agree... Pat Cummins is the most handsome Aus test captain

[@karlmilham4956]

From my lifetime border or Waugh

[@nk-fr1xz]

Allan border

[@vantheman1238]

Ian Chappell by a country mile. Chappell became Australian captain in 1971 when they were on their uppers and Chappell built and formed a team over a five year period that destroyed both England and the West Indies. Due to dreadful Apartheid system a great South African cricket team was lost to Test cricket in the 1970s. That said I believe that Chappell’s Australia would have beaten South Africa at that time.

[@dluap569161]

I wouldn't say he "destroyed" England, apart from the 1974-75 series when he had peak Lillee and Thomson, or even the West Indies who were not the powerhouse they would become after he gave up the captaincy. Lost his first test as captain against England in 1971 (England win the Ashes). Drew the 1972 series (England retain the Ashes). Won the the 1974-75 series 4-1 with one the best Australian teams ever and the 1975 series 1-0 with 3 draws then quits. Greg Chappell then captained Australia to a 5-1 victory over the West Indies in 1975-76. Chappeli was very good, but far from a destroyer.

[@MrCarrera28]

His side when his brother was in at batting at three was a very strong side, GS Chappell was strong against the pace attack of the Windies and provided a solid base for the batting line up while Ian's man management and aggressive tactics kept the team nicely disciplined and on track to deliver as a team.