Wildly popular in all parts of the former British Empire, cricket is played with a passion that rivals NFL football in the Former Colonies.
Thanks to it’s wild popularity and the growth of online sports betting and sports apps such as Stumped app can follow, watch and bet on their favorite club—whether it is South Africa, Pakistan, Wales, Scotland or Ireland—and national cricket teams and cricketeers.
Whether it is Britain, Ireland, India, New Zealand or Australia, each country has it’s own colorful and storied history in the much beloved sport. That being said, below are the ten most beloved cricketers that Australians admire the most.
1.) Adam Gilchrist: Former captain of the Australian national team and current cricket commentator, the 47-year-old native of Bellingen, Australia native redefined the role of wicket-keeper as an attacking left-handed batsman.
2.) Sir Donald Bradman: Thanks to a Test batting average of 99.94, the man called “The Don” in Sir Donald Bradman is highly regarded as the greatest batsman of all time.
3.) Ricky Ponting: Captain of the Australian national team during the “Golden Era: between 2004 and 2011, the former cricketer, commentator and cricket coach is regarded by main Aussies as one of the best batsman of his era.
4.) Shane Warne: Nicknamed “Warney”, the former captain of the Australian national team in One Day Internationals was one of the best to ever play. Outside of controversies such as accepting money from a bookmaker and using PED’s, Warne is consider by many Aussies one of the all-time greats.
5.) Glenn McGrath: Considered one of the best bowlers of all-time, Glenn McGrath was a fast-medium pace bowler who helped contribute to Australia’s domination of cricket during the mid-1990’s and into the early 21st century. At 6’6 and a nimble 200 pounds, the man called Pigeon, Nobby and Kuly from Dubbo, New South Wales, Australia ranks second all-time behind James Anderson.
6.) Steve Waugh: Considered the most successful Test captain in cricket history with 421 matches won, nine matches lost and a win ratio of 72 percent, the man called “Tugger” as well as the twin brother of cricketer Mark Waugh, Steve Waugh led Australia to 15 of their 16 consecutive Test wins as well as a victory in the 1999 Cricket World Cup.
7.) Shane Watson: Currently a star cricketer for the Chennai Super Kings of the Indian Premier League and the Quetta Gladiators of the Pakistan Super League, the dashingly handsome 38-year-old native of Ipswich, Queensland, Australia was the last player from Australia’s “golden era” of cricket to retire.
8.) Michael Hussey: Considered by many Aussies as the best left-handed batsman to ever play, the man many down under refer to as “Mr. Cricket” was the top ODI batsman in the world in 2006. A native of Mount Lawley, Australia, the 5’11 Hussey had over 15,000 first-class runs before making his Test debut. A world-class cricketer who played in his native Australia, India and England, Hussey is one of the best to ever play the game.
9.) Steve Smith: Known as “Super Smith”, Steve Smith is considered by many Aussies the best Test batsman after the forementioned Sir Donald Bradman thanks to his Test batting rating of 947, second-highest all-time behind Bradman’s 961. A former captain of the Australian national team and current captain of the Rajasthan Royals in the Indian Premier League, the 5’9 30-year-old native of Kogarah, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia is one of the best top-order batsmen in the world today.
10.) Allan Border: One of the true legends in Australian cricket, the former captain of the Australian national team, the main called “A.B.” played a then-record 156 Test matches during a storied career—before being passed by Steve Waugh—which is now good for second all-time behind Alastair Cook, who surpassed him in 2018.
A left-handed batsman and part-time left arm orthodox spinner, Border amassed over 11,000 Test runs and hit 27 centuries before retiring as Australia’s most-capped player and leading run-scorer in both Tests and ODI’s. One of 55 inaugural inductees of the ICC Cricket Hall of Fame, Border was announced as one of Queensland’s sports icons during the Q150 celebrations. In a 2017 fan poll conducted by CA, Border was named in a part of Australia’s best Ashes XI in the last 40 years.
Whether you’re a fan of the game or not, these ten players all impacted Australian sports, culture and the world of cricket Down Under in their own unique way, while the sport may not ever catch on in the States, if there is one country where you could learn to watch and appreciate the game, look no further that Oz to get your cricket fix.