Test XI, by our ratings

Best Australian Test XI

The pool is the 46 Australian players in the Beat My 11 database with at least 50 Tests, across every era, with one all-rounder in the side. The XI has 2 openers, 3 middle-order batters, 1 wicketkeeper, 2 spinners and 3 fast bowlers, picked by our ratings: the highest-rated players at each position, in whichever of the three XI shapes in the game rates best as a team.

All eleven players are from Australia.

Career Test totals from the Beat My 11 database, as of 22 October 2026.

The XI, in batting order

#	Player	Position	Nation	Played in	Career Test stats
1	Matthew Hayden	opener	Australia	1990s, 2000s	103 Tests; 8,625 runs at 50.7, 30 hundreds
2	David Warner	opener	Australia	2010s, 2020s	112 Tests; 8,786 runs at 44.6, 26 hundreds
3	Don Bradman	middle-order batter	Australia	Legends	52 Tests; 6,996 runs at 99.9, 29 hundreds
4	Steve Smith	middle-order batter	Australia	2010s, 2020s	125 Tests; 10,920 runs at 56, 37 hundreds
5	Ricky Ponting	middle-order batter	Australia	Legends, 1990s, 2000s	168 Tests; 13,378 runs at 51.9, 41 hundreds
6	Adam Gilchrist	wicketkeeper	Australia	Legends, 2000s	96 Tests; 5,570 runs at 47.6, 17 hundreds; 420 dismissals
7	Shane Warne	spinner	Australia	Legends, 1990s, 2000s	145 Tests; 708 wickets at 25.4, 37 five-wicket hauls
8	Nathan Lyon	spinner	Australia	2010s, 2020s	143 Tests; 571 wickets at 30.2, 24 five-wicket hauls
9	Glenn McGrath	fast bowler	Australia	Legends, 1990s, 2000s	124 Tests; 563 wickets at 21.6, 29 five-wicket hauls
10	Dennis Lillee	fast bowler	Australia	Legends, 1970s, 1980s	70 Tests; 355 wickets at 23.9, 23 five-wicket hauls
11	Pat Cummins	fast bowler	Australia	2010s, 2020s	74 Tests; 322 wickets at 21.9, 14 five-wicket hauls

Next in line

Player	Position	Nation	Career Test stats
Justin Langer	opener	Australia	105 Tests; 7,696 runs at 45.3, 23 hundreds
Greg Chappell	middle-order batter	Australia	87 Tests; 7,110 runs at 53.9, 24 hundreds
Ian Healy	wicketkeeper	Australia	119 Tests; 4,356 runs at 27.4, 4 hundreds; 396 dismissals
Mitchell Starc	fast bowler	Australia	107 Tests; 445 wickets at 26.1, 19 five-wicket hauls

What stands out

Between them the eleven played 1,212 Tests. Ricky Ponting has the most (168) and Don Bradman the fewest (52).
The best batting average in this XI is Don Bradman's 99.9, and the best bowling average is Glenn McGrath's 21.6.
The deepest position is middle-order batter, with 17 to choose from for 3 places. The thinnest is spinner, with 2 for 2 places.
Left out: Greg Chappell has the best batting average of anyone left out (53.9, 87 Tests, middle-order batter), and Josh Hazlewood the best bowling average (24, 78 Tests, fast bowler). An average is only part of a rating, which also counts how often a player takes wickets or scores hundreds, and how long he lasted.
Their Test careers run from 1928 (Don Bradman's debut year) to the present day.
3 of these eleven are also in the all-time XI: Don Bradman, Steve Smith and Glenn McGrath.

How this XI was picked

Pool by position: 10 openers, 17 middle-order batters, 5 wicketkeepers, 2 spinners, 12 fast bowlers.

Our ratings use seven career measures. Openers, middle-order batters and wicketkeepers are rated on batting average, runs per player-match, century rate. Spinners and fast bowlers are rated on bowling average, wickets per bowler-match, five-wicket-haul rate, ten-wicket-match rate. All-rounders are rated on all seven. Every player is ranked against the whole database, and players with short careers are weighted toward the average so a hot streak cannot outrank a long career.

The XI takes the highest-rated players at each position, then uses whichever of the three XI shapes in the game rates best as a team. Ratings are not shown here: draft your own XI to see them.

Think you can pick a better XI? Draft yours across seven eras and see if it beats mine.

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